Servicing film and TV

            When choosing a job role many woman avoid male dominated sectors like construction and the emergency services. Unfortunately the role of a grip is another job role that has become succumb to the prejudice of gender favouritism because of the manual nature of the job.
So what is a grip?
            A grip is the person behind the scenes of a TV or film set that supports the cameras in the form of tripods, dollies, tracks, jibs, cranes, and static rigs, this includes the  constructed of delicate yet heavy duty parts requiring a high level of experience to operate and move. For more information Greg Hewell goes into more depth in his video.

            So is there any truth to the bias of employment within this role, after all when reviewing various companies' health and safety procedures men were on average permitted to lift 10 kg more than woman which many would see as a disadvantage in performing the required tasks. 
            I joined Christine Leonard, 21 from Rugby, on the set of Jack's Attic's music video to find out from the inside about the troubles facing woman in the TV industry. Christine graduated from a film production degree in July 2012 and has since become a trainee grip on the set of Emmerdale. 
            
            At what point did you decide to pursue a career as a grip and why?

"before graduating I started to look at roles behind the scenes in film and TV and the one that caught my attention was that of a grip. I had met other grips while on work experience and after talking to them about the role it was clear that not one day was the same for them and that's what I wanted."

            Was there any indication that being a girl would effect your success in the role?

"one thing I did notice on the various sets I worked on was the lack of female grips. I didn't actually see one during my whole time at university. It is an extremely exhausting job due to all the heavy lifting of equipment and the fast turn around time you need to stick to when setting up for different scenes throughout the day."                 

            How did you get to where you are today?

"it wasn't easy. I must of sent off over 50 applications to various production companies across the UK and no one would hire me without any paid experience. Luckily, the work experience I gained through university gave me some contacts in the industry. The only person to respond was another grip, Nigel, who saw my passion for the role, and intrigued by this managed to get me some paid work on a music video in the role. The DOP (director of photography) for the video also worked on Emmerdale. I mentioned I wanted to work there and he was happy to get me work. I started on Emmerdale 3 weeks later and haven't looked back since.

            Have you got any advice for other girls lookiing to pursue this or any job in TV?

"be persistent, its true what they say once your in your in, your in. If you are at university take advantage of the spare time you have and find out which role in particular you want to pursue and stick to it. write to all the production companies you can find and write to a specific person at the company. I found out that most jobs applications beginning with 'dear sir/madam' won't get read. And most of all, stay in touch with all the contacts you make as like me, they might land you your future job."

            According to government guidelines there is no set weight limit in the health and safety guidelines and so no reason for their to be more men in the position. One conclusion could be the preferences of the sexes in terms of job roles. Men are generally seen to be more employable in manual positions and so seek roles in the relevant areas (http://www.healthandsafetyworksni.gov.uk). Weight lifting guidelines are set by the individual employers in the industry. Many companies set their weight lifting guidelines based on popular science and using averages when creating these limit. According to http://healthyliving.azcentral.com there is a difference in average muscle mass between males and females. These differences are represented below;