Grip Truck Packages

Companies come to us looking for full production crews in order to take their video from concept all the way through delivery. We’ll provide writers, directors, and production crews before and during the shoot, then edit it and get it in the format that our clients need.

While the human factor is incredibly important to the production of a video, the technology side of things can’t be ignored. You can have the best crew in the world, but if the lighting makes a client look bad or if a shaky tripod causes the need for twice as many takes, a video shoot can turn from easy to impossible in a short amount of time.

Grip Trucks To the Rescue

If you’ve never been to an on-location video shoot before, or if you’ve only ever worked in a studio environment, you might not be very familiar with grip trucks. So, what are they? And what are grips?

The word “grip” can have a variety of meanings depending on the size of the video production. (A grip on a student film will take on more roles than a grip on a Hollywood movie.) But in general, grips are in charge of making sure the equipment gets where it needs to go. Grip trucks are trucks with specially designed cargo spaces that are made to hold the most important items that a production crew will need during their NYC video production. These trucks are always loaded with vital shoot gear such as:

  • Lights — Lights can be incredibly important to a shoot, even if it’s outdoors. Grip trucks provide a variety of lights of various temperatures.
  • C-Stands —  C-stands are the tri-legged metal stands that are mostly used for holding lights. They can also accept special attachments that allow them to hold boom mics or lighting flags.
  • Sandbags — Sandbags keep c-stands from tipping over, and can be used as padding for ground-level camera shots.
  • Light Modification — Lighting that is too harsh can cause unflattering shadows. Lighting that is too soft might not set the mood of the video shoot properly. Grip trucks provide flags and lightboxes in order to change the lighting to the needs of the shoot.
  • Stingers — This is the industry term for extension cords and power strips.
  • Carts/Dollies — Carrying everything from the truck to the shoot just isn’t practical. Carts keep everything organized and reduce the number of grips needed on a shoot.
  • Tripods/Hi-hats/Stabilizers — All of these types of camera holders make sure that the shot is steady and will look good enough to work with in the editing bay.
  • Specialty Equipment — Grip trucks always have the extra space so that the really expensive and technical equipment can be loaded quickly. Cameras, sound recording equipment, on-site laptops, and other gear will also have a place on a grip truck, though they’re not often included in the basic rental price.

Grip trucks are an excellent example of “a place for everything and everything in its place.” It’s essentially a studio supply closet on wheels: well-organized, prepped, and ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Will You Need A Grip Truck?

If you need a grip truck, we have them ready so that you can get your video project going. We’ll make sure that it has everything you need loaded so that the production isn’t delayed. Contact Crew 1 TV today to tell us what you need!