History of Gripping in the UK
The role of the Grip in British filmmaking, though often behind the scenes, is essential to film production. Originally informal and based on favouritism, the profession evolved throughout the 20th century as the British film industry transitioned to freelance work. Pioneers like Dennis Fraser helped professionalise gripping, establishing formal qualifications and safety standards to meet the industry’s growing technical demands. This article explores the history of grips, from their early days in major studios like Pinewood and Shepperton to the creation of formal training programmes and the establishment of a dedicated Grips Branch.
Origins of Gripping, from Samuelson's to MGM
Grips, integral members of the film production crew responsible for camera support, rigging, and safety, have a long and complex history within the film industry. This history traces back to the mid to late 60s, when Samuelson’s—a leading British film equipment rental company—began asking grips working at MGM studios if they would like to come to work for them. Among the first were Pat Newman, Don Budge, Tony Cridlin and Freddie Fry. In those early days, like at MGM, grips were largely handpicked by heads of the construction department such as Jack Thomas, to work on the films that occupied the studios. The assignment process was informal, with grips allocated to specific films by a charge hand, often based on favouritism.
MGM studios in Elstree were unique in maintaining a full-time grip department, despite the tantalising offers from companies like Samuelsons to poach some of the well-known grips at the time. In 1967, Jimmy Dawes and Dennis Fraser, key figures in the development of the grip profession, held a meeting with management. Their goal was to formalise gripping as a distinct department, separating it from the general construction work in which grips were often involved. They aimed to create a dedicated team that specialised in this critical role within film production. Other studios also employed grips, but MGM were unique in establishing their Grip Department.
The Shift to Freelance Grips and the Birth of Grip House
By the late 1970s, the nature of studio work began to change. Productions at major studios like Pinewood and Shepperton were asking to bring in their own grips, a trend that gave rise to the freelance grip department, much to the annoyance of in-house grips. As more studios adopted the “four-wall” model, where they functioned as rental facilities rather than full production hubs, in-house grip departments disappeared. In response to these industry shifts, Grip House was founded in 1980 to design, build and supply innovative and specialist grip equipment to the growing freelance grip department and production companies.
However, with the closure of studio systems, the traditional training route for grips vanished. This lack of formal training created a pressing need for an organised qualification system to ensure safety and technical competence.
The Formation of Grip Qualifications
Dennis Fraser, a major advocate for standardised training, became involved with FT2 (a training provider funded by Skillset) in 1985. Together with Sharon Goode and Nic Carnell at FT2 and Kate O’Connor and Diane Kane at Skillset, Dennis worked tirelessly to establish a grip qualification. He spent five years attending weekly meetings, pushing for formal recognition. Though initially met with scepticism, Dennis’ persistence paid off. From 1990 to 1998, he worked with various industry bodies, including the Producers’ Association, to develop a recognised grip qualification.
Finally, in 1998, the qualification was officially approved, and in 1999 the first assessments took place, completed by Dennis and Tony Cridlin. By February 2000, the first cohort of certified grips, all Motion Picture Grips, received their qualifications from the Open University, complete with photo ID laminate passports issued by Creative Skillset (now ScreenSkills).
The creation of this qualification marked a pivotal moment for the profession. With a high standard of assessment in place, Dennis approached several certified Grips to ask if they would train as assessors. Tony Rowland, David Cadwallader, Ray Hall and Vic Hammond, began training as assessors under the City & Guilds framework. They were responsible for ensuring that grips met the necessary professional standards.
Origins of the Crane Technician Qualification and Subsequent Developments
In 2005, Dennis, having led the qualification efforts for grips, stepped back, passing the reins to the assessor team under the banner of Sharon Goode and Nic Carnell at FT2. With the blessing of the assessor team, Tony Rowland, was asked to train as the internal verifier and lead assessor in the wake of Nic Cornell’s imminent departure in 2006.
As the need for specialised skills grew, they wrote a new qualification tailored to operating cranes; the crane technician qualification was introduced in 2007 by City & Guilds. Crane technicians were vital in managing the safe operation and return of equipment undamaged, which was increasingly being dry hired by rental companies and being used and operated by inexperienced crew leading to several accidents and near misses. Dennis decided the he would only allow his cranes to be hired to production if they had a fully trained technician from Grip House with it. The only other crane operating dedicated technician at the time was the Louma Crane, run and operated by Adam Samuelson.
Despite these successes, the qualification faced numerous challenges. The first of which was the drastic cut of funding to FT2 in 2010. Sharon Goode and Nic Carnell, alongside Dennis Fraser and the assessors, were passionately committed to delivery of the qualifications, and with the support of Creative Skillset they found a new delivery centre, Ealing Institute of Media (EIM). The transfer worked very smoothly but was not without its challenges. Within a year City & Guilds started discussing the withdrawal of support and at the start 2012, City & Guilds withdrew their support for all creative qualifications across the UK, including those for grips and crane technicians. Creative Skillset, however remained a steadfast ally, facilitating the hasty transition to UAL (University of the Arts London) as the new awarding body by the end of 2012. Due to issues at EIM, the qualifications also found a new home in Bucks College Group as the sole delivery centre, which has supported the programme ever since.
Challenges and the Future of the Qualification
In the late 2010s, UAL began to shift focus towards academic qualifications, attempting to reshape the grip qualifications to fit into an academic framework. This move threatened to undermine the highly practical and creative nature of the profession. In response, UAL dropped film-related qualifications from their portfolio in 2021, prompting a surge in registrations as grips rushed to complete their qualifications before the March 2022 deadline. Behind the scenes Tony Rowland and the assessors team, alongside Martin Horsted from Bucks College Group focussed their efforts and completed this mammoth task within 12 months as opposed to the usual 18. This surge in applications put the qualification front and centre in the minds of Health and Safety departments all across the country and they started to make the qualification a requirement for Key Grips. Although it is still not a legal requirement, there is heightened awareness of the safety implications of the equipment we use and the skills, creative process, knowledge and expertise that are required to make films, nationwide.
Currently, the grip qualification has been adopted by ScreenSkills (Formerly Creative SkillSet), which reverted to the original structure based on national occupational standards (NOS). Bucks College Group remains the sole delivery centre for the programme in the UK, ensuring that future generations of grips continue to receive proper training and certification through a rigorous entrance criteria application. Alongside this, the increasing interest in becoming a grip has meant that the Grips Branch had to come up with a solution to monitor the training, to ensure that Trainees across the United Kingdom were getting the proper training required to progress to their qualification and embark on this highly skilled vocational occupation. The Grips Branch established the Purple Badge scheme, where applicants were assessed in a practical environment by skilled Advanced Level 3 Grips to ensure that they had the Basic Grip Skills required to move from their traineeship into their professional career as a Grip. Once they had served enough time, minimum of 2 years as a professional Grip, they were able to make an application and embark on their Level 2 Qualification.
The Founding of the Grips Branch
The Grips Branch as we know it today didn't exist until 1984, when a group of Grips decided to break away from the NATKE general craft branch. They issued an ultimatum to the Union. All they wanted was the recognition they deserved and the ability to set their own rates and conditions.
The first meeting was held in the Wellington Pub in Borehamwood. The founding members were Colin Manning, Tony Rowland, Dennis Fraser, Jimmy Dawes, Brian ‘Ossie’ Osborn and Terry Kelly and so the decision was made to pull away from the union and the general craft branches and form a dedicated grip branch. At that meeting Tony Rowland was in possession of a pen and paper and it was decided that because he was the only one who could do joined up writing he should become the first Branch Secretary should they be successful.
Tony Rowland, Colin Manning, John Flemming, Derek Russell and Paul Brinkworth, met with the Uxbridge General Craft branch secretary Sid Thorley, the largest general craft branch in the Union. It was a difficult negotiation but ultimately the power was in the hands of the grips. Finally after some persuasion they relented and agreed to recognise the grips in their own right. They titled themselves rather grandly, ‘The Grips Branch of Motion Picture and TV Commercials Grips’. This was quickly dealt with at the first meeting and changed to ‘The Grips Branch.’
The Chairman for the first meeting was Jimmy Dawes, the Branch Secretary; Tony Rowland, Treasurer; Terry Kelly. The rest of the committee was as follows: Brian ‘Ossie’ Osborn, Colin Manning, Nick Pearson, Billy Geddes and David Cadwallader.
This historical evolution of the grip profession highlights how a once informal and overlooked role has developed into a specialised, recognised, and highly skilled vocational career. Through the efforts of dedicated individuals and organisations, grips today enjoy the benefits of training and certification, ensuring both safety and professionalism in an industry that increasingly relies on their expertise.