What Is a Best Boy Grip in Film?
If the key grip owns the store, the best boy grip runs it. Every tool ordered, every crew member scheduled, every timecard signed — that’s the best boy.
A best boy grip is the second-in-command of the grip department, officially titled “2nd Company Grip” by IATSE as of 2024. The best boy grip works directly under the key grip and acts as the department’s foreman: handling crew management, equipment logistics, scheduling, and the administrative operations that allow the key grip to focus on the creative rigging work with the Director of Photography (DP).
The grip department hierarchy runs: DP at the top, key grip as department head, best boy grip as second-in-command, and then company grips, dolly grips, and rigging grips beneath. The best boy grip does not give lighting or rigging direction — that is the key grip’s domain. The best boy executes that direction operationally.
The term “best boy” dates to early Hollywood: department heads would request their “best boy” — their most reliable hand — to assist them on set. The title applied to both the grip and electrical departments, producing the two variants: best boy grip (under the key grip) and best boy electric (under the gaffer). As of 2024, IATSE formally adopted “2nd company grip” as the standardized title on union paperwork, though “best boy grip” remains the screen credit term on most productions.
What does a best boy grip do?
The Day-to-Day of the Grip Department’s Foreman
The key grip designs the rigging strategy and directs where flags, frames, diffusion, and camera support equipment go. The best boy grip makes sure all of that can actually happen — the right crew is on call, the right gear is on the truck, and the paperwork is clean at wrap.
Pre-production responsibilities:
- Building the grip package with the key grip — specifying c-stands, dana dollies, speed rails, cranes, camera cars, and specialty rigging hardware
- Sourcing and booking equipment from rental houses
- Hiring company grips, dolly grips, and rigging grips in coordination with the key grip
- Attending tech scouts and location scouts to assess rigging requirements and site safety
Production (on-set) responsibilities:
- Supervising company grips: assigning tasks, maintaining pace, enforcing safety protocols
- Managing the grip truck — loading and striking gear, maintaining organized staging areas
- Tracking all rented equipment: logging items in and out, flagging shortages to the rental house
- Processing crew timecards, DPR (Daily Production Reports) for the grip department, and purchase orders
- Serving as point of contact between the grip department and the production office
- Standing in for the key grip during location scouts and breaks when the key grip is with the DP
Equipment the best boy grip works with: c-stands, rolling stands, grip heads, arms, flags, nets, silks, frame sets, speed rails, pipe fittings, camera dollies, cranes, camera cars, suction cups, and rigging hardware. On larger productions, the best boy grip also coordinates with a rigging key grip and rigging best boy for pre-rigging work done before the shooting crew arrives.
The best boy grip is not a purely administrative role. On smaller productions, the best boy frequently works alongside the rest of the crew — pulling cable, rigging flags, operating the dolly — while still managing the department’s logistics. The balance shifts toward administration on larger union productions.
Where does the best boy grip appear in film credits?
Credit Placement for the 2nd Company Grip
This is the section most crew role guides skip entirely. Here is exactly where the best boy grip lands in the end crawl.
Opening Credits
The best boy grip does not appear in opening credits. Opening title cards are reserved for above-the-line talent: studios, production companies, lead cast, director, writer, and key producers. No grip department crew receives an opening card.
End Credits
The best boy grip appears in the grip department section of the end credit crawl — directly beneath the key grip, second in the department block.
Standard grip department credit order:
| Position | Credit Order |
|---|---|
| Key Grip | 1st (department head) |
| Best Boy Grip | 2nd |
| Company Grip / Grips | After department heads |
| Dolly Grip | Within grips section |
| Rigging Key Grip | If applicable |
| Rigging Best Boy Grip | If applicable |
| Rigging Grips | Last in department block |
The grip department block appears in the below-the-line section of the end crawl, typically adjacent to the electrical department block. The exact placement relative to camera, electrical, and other departments varies by production, but within the grip block, the key grip and best boy grip always appear at the top — in that order.
Single Card vs. Scroll
On virtually all productions, the best boy grip receives a scroll credit within the grip department block rather than a solo card. The key grip may occasionally receive a single-line “Key Crew” card on prestige features, but the best boy grip does not receive solo card treatment.
Credit Format Variations by Territory
- United States: “Best Boy Grip” is the standard screen credit
- United Kingdom: “Best Boy Grip” or occasionally “Grip Best Boy”
- Canada: Some productions use “Best Boy” (without the department qualifier) when context makes the department clear
- Germany: The title “Best Boy” is used because there is no direct German equivalent
How to credit a best boy grip correctly
Exact Format, Variations, and Guild Rules
The standard screen credit format:
Best Boy Grip .................. JANE DOEOr in a department block layout:
GRIP DEPARTMENT
Key Grip
JOHN SMITH
Best Boy Grip
JANE DOE
Company Grip
MARCUS WILLIAMS
Accepted title variations:
- Best Boy Grip — the standard credit on most US and international productions
- 2nd Company Grip — the IATSE-adopted formal title as of 2024; increasingly seen on union production paperwork but rarely on screen yet
- Best Boy — acceptable when the department section header makes the context clear
Do not use “Assistant Key Grip” — this is not a standard credit and creates ambiguity. “Best Boy Grip” is unambiguous and universally understood within the industry.
Guild requirements: Best boy grips on IATSE-signatory productions fall under IATSE Local 80 (Grips) in Los Angeles, or local IATSE affiliates in other regions. IATSE does not mandate a specific on-screen credit format the way the DGA does for directors, but the credit is a contractual obligation on union shows — the production must include the best boy grip in the end crawl.
Multiple roles: On low-budget productions where one person serves as both key grip and best boy grip, credit the primary role only, or use:
Key Grip / Best Boy Grip
JOHN DOEAvoid invented titles. Each credit should be recognizable to anyone in the industry. For complete guidance on formatting and ordering credits across all departments, see the film credits format and order guide.
Best boy grip vs key grip
How the Two Roles Divide the Grip Department
The best boy grip and key grip are not interchangeable — they operate in distinct domains within the same department.
| Key Grip | Best Boy Grip | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Creative rigging and camera support — flags, frames, diffusion, dollies, cranes | Logistics and crew management — equipment, scheduling, paperwork |
| Reports to | Director of Photography | Key Grip |
| On-set role | Works directly with DP to execute lighting control and camera movement | Supervises grip crew, manages truck and equipment inventory |
| Location scouts | Attends alongside DP | Attends when key grip is occupied elsewhere |
| Credit position | 1st in grip department block | 2nd in grip department block |
The simplest distinction: the key grip makes the rigging decisions, the best boy grip makes them happen. Both appear together at the top of the grip department block in the end crawl — key grip first, best boy grip second, without exception.
Best boy grip vs best boy electric
Two Parallel #2 Positions in Adjacent Departments
The grip and electrical departments are the two below-the-line departments that work most closely together on set, and each has its own second-in-command:
| Best Boy Grip | Best Boy Electric | |
|---|---|---|
| Department | Grip | Electrical |
| Reports to | Key Grip | Gaffer |
| Equipment managed | Flags, frames, c-stands, rigging hardware, camera support | Lights, cables, distribution gear, generators |
| Union | IATSE Local 80 (Grips) | IATSE Local 728 (Studio Electrical) — LA |
| Credit position | 2nd in grip block | 2nd in electrical block |
| Simple rule | Shapes and controls light; supports camera | Generates and powers light |
Both roles perform the same administrative function in their respective departments. On set, if it shapes or blocks light — or if it moves the camera — it is the grip department’s concern. If it plugs in and generates light, it belongs to the electrical department under the gaffer.
Best boy grip salary
Day Rates and Annual Compensation
Best boy grip compensation varies significantly by union status, market, and production scale. On IATSE Local 80 signatory productions in Los Angeles, the best boy grip earns a contractually set day rate above the company grip scale but below the key grip scale.
Typical ranges (US, 2024-2025):
| Production Type | Day Rate Range |
|---|---|
| IATSE union feature (LA) | $600–$850/day |
| IATSE union TV (LA) | $550–$750/day |
| Non-union feature | $250–$450/day |
| Low-budget / student film | $150–$300/day (or deferred) |
Annual income for working best boy grips ranges from $50,000 to $120,000+ depending on how many weeks they work per year. Feature-film best boys who work 40+ weeks annually on union productions — particularly in Los Angeles or New York — can exceed $100,000. The job is project-based: consistent employment requires building a reputation with key grips who bring their preferred best boy on each show.
UK rates under BECTU (Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union) operate on a different scale; refer to BECTU’s current rate cards for current figures.
How to become a best boy grip
The Career Path from Grip to Foreman
The grip department has one of the clearest career ladders in below-the-line production:
- Production assistant or set PA — entry point; learn set etiquette and departmental structure
- Company grip — start as a day-call grip on smaller productions; learn the equipment hands-on
- Rigging grip — work rigging crews to develop hardware knowledge and problem-solving skills
- Day-call grip on union shows — build IATSE Local 80 hours to qualify for union membership
- Best boy grip — typically requires 5-8 years of consistent grip work and a key grip willing to promote you
The transition to best boy is less about a formal promotion and more about trust. Key grips bring best boys they know from previous shows. Breaking into the role often means proving administrative reliability — returning equipment on time, running clean paperwork, handling crew without drama — as much as physical rigging skill.
ScreenSkills in the UK and the IATSE Training Trust in the US both offer formal training programs. The IATSE Training Trust provides online and in-person courses covering grip equipment, safety certification (including rigging safety and fall protection), and crew management skills directly applicable to the best boy role.
Notable best boy grips in film history
The Professionals Behind the Grip Department
Best boy grips are rarely profiled publicly, but their departments are central to the visual language of cinema.
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Ray Garcia — Best boy grip on No Country for Old Men (2007, DP Roger Deakins), There Will Be Blood (2007, DP Robert Elswit), and True Grit (2010). Garcia’s grip work across multiple Coen Brothers productions under Deakins represents the kind of long-term key grip / best boy relationship that defines top-tier cinematography.
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Mike Chavez — Best boy grip on Whiplash (2014) and multiple Damien Chazelle productions. The tight shooting schedule on Whiplash — shot in 19 days on a $3.3 million budget — required precisely the kind of rapid equipment turnover and crew efficiency the best boy manages.
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Gary Cunningham — Best boy grip on several seasons of Breaking Bad, working under key grip Jim Greene on one of television’s most photographed series. The show’s signature low-angle, tight-space camera work demanded constant dolly and rigging creativity from the grip department.
Sources and Further Reading
Official resources:
- IATSE Local 80 — Grips — the union representing grips in Los Angeles
- IATSE Training Trust — certification and training for grip department careers
- ScreenSkills — Best Boy Skills Checklist — UK industry competency framework
Further reading:
- Wikipedia — Best Boy — historical overview and international usage
- Backstage — How to Become a Best Boy Grip — career path guidance
Related EndCreditsPro guides:
Create Professional Credits with EndCreditsPro
Getting the best boy grip in the right position — under the key grip, above company grips, in the correct department block — requires knowing the conventions. EndCreditsPro auto-formats your end credits with correct role hierarchy, department ordering, and guild-compliant layouts.