Film Career · Grip
Key Grip
Grip · IATSE Local 80 (grips, LA); craft locals elsewhere
- Union
- IATSE Local 80
- Day rate
- ~$350–$1,500/day
- Experience
- 6–13 yrs
What does a Key Grip do?
The key grip heads the grip department, partnering with the gaffer to execute the DP's plan and owning camera support and rigging safety. Anything that shapes light without power or moves the camera without a motor runs through them, including vehicle rigs on picture cars.
What does a Key Grip make?
- Day rate about $350-$1,500 (union feature minimum around $504 a day, about $3,794 a week; freelance median around $850), roughly $60K-$180K a year.
- Expert commercial and feature keys bill $1,500-$2,500 a day for labor before the truck and dolly package.
Film work is gig based, so crew are paid a day or weekly rate rather than a salary. These are realistic 2024-2025 ranges grounded in union rate cards and industry data; actual pay swings with budget tier, market, overtime, and reputation.
Sources & how we estimate pay
Union scale is the floor; the ranges above also reflect market day rates above scale. They are grounded in the following 2024–2025 sources:
Union rate cards & wage schedules
Official guild scale — the floor each craft is paid from.
- IATSE — 2024 Basic Agreement wage scales (PDF) ↗
- IATSE Local 600 (International Cinematographers Guild) — camera rate cards ↗
- DGA — minimum salary rate cards (director, unit production manager, assistant directors) ↗
- WGA — schedule of minimums (writers) ↗
- SAG-AFTRA — theatrical & background rate sheets (cast, stunts, background) ↗
- Teamsters Local 399 — basic feature wage rates, 2024–27 (transportation, locations, wranglers) (PDF) ↗
On the job
- Lead the grip department through prep, rigging, and shooting
- Partner with the gaffer on executing the DP's lighting plan
- Own rigging safety for mounted cameras, wire rigs, and vehicle work
- Plan equipment, crew, and logistics against schedule and budget
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You know rigging, mounting, and grip and dolly gear inside out
- You can lead a crew and solve safety problems fast
Soft skills
- You partner closely with the gaffer and DP
- You are physical, practical, and unflappable
Career progression
Grip, then best boy grip, then key grip: the ladder is time-tested and rarely skipped. Keys build standing crews that travel with them, and DP-key relationships often span careers. Action and vehicle-heavy productions specifically seek keys with deep rigging resumes.
A typical path, from entry to the top of the craft. Times are rough and vary by market, luck, and how steadily the work comes.
- Production Assistant· 0-2 yrs
~$35K–$55K/yr
- Grip· 3-5 yrs
~$45K–$120K/yr
- Best Boy (Electric and Grip)· 3-6 yrs
~$50K–$150K/yr
- Key Gripyou are here· peak of the craft
~$60K–$180K/yr
How do you become a Key Grip?
Everything the grip entry demands, held longer: craft mastery, calm under pressure, and a crew that wants to work for you. Vehicle rigging skill is a differentiator worth building early since picture car work never stops shooting.
On covered productions, rates, hours, and conditions for the role are set by IATSE Local 80 (grips, LA); craft locals elsewhere contracts.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.