This instructional DVD is a good 101 in gripology.

By Jay Holben

At the 2009 Digital Video Expo, I picked up the Digital Video Professionals Association (DVPA) training DVD Getting a Handle on Grip: Understanding the Fundamentals of a Production Grip. DVPA.com is an association where professionals can find various resources and information. This is the first video in an intended series.

I've seen a lot of training videos on lighting, but this is the first I've ever seen on gripping.

The video, unfortunately, falls prey to one of the biggest problems non-educators have in trying to teach: they might know their stuff, but they don't know how to explain it to a new audience. Getting a Handle on Grip isn't the worst offender in this area, in fact it is mostly aimed at the right audience, but there is a lot of information thrown out without further clarification or the proper time to digest it.

The first thing I noted, especially as the two hosts, Danielle (the DV Diva) and Fess (the resident grip expert), were racing through the discussions on C-Stands, was the lack of equipment detail images. I wanted to see close ups of the equipment parts to get a clearer picture on what they're talking about. Instead, we see a wide two-shot with a stack of stands where it's very hard to discern the differences.

The second thing that hit me – and this is unforgivable – is Fess talks about sandbagging C-Stands and nonchalantly drops the bag on the wrong C-Stand leg. I nearly fell out of my seat. Although Fess instructs the viewer to put the 'big' leg under the load (without clarifying at all), he then drops the bag on one of the the back small legs. Doing so puts most of the bag's weight on the floor, not on the stand, and renders it mostly ineffective. For correction's sake, the bag should be placed on the 'big' leg under the load. From there on – I was really watching the video with a keen eye, but no other gaffs were quite as significant.

Some of Fess' vernacular doesn't necessarily fit all regions. The "Quaker" clamp he introduces is also called a "Duckbill," or "Platypus" or "Bead Board Clamp." This may seem nitpicky, but nicknames, vocabulary and vernacular are an important part of the job.

As the video goes on, Fess starts to detail various pieces of grip hardware and the video breaks away to show a photo of the equipment, along with the name and a general description. This is definitely better the first part, but they should have had larger, clearer photos and I would really like to have seen animations or close-up video of each component in action. For a newbie, it is very difficult to imagine how a cheesborough clamp works and when to use it.

Unfortunately, the video is much less a general training video than a specific discussion about what Fess uses and what he has in his kit and tool belt. A distinction should be made that not every grip carries a rubber door stopper, voltage checker or cigar cutter in their tool belts – nor do they need to. Again, that's a classic mistake non-teachers make: presenting your personal experience as a standard.

I was pleased with the section on Butterfly rigs. They had close up moments showing how to tie on the 'rags' or soft goods to the frames, discussion of when to use what types of frames, a close up on how to tie a clove hitch and an easy, but clear, demonstration of what a silk does to diffuse direct sunlight. I would like to have seen the whole video be of this kind of detail.

I did learn two things from the video, which I was very happy about. Fess imparted an important tip when using wall spreaders with 2x4 lumber, always use 'seasoned' lumber, not fresh. Apparently, fresh lumber may shrink as quickly as overnight and the wall spreader would loose traction and fall. That was new information for me. The second tidbit was the concept of tilting C-Stands at a 45 degree angle on the high end of a perpendicular (vertical) butterfly and calling that the "theater jack" style.

The real highlight to the video, for me, was one of the three extras in which Fess teaches how to make an apple box. Although Fess breaks out a number of tools – including a router and battery-operated nail gun – that the casual user isn't going to have at their disposal, his instruction is solid, the detailed demonstration is effective and very useful to do-it-yourselfers.

As many gripes as I may have about this DVD, it's a wonderful step in the right direction. It's a great compliment to, say, Michael Uva's The Grip Book, but as a stand-alone, it's a little rough around the edges. It's also extraordinarily expensive. At $59.99 I would expect a lot more than 90 minutes and a lot more detailed information. If you're a DVPA member, the DVD is only $39.99, but that's still about $20 too much, in my opinion.

Getting a Handle on Grip: Understanding the Fundamentals of a Production Grip

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