He continued to work steadily throughout the 1990s, serving as a
gaffer on Super Mario Bros., The Three Musketeers, The Shadow, Hard Rain,
Girl's Night, Out of Sight, The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, on the
IMAX 3-D movie Cirque de Soleil: Journey of Man, and on the television
series L.A. Doctors. It was there he met writer/director Gary Fleder,
leading to work on the Fleder-directed feature Imposter. "He's a very tal-
ented director and a very good writer."
Campbell reteamed with cinematographer James Glennon on director
Alexander Payne's film About Schmidt. "It stars Jack Nicholson. It's very
stylized, a great looking film. Alexander is an incredible writer/director/
filmmaker with clear visions of what he wants to create. And, it's always
fun to work with a cameraman that you've worked with before. Jim
[Glennon] includes everyone in the filmmaking process."
He recently finished working on Haunted Lighthouse and is gearing up
for another picture.
Job Overview
"The rigging gaffer executes the gaffer's vision," explains gaffer Jay
Kemp. "He'll often go on the preliminary scouting and figure out what
the needs are, then plan accordingly. He usually has a truck, a best boy,
and crew of people that leapfrog with the shooting crew from location to
location. It makes sense economically because the shooting crew can
come in, all the power is laid out, and the broad strokes are in place.
Then the gaffer and cinematographer can come in, finesse the lighting,
and be ready to shoot in much quicker time. The lighting takes longer
than probably any other part of the lighting process, so it's important to
have a lot of it laid in advance."
Special Skills
In addition to filmmaking and lighting skills, gaffers must have strong
leadership qualities, enabling them to hire, manage, and motivate their
department.
Advice for Someone Seeking This Job
Due to the number of productions shooting outside Los Angeles and
New York, Kemp feels it is easier to break into the business in markets
JOB TITLE: RIGGING GAFFER
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