Craft service
Encyclopedia
In film
, television
or video
production, craft service or crafty refers to the department which provides food service and beverages to the other departments or craft
s. In addition to policing the set they set down layout boards and protect the set area, as well as provide buffet style snacks and drinks. The crafts in film refers to departments such as camera, sound, electricians, grips, props, art director, set decorator, hair and makeup, background.
There is a difference between crafts service and catering
. Catering handles the regular hot sit down meals that occur every six hours and usually last between thirty minutes and an hour. Catering is brought in from an outside company hired by the production, but crafts service is a crew position and crafts service people are sometimes represented by the union, IATSE. In Los Angeles
crafts service workers are represented by IATSE Local 80 but, in New York, crafts service is a non-union position and is not recognized in the Local 52 charter.
In the mid 1920s to the late 1940s, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Motion Picture Machine Operators organized the motion picture and television production business in Hollywood. Locals represented set lighting technicians, grips, cameramen, propmakers, make-up artists, and many others. The idea was to create better working conditions and pay. These were volatile and stormy times.
As the technology evolved, crew positions became more specialized, and "crafts" could no longer cross over, for example, electricians doing "grip work" by moving a stand. It became necessary to hire an "all-around" laborer who could help any department and perform menial tasks such as digging holes or cleaning up after animals. These laborers could be temporarily upgraded in salary. They could be put on the "cable rate" for helping to guide sound or lighting cables for a shot.
In the mid-1960s, Crafts Service Employees still operated as general laborers. They had also been put in charge of answering the telephone and making coffee. At Universal Studios, they had huge roll-around carts where they would brew coffee. These carts could be shut during takes so that the bubbling machines wouldn’t spoil a sound take. There was a dish where you could throw a quarter for your coffee at Universal, not at other studios. Eventually, the laborers added doughnuts as a revenue stream, but often had to interrupt the display to dig a trench for dolly tracks or clean up after animals.
In European union film studios, buffets would be set out in lieu of a lunch break, so as not to disrupt the momentum of the day. At four-thirty in the afternoon, the crew would vote on whether they should continue working on overtime, or wrap for the day. As low-budget and non-union filmmaking took hold in the USA, production companies would provide day-long buffet spreads to make up for long hours and lower wages.
Occasionally there are two craft service stations, with one being for cast and crew and another for non-union background actors. The food provided can vary widely with pilots often offering very limited food, while big budget shows often offer generous food and drinks.
Craft service is considered an entry level position, although some make it into a career and stay there.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
or video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
production, craft service or crafty refers to the department which provides food service and beverages to the other departments or craft
Craft
A craft is a branch of a profession that requires some particular kind of skilled work. In historical sense, particularly as pertinent to the Medieval history and earlier, the term is usually applied towards people occupied in small-scale production of goods.-Development from the past until...
s. In addition to policing the set they set down layout boards and protect the set area, as well as provide buffet style snacks and drinks. The crafts in film refers to departments such as camera, sound, electricians, grips, props, art director, set decorator, hair and makeup, background.
There is a difference between crafts service and catering
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
. Catering handles the regular hot sit down meals that occur every six hours and usually last between thirty minutes and an hour. Catering is brought in from an outside company hired by the production, but crafts service is a crew position and crafts service people are sometimes represented by the union, IATSE. In Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
crafts service workers are represented by IATSE Local 80 but, in New York, crafts service is a non-union position and is not recognized in the Local 52 charter.
In the mid 1920s to the late 1940s, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Motion Picture Machine Operators organized the motion picture and television production business in Hollywood. Locals represented set lighting technicians, grips, cameramen, propmakers, make-up artists, and many others. The idea was to create better working conditions and pay. These were volatile and stormy times.
As the technology evolved, crew positions became more specialized, and "crafts" could no longer cross over, for example, electricians doing "grip work" by moving a stand. It became necessary to hire an "all-around" laborer who could help any department and perform menial tasks such as digging holes or cleaning up after animals. These laborers could be temporarily upgraded in salary. They could be put on the "cable rate" for helping to guide sound or lighting cables for a shot.
In the mid-1960s, Crafts Service Employees still operated as general laborers. They had also been put in charge of answering the telephone and making coffee. At Universal Studios, they had huge roll-around carts where they would brew coffee. These carts could be shut during takes so that the bubbling machines wouldn’t spoil a sound take. There was a dish where you could throw a quarter for your coffee at Universal, not at other studios. Eventually, the laborers added doughnuts as a revenue stream, but often had to interrupt the display to dig a trench for dolly tracks or clean up after animals.
In European union film studios, buffets would be set out in lieu of a lunch break, so as not to disrupt the momentum of the day. At four-thirty in the afternoon, the crew would vote on whether they should continue working on overtime, or wrap for the day. As low-budget and non-union filmmaking took hold in the USA, production companies would provide day-long buffet spreads to make up for long hours and lower wages.
Occasionally there are two craft service stations, with one being for cast and crew and another for non-union background actors. The food provided can vary widely with pilots often offering very limited food, while big budget shows often offer generous food and drinks.
Craft service is considered an entry level position, although some make it into a career and stay there.