Good question! Don’t try too hard. In my experience, the best way to form trust and respect is to be on time, pay attention and ask the AD’s opinion. Once they feel you’re willing to work with them rather than trying to run their set it generally all falls into place.

Names are so important! Everyone responds best when you learn their name and since we need something from everyone I try to learn them all.

I think that these days, ANY shot is achievable, no matter how insane the idea may be. It all depends what equipment, time, budget and resources are at your disposal.

For narrative:

I ask for a script or advance sides so I can become familiar with the script.

No one else remembers your mistakes like you do. Don’t carry that weight with you, from day to day or even shot to shot.

Communicate. That’s really the answer.

A dolly grip is the operator’s most hands-on collaborator on set – they keep us safe, comfortable, and in the right place for the shot to work.

There are many ways a person can get hurt on set – some obvious, some not. The more time you spend on set, the easier it is to recognize when something might go wrong.

You can say no. This is a powerful word that you can use in many situations. If you are being asked to do something dangerous to you, an actor, other crew members, or something is just plain dodgy, you can say no.

Generally I try not to “tell” an actor to do something, but I try to frame it as a request. Starting with “can you” or “would you mind”, because sometimes my technical request might interfere somehow with their process, or might inhibit some subtle character work they’re doing which I may not even be aware of.

I volunteer creative input as early in the process as I possibly can to gauge whether or not I'll be having fun on the job creatively, or if I'll just be carrying the camera around hitting marks and making the best compositions I can.