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Rigging Supervisor

Leads lighting/power pre-light and rigging before the shooting unit arrives: truss, motors, house power and safe temporary infrastructure on UK stages and locations.

Duties

• Read the call sheet and sides before arriving
• Maintain radio/set etiquette and H&S
• Hand over notes/kit status at wrap
• Plan and supervise rigs
• Safety on scaffolds/trusses
• Coordinate with construction and locations

Reports to

Gaffer (sometimes Best Boy on smaller shows)

Works with

Rigging Electricians, Grips/scenic riggers, venue LX, Locations, Construction

Career path

Chargehand → Rigging Supervisor → Rigging Gaffer

Day to day

Walk venues with the Gaffer; mark truss/pick points; supervise motor hangs and distro; sign off safe energising; hand over to Best Boy/shooting crew; plan derig.

Call times

Lighting/pre-light call is often earlier than general unit; shoot sparks usually match unit call (commonly 07:00–08:00 on UK drama) and wrap after camera unless a lighting wrap is called. Night exteriors flip the day — always read the call sheet header.

What to wear

Matte blacks; steel toe-caps or production-approved boots; gloves for hot lamps; hard hat on rigs; hi-vis when Locations require; weather layers for UK exteriors; radio pouch.

Tools & kit

Rigging hardware knowledge, torque tools, radios, plans.

Tips

Confirm title, agreement, budget band, prep/wrap and kit fee on the deal memo before accepting. We never invent Bectu figures — check bectu.org.uk ratecards / your branch.

Software

• Lightwright
• CAD viewers (DWG/PDF)
• Notion / OneNote for rig notes (freemium)
• Lightwright / Vectorworks / CAD plot PDFs
• Shared call sheets (StudioBinder / Yamdu / PDF)
• ShotDeck / PureRef for look refs
• DMX desk familiarity (ETC Eos, grandMA basics)
• ChatGPT / Claude for quick gel/CCT notes (verify on set)

Bectu rate cards for this role are in the app.

Related roles

Lighting Technician (Spark)

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