When shooting, there will be times when rigging a camera can become necessary. Perhaps its to get a great shot from a difficult angle or because the camera needs to be left in place. In these cases, you’ll want to turn to some safety standards for rigging your gear.

  • Cardellini Clamps This jaw-style clamp is essential due to its adaptability. It can be used to clamp onto round, square, or rectangular tubing as well as onto flat objects.
  • Mafer Clamps This style of clamp is designed to take a lot of pressure. It works well for dealing with irregular shaped objects (and often has a rubberized grip inside).
  • Flexarms These articulating arms let you create a rigid arm to hold items in place. Using thumb-screw locks, then can be tightened down. They usually need to be combined with a Grip Head to be useful.
  • Grip Head The grip head allows for pins and other grip equipment to be joined. Notched holes can hold pins while a system of teeth let the head rotate when released and lock tightly when tightened.
  • Carabiners and Safety Chains These metal loops can quickly lock into place. When combined with safety chains, you create an extra level of safety if your grip gear fails.
  • Safety Cones When shooting at ground level a set of small safety cones helps people spot equipment. You can often pick up small sets at sporting good stores.

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One of my favorite places for grip gear is FilmTools out of Hollywood.

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