Controlled Motion Australia

WELCOME TO Controlled Motion Australia

WWW :http://www.netconnect.com.au/~arthur
E-Mail : arthur@netconnect.com.au
PHONE : +61 015 525655
FAX/PH. :+61 53 689621

Agent : FREELANCERS PROMOTIONS
E-Mail :freeprom@ozemail.com.au Phone : +61 3 95985104
. +61 3 95988269
Fax : +61 3 95970774

HI!!
My name is Arthur Manousakis.
I was born in Greece in 1958. I moved to Australia with my parents in 1969. I lived in Wollongong, Australia till I was 18 and then moved to Melbourne Australia. I now live one hour from Melbourne on a 10 acre property in the mountains near Ballarat. I work in the film industry as a Grip and have done so for 13 years. In that time I have worked on films, tv, ads and quite a number of film clips. Some of my interests include computers, gardening, fishing, reading science fiction and sustainable agriculture. I have 3 children. Two from a previous marriage that are well on the way to being considered grown-ups and definately the last, my beautiful 6 year old daughter, (Jessica) who keeps on fighting me for computer time. My property is in the early stages of development and I hope to incorporate a lot of permaculture ideas into it, in my attempt to turn it into my own idea of paradise in the years to come. I also hope to be able to build numerous dams, as I love water features. I enjoy working in the garden and have a developing vegetable garden and orchard. I also grow a lot of herbs for cooking and medicinal purposes. Fishing is another of my hobbies and has been so for a major part of my life. Since moving to Victoria I have gotten (is that a real word?) heavily into trout fishing. It has definately become one of the major loves of my life. It involves a lot of walking through some of the most picturesque mountain streams, and a getting away from it all and unwinding that even my computer, (to which I am very attached) can not compete with.

GRIP'S MOTTO
IF IT'S DRY SMOKE IT
IF IT'S WET DRINK IT
IF IT MOVES FUCK IT
EVERYTHING ELSE GOES IN THE TRUCK

What is a grip?

This would have to be the most frequently asked work associated question I have to face. Although I have been a GRIP/ASSISTANT-GRIP in the Australian film and television industry for 13 years now and have had to try and answer this particular question countless times, I still don't have a good response to it. One of the problems with answering this question arises from the fact that the job description for GRIPS changes from country to country. To attempt an answer on a global basis would require more time, effort and knowledge than I have at my disposal at the present. Therefore this attempt at an explanation will be relevant to Australia.

The word GRIP stands for General Roustabout In Production and in itself describes some of what the job entails. A grip is the labourer (lumper and dumper) of a film crew. He is also the handyman (jack of all trades), the rigger, the safety Officer (in the absence of one) and generally the brunt of most jokes. The immediate superior of the gripping department is the Director Of Photography (DOP) and/or the Camera Operator. As such the grips main priority is looking after the camera department. However, he can always be relied on to assist or do the job of the lighting assistant, art department, construction and in cetrain cases special effects. In an industry that is heavily dominated by specialists the gripping department usually represents a common link that helps the production process flow smoothly by providing the right kind of help where and when it is needed most. To fulfill all these requirements, a grip needs to be fit and have a certain talent at coming up with solutions to a very wide variety of different problems quickly and efficiently.

As well as all of the above, a grip has his own speciality, which is Controlled Motion. It is a grip's responsibility whenever a camera has to move. Whether that means picking up a camera and tripod from one spot and repositioning it in another, mounting it safely on the branch of a tree, the side of a building, a moving vehicle(car,boat,plane,space shuttle etc.) or moving with actors as they walk down the street. He has to design and/or construct and operate whatever structure or device is necessary to achieve these ends, and most of the time do this with no advance knowledge of what the particular shot would require.

Wow!! Having just read back what I wrote, I think I am going to put my rates up!!!!!!!!!!

It's not the time it takes
to take the take,
but the time between the takes
that takes the time.

They gave us the job
that couldn't be done
and we laughed
as we started to do it

Everything is possible
It just takes time and money

When in trouble
Go in double

If you have any tips or comments, I'd love your input.

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