Lighting & Grip
Film Crew Position: Best Girl
What does a Best Girl do?
The term best girl is an informal but widely used designation for a female crew member filling the role traditionally called best boy electric or best boy grip on a film or television production. In the lighting and electric department, the official union title is Assistant Chief Lighting Technician (ACLT). In the grip department, the equivalent is 2nd Company Grip. The function is identical regardless of the term used: to serve as the principal assistant to the department head — the gaffer in electric, or the key grip in the grip department — managing crew scheduling, equipment inventory, expendables, and set operations.
Although "best girl" is informal and rarely appears on a call sheet or contract, it has been in common use on sets for decades as an affectionate and pragmatic alternative to "best boy" when the person holding the role is a woman. Progressive productions and union contracts increasingly favor the gender-neutral designations ACLT (electric) and 2nd Company Grip, and some productions use Best Person as an umbrella term.
On professional productions — features, television series, and high-budget commercials — the best girl / ACLT is a IATSE Local 728 position (for the electric department) or an IATSE Local 80 position (for the grip department). Both locals operate under collective bargaining agreements that set minimum wages, overtime rules, meal penalties, and turnaround requirements.
Cloud-based production management tools like Saturation.io are increasingly used by best persons and gaffers to track department labor costs, equipment rentals, and expendables against the production budget in real time — replacing the paper-and-spreadsheet workflows that once consumed hours of every production week.
Etymology: Why "Best Boy"?
The origin of "best boy" in film production is not precisely documented, but several credible theories circulate within the industry. The most widely accepted explanation holds that the gaffer would request their most capable or "best" assistant — their best helper — and the shorthand "best boy" stuck. Another theory traces the term to the days of traveling theatrical companies, where the foreman's top apprentice was referred to as the "best boy." Neither origin is confirmed by a single authoritative source, which makes the term's etymology one of the more colorful mysteries of below-the-line craft vernacular.
Whatever its origin, the title carried a gender default that reflected the historical male dominance of the electrical trades and the film industry's below-the-line workforce. As women entered the field in growing numbers from the 1970s onward, crew members began using "best girl" on set. Today, IATSE contracts and many studio productions use the official title ACLT to eliminate the gender assumption entirely while honoring the historical title in informal speech.
The Electric Department Hierarchy
Understanding where the best girl / ACLT fits requires a clear picture of the electric department structure on a mid-to-large production:
Director of Photography (DP) — determines the visual look, lighting intent, and camera strategy
Gaffer (Chief Lighting Technician) — executes the DP's lighting vision, leads the electric department
Best Girl / Best Boy / ACLT (Assistant Chief Lighting Technician) — manages the crew, equipment, and logistics of the electric department
Set Lighting Technicians (SLTs / Electrics) — physically rig, set, and adjust lights under the ACLT's direction
3rd Electric / Generator Operator / Rigging Gaffer — specialized roles on larger productions
Best Girl Electric vs. Best Girl Grip: Two Different Departments
The term "best girl" applies in both the electric department and the grip department. The two are separate and serve different functions. The best girl electric (ACLT) manages the lighting equipment and crew for the gaffer. The best girl grip (2nd Company Grip) manages the grip equipment — dollies, cranes, c-stands, flags, and rigging — for the key grip. A common misconception is that grip and electric are the same department. They share the set but have distinct equipment, union locals, and workflows. The best girl in each department is the department head's right hand, but in entirely different domains.
What role does a Best Girl play?
The best girl electric (ACLT) carries the same full responsibility set as any best boy electric. The role is operational in nature: while the gaffer is working with the DP on lighting decisions, the best girl is managing every logistical element that makes those decisions possible.
Crew Scheduling and Timecards
The ACLT is the department's crew manager. This means building the daily crew call for the electric department — deciding which SLTs are needed on which days based on the shooting schedule and the complexity of the lighting setup planned by the gaffer. On union productions, the ACLT also collects and verifies timecards for the entire electric crew at the end of each day or week. Timecard errors on a union shoot result in penalties, so accuracy is non-negotiable. The ACLT must know the collective bargaining agreement — turnaround minimums, meal penalty triggers, sixth-day and seventh-day premium rules — well enough to prevent violations before they occur.
Equipment Inventory and Truck Management
The electric department operates off one or more lighting trucks, which are essentially rolling warehouses of fixtures, cable, dimmers, and power distribution hardware. The ACLT is responsible for maintaining an accurate inventory of everything on those trucks. Before production begins, the ACLT (often working with the gaffer) develops the equipment package: choosing which lighting fixtures, cable runs, power distribution panels, and specialty items will be rented for the show. During production, the ACLT tracks what is on the truck, what is out on set, what is at a staging area, and what needs to be returned to the rental house at the end of the rental period. Unreturned or damaged equipment comes out of the production budget.
Expendables Ordering
Expendables are the consumable supplies of the electric department: gel filters, diffusion materials, stingers (extension cables), gaffer tape, tie line, clothespins, black wrap, ground fault interrupters, and hundreds of other items used daily on set. The ACLT maintains a running inventory of expendables and places orders — typically from a production-approved vendor — when stock runs low. On a busy shoot, expendables can represent a meaningful line item in the lighting budget, and the ACLT is the gatekeeper for that spend. Over-ordering wastes budget; under-ordering stops the set.
Electrical Safety Compliance
The ACLT shares responsibility with the gaffer for electrical safety on set. This includes confirming that cable runs are rated for the load they carry, that distribution equipment is properly configured, that generators are safely positioned and grounded, and that the crew is following OSHA and production-specific safety protocols. On union shows, the IATSE and producing studios have detailed safety guidelines that the ACLT is expected to know and enforce. Electrical accidents on film sets are rare but catastrophic when they occur — the ACLT's role in preventing them is significant.
Supporting the Gaffer on Set
While the gaffer works directly with the DP on lighting decisions, the best girl is often managing the crew executing those decisions. When the gaffer calls for a specific fixture at a specific intensity, the ACLT ensures the right SLT gets the right equipment to the right location in the right amount of time. On large sets with complex lighting setups, coordinating the movement of a dozen or more electricians and hundreds of meters of cable while the AD is pushing to keep the shooting day on schedule is the core challenge of the ACLT role.
Rigging and Pre-Lighting
On productions with a rigging gaffer and rigging electric crew, the ACLT may coordinate between the shooting crew and the rigging crew to ensure pre-lit sets are ready when principal photography arrives. On smaller productions without a dedicated rigging crew, the ACLT may take a more hands-on role in pre-lighting, doing the work themselves rather than supervising it.
Communication with Production
The ACLT communicates upward to the gaffer and laterally with other department heads and the production coordinator. Equipment requests, labor overages, safety concerns, and schedule conflicts all flow through the ACLT to the appropriate contact. On larger productions, the ACLT may also interface directly with the production accountant regarding equipment rental invoices and expendable receipts. Keeping clean paper — receipts organized, purchase orders matched to invoices — is part of the job that many best boys and best girls underestimate until they have experienced the reconciliation process at wrap.
Do you need to go to college to be a Best Girl?
No college degree is required to become a best girl electric on a professional film or television production. The path into the role is almost entirely built through hands-on experience, union membership, and professional relationships. That said, formal training programs can accelerate entry into the field, particularly for people without existing industry connections.
No Degree Required — But Training Matters
The below-the-line crafts, including the electric department, are historically trade paths rather than academic paths. Gaffers and ACLTs working on studio productions typically entered the field by starting at the bottom — as a production assistant in the electric department or as a day-playing set lighting technician — and worked their way up over years of consistent employment. What matters on a film set is competence, reliability, and crew reputation, not a diploma.
Film School and Vocational Programs
Film schools and vocational programs can be useful entry points, particularly for learning the vocabulary and workflow of the electric department before arriving on a professional set. Schools like the American Film Institute (AFI), New York Film Academy, Full Sail University, and Chapman University all have programs that include production crew training. However, film school does not grant IATSE membership, and it does not substitute for working up through the ranks. Many working ACLTs have no formal film training whatsoever.
Vocational programs in electrical work — licensed electrician training, for example — are valuable for the technical underpinning of the job. Understanding three-phase power, load calculation, electrical codes, and distribution equipment makes a set lighting technician more effective and safer on set, and is a genuine differentiator when competing for better jobs. IATSE Local 728 runs its own training programs for members, including an ACLT Seminar that specifically trains members for the best boy role.
IATSE Local 728 — The Electric Department Union
IATSE Local 728 is the union for set lighting technicians, best boys electric, gaffers, and rigging crews working in Los Angeles on studio features, television series, and high-budget productions. Joining Local 728 is the key credential for working on union productions in the LA market. Membership in IATSE Local 728 typically requires:
Accumulating a set number of hours working on non-union or qualifying low-budget productions
Being vouched for or sponsored by existing union members
Demonstrating competency in the craft
Paying initiation fees and ongoing dues
In other markets, the relevant IATSE local will vary. IATSE Local 52 covers New York; other cities have their own locals. In markets without a strong union presence — much of the Southeast, for example — many productions operate under non-union agreements or lower-budget union contracts.
IATSE Local 80 — The Grip Department Union
For the best girl grip path (2nd Company Grip), the relevant union is IATSE Local 80, which covers grip crews in Los Angeles. The career path mirrors the electric department: start as a grip or swing, build hours, get to know department heads, and work up to key grip or best boy grip over time.
Career Progression in the Electric Department
The typical progression from entry to ACLT in the electric department looks like this:
Production Assistant (Electric) — entry-level support, often non-union, assisting SLTs and fetching supplies
Lamp Operator / 3rd Electric — operating and moving lighting equipment under SLT supervision
Set Lighting Technician (SLT) — full crew member, rigging and operating lighting fixtures on set
Best Boy Electric / Best Girl / ACLT — department manager, crew and equipment lead
Gaffer (Chief Lighting Technician) — department head, creative and technical lead for lighting
The jump from SLT to ACLT is not just a skills leap; it is a shift from doing the work to managing the people doing the work. Many excellent SLTs are not suited for or interested in the ACLT role. Those who are make the transition when a gaffer they have worked with trusts them enough to put them in the chair.
Gender Diversity in Below-the-Line Crafts
Women have historically been underrepresented in the electric and grip departments, which are physically demanding, largely trade-trained, and built on informal hiring networks. IATSE and a number of industry organizations — including Women in Film and the Illuminatrix collective — have worked to increase the visibility and hiring of women in below-the-line craft roles. The term "best girl" carries its own symbolism in this context: it acknowledges that women are doing this work and have been doing it, often without the vocabulary to describe their contributions in the language of the call sheet.
Productions that use the "best person" or "ACLT" terminology signal an intentional step toward inclusive craft vocabulary, though the culture of each department and each production varies enormously. The craft skills required are the same for any person in the role.
What skills do you need to be a Best Girl?
The best girl electric (ACLT) needs a layered skill set that combines technical electrical knowledge, operational management, and interpersonal crew leadership. Below is a breakdown of the core competencies required to perform the role at a professional level.
Electrical and Lighting Knowledge
The ACLT must have a working knowledge of the electrical equipment used on a professional film set. This includes a broad range of lighting fixtures — tungsten fresnels, HMI (hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide) fixtures, LED panels, practical lights, and specialty units — as well as the power distribution equipment that feeds them: distribution boxes, dimmer boards, generator connections, and cable configurations. The best girl does not need to be the most creative lighting mind in the room; that is the gaffer's domain. But she needs to know what every fixture does, how much power it draws, what it weighs, and how it is safely rigged.
Crew Management and Scheduling
Managing a crew of six to twenty or more set lighting technicians requires real organizational discipline. The ACLT builds the department schedule, communicates call times, and coordinates with the 1st AD's office on any schedule changes that affect crew size or timing. When a company moves locations mid-day, the ACLT coordinates which crew members go ahead to the next location, which remain to wrap the current set, and who is on standby. On union shows, these decisions carry financial consequences — travel time, meal penalties, turnaround minimums — so the ACLT must make them quickly and correctly.
Inventory Tracking and Logistics
Equipment inventory management is a daily task. The ACLT tracks every fixture, cable, dimmer, power distribution unit, and specialty item on the electric truck. Production equipment represents significant rental value — a fully outfitted lighting truck for a mid-budget feature can represent $20,000 or more per week in rental cost. The ACLT is responsible for ensuring that equipment is not lost, damaged without documentation, or returned late. Many ACLTs use inventory apps or shared spreadsheets to maintain a running tally; productions that invest in integrated production management software make this significantly easier.
Communication and Interpersonal Skills
The ACLT operates at the intersection of the gaffer (who answers to the DP), the electric crew (who answer to the ACLT), and the production office (which manages the overall schedule and budget). This requires clear, calm, and efficient communication under pressure. On a busy shooting day, the ACLT may receive simultaneous requests from the gaffer, a SLT on another set, the AD, and the production coordinator. Triaging those inputs and responding to the right one first is a skill built over years of set experience.
OSHA Safety Compliance and Electrical Safety
Safety knowledge is mandatory, not optional. The ACLT must be familiar with OSHA electrical safety standards, film industry-specific safety bulletins (published by the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee), and the specific safety requirements of each production. Practical knowledge includes: proper cable management to prevent trip hazards, correct use of ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), safe generator operation and grounding, identifying and managing overloaded circuits, and understanding safe working distances for high-voltage equipment. On IATSE productions, failure to meet safety standards can result in work stoppages and personal liability.
Budgeting and Expendables Management
The ACLT manages the department's day-to-day spend on expendables and minor equipment rentals. This requires enough budget literacy to know when the department is running ahead of or behind plan. On productions using integrated software, the ACLT or gaffer may have direct visibility into the equipment and labor budget in real time. Understanding how purchase orders work, how to route receipts to accounting, and how to flag overages before they become problems is part of the operational management function of the role.
Physical Fitness and Stamina
The electric department is physically demanding work. Film production days regularly run twelve hours or longer, and the electric crew may be lifting, carrying, and rigging heavy equipment for much of that time. The ACLT is not always lifting equipment — that is the SLTs' primary job — but the role requires the physical stamina to be alert and effective across long shooting days, often for weeks or months at a time.
Problem Solving Under Pressure
Film sets are dynamic environments where plans change faster than equipment can be moved. The ACLT needs to be a quick, calm problem solver. When a planned lighting setup turns out to be impractical at the actual location, the ACLT has to help the gaffer figure out the alternative — fast — while simultaneously keeping the crew moving and communicating the change to the rest of the department. Good ACLTs are known for making problems disappear before the director or DP is even aware there was one.
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