Talk:Gaffer

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How can this definition ever be expanded to an encyclopedia entry? Isn't there a description of all the jobs on a movie set? Wetman 11:52, 15 Feb 2004 (UTC)

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The following paragraph belongs to an article on film lighting equipment, not on the people who operate it:

Different types and wattage of lights are given different names, for example a 1Kw fresnel light is called a "pup" whereas an open faced 1Kw lamp is called a "Blonde". A Gaffer's lighting truck will also contain many different types of stands, clamps and gels.

dramatic 08:22, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Agreed! I thought after I typed it, that it really belongs somewhere else, but thought it usefull enough to leave. Given this is my second Wiki addition there is still some learning to do... Cheers.

[edit] British English

Gaffer may have its roots in 16th Century English, but it is still a commonly used word in Britain for "boss". It is particularly often used by football (soccer) players when referring to the team's manager/coach. Should this article be renamed as something like Gaffer (film crew) and Gaffer be a disambiguation page, with a new page for the common British meaning? This is not to say that the usage of Gaffer in this article is incorrect in Britain. Dancarney 00:07, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

A valid point that should be mentioned at the outset, and not hidden away under "Derivation". I've slightly reorganised this article so that a disambiguation and second article probably aren't needed. ..dave souza, talk 22:44, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

These are two different meanings and should be in separate articles. I agree with Dancarney's suggestion that they should be split and a disambiguation page created. Chardir 15:04, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

If someone wants to do that I've no great objection, though both articles should have a reference to each other in the text as well as referring to other meanings at the disambiguation page, since they're both bosses! ..dave souza, talk 21:08, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Split

Proposal: That this page remains but the Gaffer as an old man or foreman section is moved to a new article Gaffer (foreman) and a Gaffer (disambiguation) page is created with links to these two and Gaffer Tape. Comments please. Chardir 16:32, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

The problem with this is that it gives primacy to a relatively recent term for a boss which is common in the motion picture industry, relegating a longstanding term which remains common in British English usage, thus reflecting a bias towards the US which can occur in the internet. My preference is to keep the two together, but if need be Gaffer could become a disambiguation page for Gaffer (boss) and Gaffer (motion picture). ...dave souza, talk 17:25, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Indeed, the suggestion by Dave souza is probably better than yours Chardir. That way it doesn't give primacy to any of the usages. If I don't hear any complaints about this in the next day or so, I will go ahead and do this.-Localzuk^(talk) 14:27, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

Cool, I'm happy with that. Chardir 14:12, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Surprised that Kate Bush's use of the term, "gaffa," has not yet been discussed here or incorporated into the "gaffer" entry. She describes a metaphysical state of being in the song, "Suspended in Gaffa," released in 1982 from her album, THE DREAMING. Musidora 20:47, 19 November 2006 (UTC)