Grips are in huge demand within the booming TV and film industry, yet female grips are under-represented across the sector.
But for German-born trainee grip Nele Wöhlk there is “nothing I would rather do”.
Although she did a BA in multimedia production in northern Germany’s Kiel University of Applied Sciences before doing a ScreenSkills-endorsed MA in Film at Edinburgh Napier University, Nele did not know what grips did until she began looking at the National Film and Television School (NFTS)’s courses early in 2020.
At first she was interested in cameras and lighting, but during discussions with the NFTS Nele learnt about grips and became fascinated by their work.
“I got really excited. It’s a role that people don’t really know about. There’s so much to it that people aren’t aware of, such as the recces and problem-solving,” says Nele.
That led to her applying for and being accepted on the grips course at the UK’s first Centre of Screen Excellence in Yorkshire.
Launched by ScreenSkills in partnership with the BFI, awarding National Lottery funds as part of the Future Film Skills strategy, the NFTS and Screen Yorkshire, the centre is designed to help build talent in the nations and regions.
Nele was also awarded a scholarship, which she says, “helped hugely”.
Just a couple of weeks into the six-month course, the UK went into its first lockdown so training moved to virtual learning.
As they couldn’t work with much equipment to begin with, Nele and her classmates were taught other important lessons such as set etiquette and health and safety rather than specific grip training.
But after a break for the summer, more on-site teaching and hands-on training was able to happen in September and October before they graduated with a UK Film and TV Craft Certificate in Grip.
Nele explains: “The course was supposed to run for six months from March to September, including six weeks of work placement, which obviously didn’t happen due to coronavirus.
“However, they split up the blocks of teaching and we had great training from experienced key grips David Holliday and David Cadwallader; it was invaluable. Also Dave Holliday put me in touch with another female grip who passed me on to a job for two days on a commercial just after I finished my course.”
Most of Nele’s course mates are already in work, as is Nele, who has just finished working as a trainee grip on Invasion for Apple TV, which she says is, “hugely exciting”.
To any women thinking of becoming a grip, Nele has this advice: “Do it! It’s not something only guys can do.
“You need to know it’s physical but there are other elements to it too. It’s an interesting job and there are so many things you can put together. Plus, it’s satisfying to see how things work out and how you can make things possible.
“The director says, ‘I want to go from here to here’ and you say, ‘I will make it work somehow’. There are a lot of challenges but it’s not a job that’s limited to gender.”
UPDATE: Since then, Nele joined new BBC drama, Chloe, moving to Bristol in March 2021 for its production in the South West. She followed that with work as a daily on upcoming Disney fantasy drama, Willow, ITV period drama Sanditon and BBC’s forthcoming comedy thriller, Am I Being Unreasonable, all based in the South West or Wales. Between those productions, Nele worked for six weeks on the London production of The Baby (HBO/Sky) in September and October 2021.