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Good evening ladies and gents, I just came back from my C&G BS:7671 18th Edition exam and realised that I'm still missing some information regarding the legal requirements to call oneself a lighting designer/gaffer/spark in the UK. I thought maybe it would be a good idea to open a thread about these details especially here where(UK) you cannot just decide overnight that you want to be a gaffer but actually need to get qualified. My questions are What are the minimum requirements to call yourself a Spark or taken seriously as one? (besides BS:7671, I heard that also NA7909(3) is recommended to get things started) Do you need to get certified as an electrician to even begin your journey towards becoming a gaffer? In your experience as a gaffer, which qualifications/courses you absolutely had to get to be part of larger productions? Can you be part of an union if you are not fully certified as an electrician? (e.g. BECTU) How far can you wing it as an unofficial gaffer? (uncertified) Which is the point where the law prevents you from working on set no matter your experience? Thank you for your time and hope other users will find this helpful ^__^ Best, TheDragon

Boa Solutions Inc. 222 Islington Ave, unit 13 Etobicoke , ON M8V3W7 Open by app't, to suit production schedules, 24/7/365, but generally there 10am-8pm M-F, unless a booking is happening earlier. Website and pricelist going through huge update, and will all be at http://www.boa.solutions . Before that, please contact me for gear availibility / suggestions, and go to http://www.boastudios.com for the studio spaces I rep. Hi, I am Mir Lada, a Lighting Designer / Gaffer / Grip / Production Still Photographer that is owner / operator of this boutique motion and still production equipment rental house in Etobicoke (west end of Toronto), in one of Toronto's film hubs. Clients come back to me because of my practical and creative problem-solving, advice, and being able to realistically accommodate any budget and any level of filmmaker. Often, after dealing with me for figuring out gear, they will create the opportunity for me to come on board as crew, which then makes things extra easy for them, since I am completely dealing with and taking responsibility for the packing, transport, setup, operation, strike, delivery back, and check-in of the gear to accomplish the look they want. The 4000 sf warehouse space I recently moved has 16' ceilings, 20' wide hallways, adn huge truck docks, is currently still being set up, between shoots and tests, and will be divided half for rental gear storage and half as a technical studio / test facility. That means it has very basic client amenities / creature comforts, but a lot of assets and capability to accomplish a wide range of small to medium shoots at a reasonable price. Perfect for when what is in front of the camera is more important than the style of the facility. Great for music videos, small films, commercials, etc. Standing sets include wall flats, and many installed cloth cycs, including 90' white, 78' chroma green, 60' black, 30; chroma blue, and 8x8 Chromatte system. Power is 200A x 3 phase cam-lok, plus 175A single phase house power. Facility is lit with 1k cyc lights and features a 17x10 overhead lightbox with 10k tungsten and 5k daylight output. I also have a 1 ton van for location work, as well as a good truck rental service nearby, where I can roll in all my mobile carts, shelves, etc to create an up to 5 ton lighting and grip truck solution for location work. I also rep a 1750 sf studio right above me, owned by a DP, with a 30'x 10' hard cyc. Spaces can be combined for same production. Lighting includes, with often multiples on-hand (over 500 lighting fixtures): Arri L7-C Arri Locaster 1x1 LED's Mole Biax KinoFlo 12k fresnel HMI 6k fresnel HMI 4k fresnel HMI 2.5k fresnel HMI 1.2k fresnel HMI 575w fresnel HMI 200w fresnel HMI 6/12k PAR 4k PAR 2.5k PAR 1.2k PAR 800w PAR 575w PAR 400w PAR 200w PAR 1.2k Profoto bare bulb 1.2k soft 575w flood 270w sungun 200w sungun Of course, hundreds of tungsten fixtures from 100w to 10k, including 6K Barger Baglite, 10' Jumbrella. I also carry a wide variety of practical bulbs, stringers, non-LED christmas lights, etc. Grip up to 20'x30' frames and rags, 28x78 digital green screen, 14'x30' black, 90' x 16' bleached seamless muslin, plus many smaller solutions. Besides a very broad and complete arsenal of motion lighting and grip, I have some more basic camera, sound, lens, and camera support gear available. 5DIII, 7DII, 5DII, 60D, D7000, FZ1000, and dozens of the most respected Canon, Nikon, Sigma, and Tamron lenses: 14mm f2.8, 14mm T3.1 cine, 16-35mm f2.8 L, 16-35mm f4 IS, 17mm TS-E, 24mm TS-E, 35mm f1.4 ART, 35mm T1.5 cine, 50mm macro, 50mm f1.4 ART, 70-200mm f2.8 IS, 85mm T1.5 cine, 85mm f1.2IIL, 100mm f2.8 macro, 135mm f2. 300mm f4 IS, 1.4xII, Tamron 150-600mm f5-6.3, Tamron 2x, full cine rig, 7" monitor, Sennheiser & Rode mics, Axis Dolly, Portable platform dolly and rubber track, doorway dolly, 8/12 crane, several good sticks and fluid heads, Manfrotto Fig Rig, etc. If you or anyone you know has time, but limited budget, but needs gear, while I am setting this place up, I am looking to barter with experienced people to help me, in exchange for equipment rental credit.