Craft Services: Role and Responsibilities on a Film Set

On a film set, craft services provide everyone involved in production with snacks and beverages. Since filming often takes place around the clock and in between normal mealtimes, a well-stocked craft services table provides workers with a quick snack break between hot meals. A good crafty table can also play a role in maintaining morale among cast and crew members on set.

In 1960s Los Angeles, the feature film industry developed specialized roles to replace miscellaneous duties that production assistants once performed on movie sets. To stay on tight schedules, Hollywood filmmakers needed a way to keep the cast and film crew energized and productive during long workdays on set—enter, craft services.

Currently, craft services is a union position that the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) represents. Originally, crafties were intended to serve other union crafts, such as makeup artists or background actors. Today, however, it is typical for non-union cast and crew to enjoy some bagels or fresh fruit between sit-down meals as well.

Craft services and catering operations are both entities responsible for providing food and drinks in certain situations; however, there are some similarities and differences you can consider between the two:

• Size: A catering service is generally a larger operation than craft services, as most catering companies are equipped to serve complete meals to potentially hundreds of attendees at a large event. Although some film sets can involve many individuals, the craft services team usually provides only snack-level foods and therefore doesn’t need to be such a full-scale operation.
• Food choices: The craft services table generally offers snacks, beverages, and other refreshments that you can grab quickly and enjoy between your work on set. By comparison, catering services are capable of serving potentially hundreds of cold or hot meals at an event.
• Location: The craft service people are usually found in closer proximity to the set so that quick snacks will be readily available to the actors, directors, and other crew members. In contrast, a catering service requires significant space for the equipment necessary for serving warm or cold dishes and will therefore be in a location some distance from the set.
• Practicality: When assistant directors call for a meal break, a full-service catering company is typically better equipped to provide substantial full meals. However, certain factors may change this dynamic—for instance, location. For example, for a low-budget music video shoot in a remote desert location, the cost of bringing caterers out for the day might not make sense. In that case, the responsibility of providing full meals to the production crew would likely fall on craft services.

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