Apple Box
Definition
An Apple Box is a sturdy, hollow wooden box manufactured in four standard sizes: full, half, quarter, and pancake (the thinnest). They are one of the most versatile pieces of equipment on a film set, used by the grip department for an enormous variety of tasks. They can be used to raise the height of an actor, to level a camera on uneven ground, to support lighting equipment, or simply as a seat for crew members between takes. The name is believed to derive from the fact that they were originally used to transport apples.
Contextual Usage
A shorter actor is being filmed in a two-shot with a taller co-star. The director of photography asks the grip, "Can we get a full apple box under [the actor] to even out the eyelines? And put a pancake under the camera leg on the left — the floor is slightly uneven."
About this section
Production — or "principal photography" — is the phase in which the film or video is actually shot. It is the most visible and, typically, the most expensive phase of the entire process. Every day on ...
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