From the world of movie production.

You probably think of the motion picture industry as a fairly modern thing, but in reality it’s a pretty old business seeped in all kinds of traditions with its own outdated jargon and words. Titles like “best boy” and “grip” date from the 19th century.

It centers around unions and guilds that guide and protect the members of each type of worker. Directors have their own Directors Guild, writers have theirs, actors are members of the Screen Actors Guild and the majority of hands-on working crew like myself have the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes (IATSE).

No, the word I just typed…Employes…is not a typo. When the union was formed in 1893 that’s how it was spelled. It mainly covered live stage hands and soon after the projectionist who ran the equipment in a movie theatre.

More and more these days, an extra “e” is added. People thought we couldn’t spell.

One of the outdated terms describes my job classification: signwriter.

Originally it meant “sign painter,” but now it entails any kind of making a fake sign as part of a set.

In the Olde Days, a sign writer would be part of the on-set crew. He would be sitting off to the side, brushes and kit at the ready. The only lettering paint he brought was black…and white. The film was the same two colors.

Go on YouTube or wherever and pull up early 20th century movies and compare the look with today. The sets were cheesy and built with ¼” luan plywood. High school plays have a more polished look in modern times.

The director would need a set that was supposed to be an office. He would yell at the signwriter “We need an office door!” and Sam the Signpainter would run over and letter a fake door “OFFICE” in crude block lettering.

Five minutes later… Need a “police station”? Boom!

In the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” as you pull into the fictitious town you pass a sign that says “Bedford Falls.” You see it for just for a few seconds.

A signwriter splashed that onto some plywood.

It’s called an establishing shot, letting you know where you are, then you might move your view to an interior set where the action takes place.

Every film is filled with that kind of shot.

Next time you watch a movie or TV show, count them.

Modern filmwork is much more sophisticated. It may take days to produce an important sign, and research is done by the art directors to make sure that the style is right for the period and realistic. That’s an indication of how much effort and talent was used. It adds to your subconscious mind accepting the reality of the scene. But it’s expensive.

Nothing drives me crazier than to see a movie set in the 1800’s that has a sign cut from computer cut vinyl in a typestyle that wasn’t invented until the 1980s. Mediocre director and/or untalented art director. Or an inadequate budget.

A friend and co-worker of mine went to Mexico where much of “Titanic” was filmed. James Cameron had built a full sized (!) stern of the famous ship that was powered by hydraulics that would lift the huge “ship” straight up in the air, like it was about to go under… people on deck included!

Yes, that was real. There was no big-time CGI in those days.

My buddy was assigned the task of lettering the word “Titanic” on the stern from a high lift. Much research and measuring was done and every effort was made to replicate the real thing.

I would have killed to get that gig even though my fear of heights was legendary, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Thom Caraccio ([email protected]) is a retired musician and retired motion picture scenic artist living in West Palm Beach, Florida who hails from Columbus. He graduated from S.D. Lee High in 1968 and still considers Columbus his real hometown.

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