Film Jobs Info

The greensperson, traditionally referred to as the ‘greensman’,  is the standard position in the Greens department or possibly the only position on a smaller job where greens is part of construction. Key aspects of  greensman film jobs are extensive use and manufacture of artificial plants and keeping greenery alive on concrete studio floors under powerful lighting and the threat of the crews tramping all over the plants.

On larger jobs the development of a nursery might be required or the growth and sourcing of crops  months in advance. When working on The Last Samurai in New Zealand, the greensperson’s had to plan well in advance for the supply of traditional Japanese apple blossoms and wheat for making thatched rooves. On another production large fields of corn were required for indoor use on a raised platform, and on another fully mature trees are sourced, felled and cast as moulds for the construction of artificial forests indoors over steel armatures. Work can include making swamps, caring for potted plants, moving dirt or supplying drift wood.

The greensperson will typically oversee labourers and assist and consult with other film jobs such as sculptors (who may be carving in polystyrene fake branches) an steel fabricators who are making substructure for a huge tree and require guidance on the proper twists and turns to look authentic.

When on location work may involve the adaptation of existing landscapes or the dressing with greenery of buildings. It may require the removal of planting and care until the restoration so that the location is left in the condition it was found in. A greensman film job is varied and involves more than just greenery, the work extends to other landscape elements such as fences, or road sanding and the ‘greening out’ of unwanted visual elements, particularly on period films – for example a modern satellite dish on an 18th century cottage which will have to be disguised.