Franziska Eichler

During this time I was working on film sets across Germany and a few international shootings, as one of Germany’s youngest females in this position.

All shot on 16mm or 35mm film, usually on realtime locations like churches, hospitals, airports, subway platforms, cemeteries, residential buildings, woods.. surely an exciting but also physically demanding time.

During a time when movies and TV series were shot on real film, the clapper loader (or material assistant) was responsible for the film material & camera accessories.

The duties of the Clapper Loader / 2nd Camera Assistant include:

• Driving, loading, unloading and maintaining the camera van
  
• Managing camera equipment and assisting with camera setups
• Loading and unloading the film material into the magazines
• Clapping of the flap
• Bookkeeping of incoming and outgoing material & consumption
• Maintaining contact with the copying plant