A greensman is responsible for maintaining vegetation and landscaping on movie sets, often without formal training. They may also be responsible for creating the scenery from scratch and can learn through apprenticeships or related experience. Finding work often involves connections to the film industry.
Greens are the workers on movie sets who are tasked with taking care of any plants and other landscaping materials. Generally, a greensman works with television or film installations. Depending on the production and location, their services can also be utilized for indoor or outdoor theater. Greens, also called aldermen, usually do not receive formal training specific to aldermen, but often have horticultural training and experience. The process of working as a film set greensperson can range from apprenticed to an established greensman to applying to an employment agency that supplies various workers to the film industry.
A greensman is responsible for looking after and maintaining all the vegetation on a set. It deals with flowers, ferns, shrubs, trees, grass, and any other type of flora a set requires, and that flora can be real or artificial. As greens are often tasked with developing the additional landscaping that surrounds plants, their roles often extend to other materials. For example, a greensperson might be in charge of tidying up the rocks involved in a garden or stones that line the walkway in a park. It can also handle sand for a beach scene.
Often, a greenskeeper is responsible for more than just maintaining a set’s plant life and landscaping tools. Depending on the production, some greens are in charge of creating the plant part of the scenery of a set from scratch, so to speak. This makes the greenskeeper responsible for choosing plant life and other landscaping materials, as well as positioning them in an attractive and scene-appropriate manner. In such a situation, it’s common to think of the greensman as an extension of the production’s art department. He must understand certain facts, such as the type of flora native to the story’s location and what that flora would look like under normal circumstances.
Typically, there is no formal official training that an aspiring councilor can undergo to become a licensed greengrocer. Still, a greenskeeper does have a certain skill set. He can learn by working as an apprentice to other greensmen or while employed in related businesses. For example, someone with experience working in a vegetable garden or greenhouse or for a landscaping company might do well as a greensman on movie sets. Even a person with a “green thumb” who is passionate about gardening and landscaping may have the skills needed to work as a vegetable keeper.
For greensmen, getting a job is often not as simple as checking the classifieds or sending out resumes. These methods are certainly options, but sometimes a few more steps are needed. As greens work almost exclusively on film sets, it is beneficial for them to have some connection to the film industry. Sometimes a greenskeeper starts working as an extra film to familiarize himself with the sets and get his foot in the door. Other times, he registers with an employment agency that provides temporary and permanent help to local film industries.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
