the motion picture, television and photographic professional in lighting and lighting modification support. Use Using a C-stand safely is a matter of proper technique, and on the job training. When setting and tightening a grip arm, flag or other equipment in the grip head, it is crucial that the gear be set to one side of the grip head such that the weight causes the locking knob to tighten clockwise, or "righty tighty". Failure to follow this rule will cause the weight to slowly loosen the head, eventually dropping the gear altogether. Since a stand is used to hold a piece of gear high above or far off to the side, the base of the stand must be weighed down, commonly with shotbags, sometimes with sandbags. The bag is slung over the top of the tall stand leg so the weight is fully on the stand and not the ground. Types A C-stand is sometimes referred to as a "grip stand". The Grip department always—and sometimes the electrical department—carries C stands for use with lights that don't mount onto baby or junior stands, such as kinos. A "baby C-stand" is only 20 inches at its shortest height. It is nicknamed a "Gary Coleman" or a "Billy Barty" stand in the US. In the UK a short flag stand with stubby legs is called a "shotgun" flag stand (a reference to the stand having been "sawn off"). A C-stand with a removable base is called a C+ stand. The removable base is referred to as a turtle base. The opening at the top of the turtle base is a junior receiver. Turtle bases are great for setting up a light very low to the ground. A C-stand with an upper most leg which is moveable on the vertical axis is called a Stair Leg C-stand or a Sliding Leg C-Stand, as the unit can be placed on a stairway. Also called a Rocky Mountain Leg. A Punky C-Stand is a 20" C-Stand with a smaller base and footprint than the standard 20" size. C-Stands come in multiple sizes: 20", 30", 40", and 60" - the most common sizes are 20" and 40". They may be chrome or black. References Film production Photography equipment