In filmmaking, the Best Boy is either the head assistant to the Gaffer or the Key Grip, but in some cases, "head assistant" to whomever needs a "head assistant" in the crew.

About

The Best Boy is the ultimate of all assistants. If one faction of the crew (I.e. lighting) needs an extra hand so that the Gaffer can do his job more effectively, well, the Best Boy is there to lend a hand, in which case he might be called the "Assistant Chief Lighting Technician". Maybe a Key Grip needs an assistant. The Best Boy would become the Best Boy Grip. In other words, the Best Boy has become a position described as a "jack of all trades", and an invaluable one at that.

History

The term "Best Boy" several different origins from whence it came. One such explanation of the term comes from the early days of filmmaking when one shorthanded department (I.e. grip) needed to borrow and extra hand from another department (I.e. lighting). The first department, of course, requested the most able or "best boy" from that department to help them out. "Best Girls" didn't exist because it was a male-dominated industry. As a matter of fact, girls filling the Best Boy position are referred as Best Boys.

Another explanation as to the origin of Best Boy comes from time long before the age of film. The English Apprentice system termed the best or first assistants as Best Boys.