Expendables

Expendables

noun | Production & On-Set

Consumable supplies purchased for a film or television production that are used up during the course of shooting and not returned to a rental house or supplier. Expendables are distinct from rental equipment — cameras, lights, and grip hardware are rented and returned; expendables are bought and consumed. They include a broad range of materials used by the grip, electric, camera, and art departments: gaffer tape, gels, diffusion materials, black wrap, tie wire, clothespins (C47s), spike tape, markers, stingers (extension cords), and numerous other consumable items. The expendables budget is a standard line item in every production budget.

Quick Reference

The Explanation: How & Why

Every film production consumes a significant quantity of materials that cannot be recovered, cleaned, and reused — they are literally expended in the course of production. Unlike a camera that is rented, used, and returned, a roll of gaffer tape is used and gone. Unlike an HMI light that is returned to the rental house, the gel placed on that light is cut, attached, heat-degraded over a shooting day, and discarded.

The expendables budget funds these consumable materials. On a large feature film or television series, the combined expendables budget across all departments can be substantial — the grip department alone may go through dozens of rolls of gaffer tape, hundreds of feet of diffusion material, boxes of gels, and extensive quantities of tie wire, black wrap, and sundry hardware over a multi-week shooting schedule.

Common expendables by department:

Grip department:

• Gaffer tape (the essential all-purpose grip and production tape; see Gaffer Tape entry)
• Spike tape (coloured, narrow tape used for marking actor positions on floors)
• Tie wire (thin wire used for securing and rigging equipment)
• Black wrap (thick black aluminium foil used for shaping and blocking light from fixtures)
• C47s / clothespins (used for attaching gels and diffusion to hot lights)
• Stingers (extension cords for distributing power to lights and equipment)
• Zip ties
• Paper tape and cloth tape in various colours

Electric department:

• Colour correction gels (CTB, CTO, CTS — see CTB/CTO/CTS entry)
• Effect gels (colour gels for creative lighting effects)
• Diffusion materials (various densities of frost, silk, and diffusion gel)
• Spare lamps and tubes (for lighting fixtures)
• Electrical tape
• Wire connectors and hardware

Camera department:

• Camera tape (used for labelling magazines, marking lens marks, securing cables)
• Black cloth tape
• Pens and markers for labelling
• Batteries (if consumed rather than recharged)

Art department:

• Paint, primer, and painting materials
• Adhesives and tapes
• Dressing and prop materials that are consumed during production

The expendables kit:

Many experienced gaffers and key grips maintain their own personal "kit" of commonly used expendables, which they bring to productions under a kit rental agreement — the production pays a fee for access to the kit rather than purchasing all these items individually for each production. The kit system is particularly common for smaller productions where the cost of separately purchasing expendables for a short shoot would be disproportionate.

Historical Context & Origin

The category of expendables is as old as film production itself — any production that uses consumable materials has expendables. The formal budget line and departmental management of expendables developed alongside the professionalisation of the industry through the studio era, when systematic cost accounting became standard production practice. The specific items that constitute expendables evolve as production technology changes — LED lighting has reduced some gel expendables as lights become colour-tuneable, but has introduced new categories of consumable materials. The fundamental concept of distinguishing between rental equipment (returned) and consumable supplies (expended) remains constant.

How It's Used in Practice

Scenario 1 -- Pre-Production Purchasing (Gaffer / Key Grip): Before principal photography begins, the gaffer and key grip estimate the expendables they will need for the production's schedule and submit a budget to the line producer. The gaffer's estimate accounts for the number of shooting days, the complexity of the lighting setups, the number of lighting fixtures in the package, and the types of environments being shot (exteriors requiring gels, interiors requiring diffusion). The approved budget is used to purchase expendables at a professional supply house before production starts.

Scenario 2 -- On-Set Consumption (Gaffer / Best Boy Electric): During a shooting day, the gaffer asks the best boy electric to cut and place gel on several fixtures. Each cut of gel is an expendable consumed. At the end of the day, when the lights are struck, the gel is removed and discarded — it has been heat-degraded from the fixture's warmth and cannot be reused on another fixture cleanly. The next day's setup may require fresh gel. The running tally of gel consumed informs the best boy's decisions about reordering.

Scenario 3 -- Budget Management (Line Producer): A production's expendables budget has been set at $2,500 for the grip and electric departments combined for a ten-day shoot. The key grip and gaffer track their expendable consumption against this budget. At day six, they are running ahead of pace. The key grip identifies ways to reduce waste — carefully cutting gels to exact sizes rather than using full sheets, reusing diffusion that is still clean, and rationing gaffer tape on setups where it will not be visible.

Usage Examples in Sentences

"The expendables order goes out tonight. Check the list against what we have in the truck and flag anything we are short on."

"Gels are expendables — once they go on a hot light, they are done. Budget for replacement every few days on a long shoot."

"The kit rental includes most of the small expendables. The production buys the bulk gels and diffusion separately."

"On a ten-day shoot, you go through more gaffer tape than you think. It is always the first thing to run short."

Common Confusions & Misuse

Expendables vs. Rental Equipment: Rental equipment (cameras, lenses, lights, grip hardware) is rented from a facility house, used, and returned in the same condition it was received. Expendables are purchased, consumed, and not returned. The distinction is fundamental to production budgeting — rental costs are driven by the equipment's daily or weekly rate; expendables costs are driven by the quantity consumed.

Expendables vs. Props / Set Dressing: Props and set dressing items that are consumed or destroyed during production (a prop bottle that is smashed, a costume that is deliberately damaged) are sometimes called expendables in the art department context. Technically, production expendables refers specifically to the grip, electric, and camera departments' consumable supplies. Art department consumables are typically budgeted separately under the art department budget.

Related Terms

• Gaffer Tape -- One of the most-consumed expendables on any production; the grip department's universal adhesive tool
• Gel -- Colour correction and effect gels are a primary electric department expendable
• Diffusion -- Diffusion materials (frost, silk, etc.) are a primary electric department expendable for softening light sources
• CTB/CTO/CTS -- The colour correction gel families that constitute a significant portion of electric expendables
• Grip -- The department that manages and consumes the largest volume of expendables on most productions

See Also / Tools

The Shot List Generator helps predict expendables consumption — a detailed shot list showing the number of setups, lighting configurations, and location changes allows the gaffer and key grip to estimate expendable quantities more accurately before production begins.