The C-Stand

The versatile C-stand is employed on set by the grip department in a variety of rigging situations.

The name comes from the official term "century stand", which in turn comes from the earliest days of filmmaking, when the Sun was the only major source of lighting; reflectors were used to keep the light on actors. The most popular size of reflector was the 100-inch "Century"; a progenitor of today's C-stand was used to hold it up. Source: Wikipedia

The main function of the C-stand is to hold and position things like silks, gels, reflectors and flags in such a way as to modify the light source that is being used on set. The light is thus defused, tinted, bounced or blocked depending upon what is needed. The stand can also be used to hold small lights as well as anything else that might benefit from being held in place.

Videos on proper C-stand use...

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More details off Wikipedia...

The stand is constructed almost entirely of metal and consists of a tripod base, and a riser column with a pin or pin receiver. The legs of most stands are designed to be nested, so many stands can be stacked together in a small space. The stand itself is extendible by a number of risers which allow the stand's height to vary from 40 inches upwards. A "gobo" arm, "gobo" head, fixture or other piece of equipment gets mounted to the pin. The arm and head are easily detachable from the stand, allowing them to be used with the other stands and clamps available to the grip department. All the parts of the stand are loosened and tightened via applied torque.

One leading manufacturer of C-stands is Matthews Studio Equipment; their 1974 design introduced the adjustable parts of the C-stand, greatly increasing the stand's usefulness. Other manufacturers include American Grip, Avenger, Modern Studio Equipment, Mole-Richardson and Norms Grip.


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