Behind the Lens

5.1A Twisty Tale: A Few Key Knots

And now for something completely different…

Here’s a topic I’ve never touched on before— ropes and knots. Yup, ropes and knots!

This one reaches back to my days as a theater rigger and extends into my second passion (other than filmmaking): sailing. Over the years, the knowledge and ability to tie good knots has gotten me out of many jams and saved the day more times than I can count. It’s a lot more than just wrapping two ends of a rope together—it’s an understanding of how putting bends and twists in ropes reduces the working load; it’s knowing elastic limits and stress loads and it’s knowing what knot is ...