Apple Boxes are wood

Wood

Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

en box

Box

Box describes a variety of containers and receptacles for permanent use as storage, or for temporary use often for transporting contents. The word derives from the Greek πύξος , "box, boxwood"....

es of varying sizes with holes on each end used chiefly in film production. These boxes are specialized pieces of equipment belonging to the grip

Grip (job)

In the U.S. and Canada, grips are lighting and rigging technicians in the filmmaking and video production industries. They constitute their own department on a film set and are directed by a key grip. Grips have two main functions...

 department, and should not be confused with simple crates or other boxes.

Uses

As one of the most ubiquitous and useful pieces of equipment on a film set, Apple Boxes are used for anything that needs to be propped up or supported temporarily. They can be used to prop up furniture and light stands, for leveling camera dolly

Camera dolly

A camera dolly is a specialized piece of filmmaking and television production equipment designed to create smooth camera movements . The camera is mounted to the dolly and the camera operator and focus puller or camera assistant, usually ride on the dolly to operate the camera...

track, or to provide temporary seats, workbenches, or stepladders.

Often the need arises to make an actor appear taller, either because of their height, or to fit with the composition of a particular shot. In this use Apple Boxes are jokingly referred to as "Man Makers".

Apple boxes were used in the olden days for storage. They would have a forward opening in the box and it could be used as a double storage device for small necessary things.

Sizes

Full Apple (also referred to as just an "Apple Box") 8"×20"×12"

Half Apple 4"×20"×12"

Quarter Apple 2"×20"×12"

Pancake (Eighth Apple) 1"×20"×12"

Apple Box Sizes vary somewhat depending on manufacturer, but all sizes are designed to be fractions of the "Full Apple" size. Thus two Half Apples exactly equal the size of a Full Apple, two Quarters equals one Half, and two Pancakes equal one Quarter. This modular design is often critically important as many applications require mixes of sizes.

Position

Often when a Grip is placing an Apple Box others are lifting something heavy to put on top of it, thus arose the need for terms describing what position the Apple Box should be placed in (i.e. which side of the Apple Box should be placed face-down). It is rare that these terms are used for anything other than the "Full Apple" size.

LA: Positioned so the Apple Box is resting on its largest side. 8" tall for a full apple.

New York: Positioned so the Apple Box is tallest, 20" high.

Texas: Positioned so the Apple Box is on its longest narrow side, 12" high.