Film crew hire/London/Hair and make-up
Hire a hair and make-up artist in London. Camera-ready, and kept that way until wrap.
Hair and make-up artists for London shoots: boardroom interviews in the City, podcast sets at Canary Wharf, adverts on a cove in Park Royal. Booked from our office on City Road, they work to the camera, not the mirror, and keep every look the same until wrap. £398 a day, paid to the artist in full.
- 54 five-star Google reviews
- 2 hrs for our team to read your brief, in working hours
- £10m employers’ liability on every crew member we book
- 1,400+ of our freelance crew live in and around London
Photos: Christian Agbede, Rhamely, Bright Eliya, hessam nabavi and Joel Filipe
The role
What a hair and make-up artist does on your shoot
A hair and make-up artist (HMUA, or just HMU on a call sheet) gets everyone in front of the camera looking like themselves on a good day, then keeps them that way: powder between takes, flyaways, collars, and the shine that creeps back under the lights.
On a brand film or an advert they build a look to a brief. On an interview day the work is meant to go unnoticed, which is the point. We crew hair and make-up for the camera: film, TV, video and stills. Not weddings.
A lot of London’s interview work happens in someone else’s building: a City tower, a floor at Canary Wharf, a hospital boardroom on the Fulham Road. The artist needs a table, a mirror and a plug near the set, and their name on the security list.
- Made up for the camera. Products and techniques that read true on a 4K sensor. The test is the monitor, not the mirror.
- The same look all day. Continuity photos of every look, so day two matches day one.
- Contributors at ease. Ten minutes in the chair is often where a nervous contributor settles.
- Every skin tone and hair type. Tell us who’s on camera and we’ll match the artist to the cast.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Their own professional kit: foundations, powders, brushes and hair tools
- Hair and make-up for your contributors or cast, to the brief
- Checks and touch-ups between every set-up
- Continuity photos of each look
- Brushes cleaned between people, and single-use applicators
On top, each on its own line
- A daily kit fee: £25 on our last London booking
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote, kit included
- Wigs, prosthetics and special effects materials, priced to the brief
- The Congestion Charge and parking, at cost, if the artist drives the kit into central London
- Travel outside Greater London, at cost
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in London.
Two ways to book
Crew hire or full production: who’s the producer of record?
One question sets the price: who’s the producer of record? Book an artist for your shoot, or have us take the whole London production on, wardrobe and all.
Crew hire
You run the shoot.
10% + 2% booking fee and insurance, on everything we book for you: crew, kit and travel.
We do
- Find, book and brief the crew, and pay them
- Book kit, travel and hotels too, if you want them
- Send the full price before anything is booked
- One person to call all day
- Employers’ liability for the crew we book, and insurance on kit we hire in
You do
- Run the shoot, or your producer does
- The plan, the schedule and the call sheet
- The location, its permission and its public liability
- Responsibility for the production: you’re the producer of record
What the 2% insures: employers’ liability for every crew member we book, and the kit we hire in for you. Nothing else on the shoot. A large kit rental may need extra insurance, as its own line on the quote.
Full production
We’re the producer of record.
15% + 5% production fee, plus insurance and contingency, on the whole production budget. Quoted as a production.
We do
- Our producer plans it with you and runs the day
- Locations, permits, kit, studio, travel and hotels, booked and paid in our name
- Insurance for the whole shoot, public liability included, plus the risk assessment and the call sheet
- One contract and one invoice, so overseas teams need no UK company
You do
- The creative calls
- Signing off the plan and the budget
What the 5% pays for: our production insurance across the whole shoot, £10m public liability included, and the contingency.
Not sure which you need? If your own producer or director will run the day, it’s crew hire. If you want us to take the production on, it’s a full production quote.
On the day
A day with a hair and make-up artist, call to wrap
An interview day with four contributors in a City office. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:30 Sign in Names checked at reception, passes issued, the kit up the goods lift with the camera team’s.
- 07:45 Set up the station A table, a mirror, good light and a plug, out of shot: in an office, usually the meeting room next door.
- 08:30 First contributor in the chair 15 to 20 minutes for natural grooming: skin evened out, shine down, hair and brows tidy. Longer for a presenter or a full look.
- 09:15 Camera check The look checked on the monitor with the DOP, under the real light.
- 09:30 Through the takes Beside the monitor, watching. Powder, flyaways and collars between set-ups, and a continuity photo of every look.
- 13:00 Lunch An hour. Lips and powder back on before the first set-up after.
- 14:00 The afternoon contributors The same again. A senior contributor between meetings may give you ten minutes, so the artist works to their diary.
- 18:30 Wrap Make-up off for anyone who wants it, the kit packed, and out through the loading bay before the building locks up.
As a rough guide, one artist can groom six to eight interview contributors in a day. For full looks, presenters or a big cast, book two.
Which kind
Which kind of hair and make-up do you need?
What it’s for decides who we book. Times in the chair are per person, as a rough guide.
Natural grooming Interviews, corporate and documentary 15–20 min
Even skin, no shine, tidy hair and brows. Nobody watching should be able to tell.
Best for interviews, testimonials, leadership films and conference speakers.
Presenter and broadcast Talking to camera, all day 30–45 min
Built to last under lights for hours, and checked between every take.
Best for presenters, podcast hosts, and anyone carrying a piece to camera.
Beauty and commercial Adverts, brand films and product shots 45–90 min
A designed look to a brief and a mood board, with close-ups that hold up at 4K.
Best for adverts, brand films, and beauty or fashion products.
Styled hair When the hair is the point 45–90 min
Hair styled to a look with heated tools, extensions or wigs, often alongside a wardrobe stylist.
Best for fashion and campaign shoots. Stylists are in our props and wardrobe guide for London.
Period and character Drama, reconstructions and heritage films 1–2 hours
Period hair, wigs, facial hair and ageing, researched to the era and the character.
Best for drama and reconstructions. Costume Studio on Balls Pond Road hires wigs as well as costume.
Special effects and prosthetics Wounds, ageing and casualty make-up From 1 hour
Prosthetic pieces, blood, bruising and casualty simulation, made and tested before the shoot.
Best for drama, and safety and training films. Book it early: pieces are made to order. A re-created crime on a London street: tell the Met Police Film Unit first.
What it’s for
What people book hair and make-up for in London
City and Canary Wharf interviews
Leadership films in towers where everyone signs in, and the work should go unnoticed.
Overseas productions
A US or European team flies in with its director and DP, and books the rest of the crew here.
Podcasts and presenters
Hosts and guests touched up between blocks under studio light.
Brand films and adverts
A look that has to match across two or three days on a cove in Park Royal or Acton.
Stills on the same day
Headshots or campaign photos alongside the film, the look carried across both.
Recent work
Hair and make-up on our London jobs
Crew hire · Canary Wharf · Oct 2024
A podcast set on the 48th floor
A US media agency recorded two podcast-style panels on Level 48 of One Canada Square, day-hired through Canary Wharf Group, on three cameras: a host and one guest, then the host and two more. Call was 6am, filming 9 to 12. One hair and make-up artist for the host and three guests, and every crew name, the artist’s included, went to reception for a security badge.
Crew hire · Chelsea · Nov 2023
Hospital interviews for a US production
Swanson Studios, a US production company, filmed three days of talking heads in November 2023. The London day, 30 November, was in the main boardroom at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, with senior clinicians and managers in the chair. We crewed it, hair and make-up included. The call sheet’s note: parking a challenge, loading bay accessible.
Before you book
Things to know
The day
- 11 hours, including an hour for lunch.
- Overtime at card rates, agreed with you before it happens.
- In a City or Canary Wharf building, the artist’s name goes on the security list with the crew’s.
Before the day
- Tell us about allergies and skin sensitivities when you book; we pass them on.
- Contributors arrive with clean, moisturised skin, hair as they usually wear it, and the clothes on a hanger.
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the artist.
- 50% by card when you book, 50% on receipt of the final rushes.
- Every line on the quote: day rate, booking fee, kit, travel.
- Cancellation terms are on every quote.
What our insurance covers
- Employers’ liability for the artist we book: £10m.
- Kit we hire in for you is insured. A large kit rental may need extra insurance, as its own line on the quote.
- Nothing else on a crew hire. Public liability, the location and your own kit stay with you, and your venue will want your certificate. When we’re the producer of record, our policy covers the shoot.
- London asks for its own figures: £5m public liability for the boroughs and the Royal Parks, £10m for TfL and Canary Wharf. On a crew hire that certificate is yours; on a full production, ours.
£398 a day
APA/Bectu card benchmark: £341–398 a day.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £398 |
| Kit fee | £25 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £42.30 |
| Insurance, 2% | £8.46 |
| One day, before travel | £473.76 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the artist we book. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the artist.
- 1,400+ crew living in and around London
- 50% by card at booking, 50% on the final rushes
- Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours
Or call us on 07412 543822.
Reviews
What clients say about our crews
Straight from our Google Business Profile.
Book hair and make-up in London.
Tell us how many people are on camera, the look, and where you’re shooting. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on 07412 543822.
Check availability
The whole crew
Every role in London, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our day rates in London, paid to the crew member in full:
Production 06
- Director From £500
- Producer From £450
- Production manager £504–627
- 2nd AD £355–448
- Production assistant £400
- Runner £245
Camera 07
- DOP From £850
- Camera operator £529–656
- Focus puller £461–575
- Clapper loader £355–448
- Steadicam operator From £950
- Gimbal operator £529–656
- Drone operator From £750
Data and playback 02
- DIT £527
- Video playback £334–518
Sound 01
- Sound recordist £550
Hair, make-up and costume 02
- Hair and make-up This page £398
- Costume £519–694
Art department 02
- Art director £675–878
- Set builders £341–512
Post-production 01
- Editor From £350
How our rates work: crew rates in London. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in London.
Production support
Everything around the crew
Hair and make-up rarely comes alone. Wardrobe, a studio, a room to spare: each gets its own line on the quote, or use the London guides.
02
Locations and permits
Borough film services, the Royal Parks, TfL, the private estates and the drone zones.
Questions
Hair and make-up in London: questions
How much does a hair and make-up artist cost in London?
Our hair and make-up artists are £398 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, paid to the artist in full. The APA/Bectu card sets £341–398. A daily kit fee (£25 on our last London booking) goes on top, then our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance on the lot: £473.76 + VAT for the day. Our rates are national: London costs the same.
What does the insurance on a crew booking cover?
Two things. Employers’ liability for every crew member we book, up to £10m, and insurance on the kit we hire in for you. That’s what the 2% pays for. A large kit rental may need extra insurance, as its own line on the quote. The 2% doesn’t insure the rest of the shoot: public liability, the location, your own kit and anything you book yourself stay with you, because you’re the producer of record. If you’d rather we were, it’s quoted as a full production, and our insurance covers the whole shoot, public liability included.
Can a make-up artist work on a London street shoot without a permit?
Often, if the crew stays small. In the boroughs FilmFixer runs, such as Camden, Islington and Southwark, five people or fewer with 1.5m of pavement left clear can usually film without a permit; Westminster allows five or fewer, handheld only, with 2m clear. The artist counts as one of the five. See locations and permits in London.
Can you put a make-up artist on a shoot in a Royal Park?
Yes, with permission. The Royal Parks count cast and crew together, so the artist is part of the number that sets the fee: 1 to 10 people in the central parks is £1,160 + VAT for up to four hours (checked October 2026), with at least five working days’ notice. See filming in the Royal Parks.
Do I need hair and make-up for a corporate interview?
Usually, even a light touch. Under lights skin shines, and a 4K camera sees it. If the budget is tight, book one artist and schedule your contributors back to back: six to eight in a day.
Where do London make-up artists buy their kit?
Our artists bring their own. For something specific, Screenface in Covent Garden is a professional make-up supplier with a shop. Our props and wardrobe guide has costume and wig hire too.