Film crew hire/London/Production manager
Hire a production manager in London. Bookings, budgets, bays and the hundred things in between.
Production managers for shoots across London, booked from our office on City Road. They book the crew, kit, vans and hotels, chase the borough permits, bay suspensions and building passes, keep the budget straight, and get a unit from the City to Park Royal on time. From £504 a day, paid to the production manager in full.
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- 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: Here Now Films, Kelly Sikkema, Jakob Owens, Nathan Dumlao and Brands&People
The role
What a production manager does on your shoot
A production manager (PM) runs the logistics of a production, working to the producer. They book crew and kit, sort travel, vans, hotels and catering, chase permits and insurance certificates, and track the spend against the budget. On the day, they’re the person who knows where everything is.
On a one-day shoot a producer usually does all of this. A PM earns their place on multi-day, multi-location shoots, and London adds its own layer: a suspended bay booked 10 working days ahead in Westminster, a tower that wants every van registration, a Congestion Charge on every vehicle.
- Everything booked. Crew, kit, vans, hotels, catering and parking, confirmed in writing.
- A budget that holds. Spend tracked against the budget every day, and overages raised before they happen.
- Paperwork in order. Risk assessments, insurance certificates, borough permits and location agreements, filed.
- Movement planned. Call times, routes, unit bases and suspended bays, all on the call sheet.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Booking crew, kit, vans and hotels
- The movement order and travel plan
- Spend tracked against the budget
- Permits, bay suspensions, passes and certificates, chased
- The production file, handed over at wrap
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Prep days before the shoot, which most jobs need
- A wrap day for returns and paperwork
- Permit fees, bay suspensions and the Congestion Charge, at cost
- 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 a PM for your own production, or have us take the production on.
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 production manager, call to wrap
Day two of a three-day shoot: an office in the City in the morning, a studio in Park Royal after lunch. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 06:30 Unit base The crew van in the building’s loading bay, the base open and breakfast in before anyone else arrives.
- 07:30 Crew call Passes handed out at security, radios out, and the day’s changes briefed with the producer.
- 09:00 Behind the scenes Tomorrow’s kit collection confirmed, a hotel added for a late arrival, a missing certificate sent to the studio.
- 12:00 The move Vans out along the A40 to Park Royal, the studio told when to expect the unit and which drive-in door to open.
- 13:00 Lunch At the studio, on time, and the drivers and runners briefed for the afternoon.
- 15:00 The numbers The day’s spend logged against the budget, the Congestion Charge paid for every vehicle that went into the zone, overtime agreed with the producer before it happens.
- 19:00 Wrap Kit secured or returned, timesheets signed, tomorrow’s call sheet out.
Which kind
Which production role do you need?
The production office has several jobs that overlap. Here’s how we match one to a brief.
Production manager Logistics, bookings and the budget Card £504–627
Books and runs everything around the shoot, and keeps the costs against the budget, working to the producer.
Best on multi-day, multi-location and multi-country shoots.
Production coordinator The office, the calls and the paperwork Quoted on the brief
Works to the PM: call sheets, bookings, travel, passes, contact lists and the production file.
Best on long shoots and series, where the office never stops.
Line producer Budget and schedule, start to finish Quoted on the brief
Owns the budget and the schedule from the first day of prep to delivery, and reports against both.
Best on documentaries, series and productions that run for weeks.
Location manager Finds and runs the locations Quoted on the brief
Finds the locations, negotiates them, gets the permissions from the owner, the borough and any estate, and runs them on the day. See locations and permits in London.
Best when the shoot moves between several locations, or has one difficult one: a Royal Park, a station, a tower with its own rules.
Producer Runs the day and the client From £450 a day
If someone needs to make the decisions on the day, that’s a producer. See producers in London.
Best on one- and two-day shoots, where a separate PM isn’t needed.
What it’s for
What people book a production manager for in London
Multi-day shoots
Three days or more, with crew, kit, vans and hotels to keep track of.
Several locations
The City in the morning, a studio in Park Royal in the afternoon, Greenwich the next day.
Teams flying in
US and European productions landing at Heathrow, who need the ground run in London.
Studio days
Stage bookings in Park Royal, Acton or Bow, with set builds, deliveries and power.
Estates and stations
Canary Wharf, the Southbank Centre or a Network Rail terminus, each with its own application on top of the borough’s.
Recent work
Production management on our jobs, in the City and beyond
Crew hire and service production · Cannon Street, EC4 and Uxbridge · Sept 2025
Two locations, four days, one van
Four shoot days for a US production company filming a chip maker’s customer stories: two at a law firm on Cannon Street, two at offices in Uxbridge. The logistics were most of the job. The City location was reached through an underground car park off Dowgate Hill, with the kit unloaded straight into the lift. Uxbridge was recced at the end of August. Playback ran all four days, booked late. When a Tube strike shut the Underground, the crew drove out to Uxbridge. A three-day kit deal and one van for the crew and the kit kept the job £498 under budget.
Crew hire · London, Manchester and Bolton · Nov 2024
Davies Group, at 20 Gracechurch Street
The London leg of Davies Group’s internal series, after Manchester and Bolton: a DOP and a second camera at Davies’ offices on Gracechurch Street, EC3, with six sit-down interviews and quickfire vox pops to finish. Office security wanted every crew name for a pass and the exact kit list in advance. The crew changed the Friday before, when the crew member first booked fell ill, and the cameras still matched the other legs’, so the series would cut together.
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.
- Prep and wrap days are quoted separately.
Parking and the charges
- Bay suspensions: Westminster from £51 a bay on day one with 10 working days’ notice; Camden £100.35 a bay on day one, with five working days for pay-and-display bays.
- The Congestion Charge is £18 a day and vans pay it too; ULEZ adds £12.50 for a diesel van below Euro 6 (checked October 2026).
- All at cost, each on its own line of the quote.
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the production manager.
- 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 production manager 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.
From £504 a day
APA/Bectu card benchmark: £504–627 a day.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £504 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £50.40 |
| Insurance, 2% | £10.08 |
| One day, before travel | £564.48 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the production manager we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the production manager.
- 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 a production manager in London.
Tell us the dates, the locations and what needs booking. 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 This page £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 £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
A PM sorts everything around the crew, from suspended bays to unit bases. Here are the guides they use, each one its own line on the quote if you want us to book it.
02
Locations and permits
Borough film services, the Royal Parks, TfL, the private estates and the drone zones.
Questions
Hiring a production manager in London: questions
How much does a production manager cost in London?
The APA/Bectu card puts a production manager at £504–627 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and the PM is paid that in full. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so a day starts at £564.48 + VAT. Most shoots need prep days too, quoted separately, and permit fees, bay suspensions and the Congestion Charge go on at cost.
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.
What does a production manager do?
The logistics: booking crew, kit, travel, hotels and catering, chasing permits and certificates, planning the movement order and tracking the spend against the budget. They work to the producer, who makes the creative and client calls.
Do I need a production manager or a producer?
For a one- or two-day shoot, a producer can do both jobs. Book a PM as well when the shoot runs for several days, moves between locations, or has a building, an estate and a borough all wanting paperwork.
Can a production manager sort permits and parking in London?
Yes. Pavements and council land go through the borough’s film service, and parking through its suspensions: Westminster wants 10 working days for bays, Camden five for pay-and-display. Estates like Canary Wharf, plus TfL and Network Rail, give their own permission and ask for £10m public liability; boroughs and the Royal Parks ask for £5m (checked October 2026). On a crew hire that certificate is yours; on a full production our policy covers it. Our guide to locations and permits in London has the detail.
What’s the difference between a production manager and a line producer?
A line producer owns the budget and the schedule for the whole production. A production manager runs the logistics that make them happen. On smaller jobs, one person does both.
How far ahead should I book a PM in London?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours, and the earlier a PM starts, the more they save. London’s notice periods set the real date: 10 working days for a Westminster bay suspension, three weeks for the Underground, 10 to 12 working days for Canary Wharf (checked October 2026). A week’s prep for a multi-day shoot is normal.