Film crew hire/Manchester/Fixer
Fixer · Manchester
Fixer in Manchester. Your eyes on the ground.
A fixer is one producer who knows the city and gets things sorted: permission from the right council, the location, the crew and kit, the van and the parking, and whatever goes sideways at 7am. The ground-level work of a service company, without the overheads of one.
From £450
a day, paid to your fixer in full
48 hrs
from enquiry to confirmed crew, on most Manchester bookings
2 hrs
for our team to read your brief, in working hours
54
five-star Google reviews
What a fixer is
One person who gets it sorted
A fixer is a local producer you book by the day to make a shoot possible in a city you don’t know. In Manchester, that’s one of ours. They find and recce the locations, get permission from whichever council or estate owns the ground, book the crew and kit, sort the vans, parking and hotels, then stand beside your director on the day and deal with whatever comes up.
You stay in charge of the film. Your fixer makes sure Manchester says yes to it.
The word gets stretched. Some people mean a runner with a phone; some mean a company that takes the whole production on. We mean what most producers mean: one experienced person on the ground, working to you, from our office in Ancoats.
What your fixer sorts
Everything between the brief and the first shot
Six jobs, one person. Each links to our Manchester guide, if you’d like to see how it works first.
01 Permission
Greater Manchester isn’t one permit
Screen Manchester covers the city’s streets and squares: 24 to 48 hours’ notice for a small handheld crew, five to seven days with lights. MediaCityUK and Salford Quays are Salford’s, not Manchester’s, and MediaCityUK is private land. The trams are TfGM’s, Piccadilly is Network Rail’s, and the canals have two different owners. Your fixer knows which ones your shoot needs.
02 Locations
Found, recced, signed
Mills in Ancoats, glass at MediaCityUK, a back garden in Cheshire. A shortlist that fits the brief, recces in person or on a video call, and the owner’s permission in writing.
03 Crew
Crew in 48 hours
We confirm most Manchester bookings within 48 hours of the enquiry, every role paid their full day rate. Bring your own DOP and we crew around them.
04 Kit
Five kit houses, one building
Most of the city’s camera and lighting hire sits at Space Studios in West Gorton, two miles from our office, so a kit run is quick. Or we match the package you shoot with at home.
05 Getting around
Airport to set
Manchester Airport to Piccadilly in about 20 minutes by train, then vans, parking bays and hotels near the set.
06 On the day
The problem, before it’s yours
The call sheet, the reception desk, lunch, and the thing nobody saw coming. Screen Manchester works to an 11pm curfew; your fixer keeps you inside it.
Fixer or service company?
A fixer, or a production service company?
They overlap, and people use the words loosely. The real difference is who’s the producer of record: the company responsible for the shoot, its permissions and its public liability.
Option one
A fixer
One of our producers, working to you.
Producer of record
You
Who runs the day
Your director or producer, with your fixer beside them
Permits
Your fixer prepares and chases them, in your production’s name
Public liability
Yours. Screen Manchester asks for £5m, or £10m in city-centre event spaces
How it’s priced
The day rate, plus 10% booking fee and 2% insurance
Best when
Your director or producer is coming up and wants someone who knows Manchester
Option two
A production service company
Our team takes your UK production on.
Producer of record
Us
Who runs the day
Our producer, with your director making the creative calls
Permits
In our name
Public liability
Ours: £10m, across the whole shoot
How it’s priced
Everything at cost, plus 15% production fee and 5% insurance and contingency
Best when
Your team is flying in without a UK company, a UK producer or UK insurance
Not sure? Start with a fixer. If the job grows into a production, the same producer stays on it and we quote it as one, so there’s nobody new to brief.
What it’s for
What a Manchester fixer is good for
Three jobs off our books, one Manchester quirk, and the point where you need more than a fixer.
01
A New York team, shooting in the North
Someone local to find the ground, run the day and keep the client’s monitor full.
On our books
The Athletic, The New York Times · Alderley Edge and Manchester · April and June 2026
Truth or Padel: a back garden in Alderley Edge in April, a court in Manchester in June. For Alderley Edge, the location was confirmed on 27 March and we shot on 14 April, with our head of production, Morgan Cartlidge, on the ground. The Athletic edited the series in-house.
02
A series that has to match another city
When the look is set somewhere else, your fixer’s job is to match it here.
On our books
Davies Group · Manchester, then London and Bolton · October and November 2024
An enquiry titled “Urgent 3 day UK filming required ASAP!”, then 22 days to the first Manchester shoot, matched to footage a US crew had shot in Chicago.
“Their ability to quickly assemble professional and talented crews was impressive.” Mopani Mkandawire, Davies Group, in a Google review
03
A director new to the city
First time in Manchester, and the kit still has to feel like home.
On our books
Matt Dunstan, US director · Manchester · July 2025
Back for a second job with us, and his first in Manchester. We supplied the DP and a key production assistant, and matched the camera and lighting package he uses at home, down to a single lens from a Manchester kit house.
“They matched the exact camera and lighting kit I use back in the States.” Matt Dunstan, director
04
A shoot that crosses council lines
A street in the city centre, a tram stop and a canal towpath are three different yeses, from three different offices. One person should be chasing all three.
How it works here
In Greater Manchester
Screen Manchester, TfGM and the Canal & River Trust each want their own application and their own notice, and Castlefield Basin belongs to the Bridgewater Canal Company, not the Trust.
When it’s bigger than a fixer: if your team is flying in without a UK company or UK insurance, we become your production service company, as we did for Swanson Studios from Oregon.
From the other side
We’ve been the visitors too
In March 2026 we ran a shoot in Barcelona for The Athletic. Our producer flew out, recced the day before, and worked with a local camera and sound crew. In Norway and Portugal, for Cohere’s AI for Empowerment, we worked with local service companies.
So we know what you want from a fixer, because we’ve needed one: someone who picks up the phone, knows which door the kit goes through, and tells you the bad news early.
How it works
Brief to wrap, in four steps
01
Send the brief
Dates, places, who’s coming and what you’re bringing. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours, and most Manchester bookings are confirmed within 48.
02
Get a plan and a price
Your fixer lists what needs permission, who gives it and how much notice they want, with every cost on its own line before anything is booked.
03
Prep and recce
Locations recced, permissions in, crew and kit booked, the call sheet out. Prep and recce days are at the same day rate.
04
Shoot
Your fixer meets you at call time and runs the ground all day. The rushes leave with you, or go wherever you need them.
50% by card when you book, 50% on receipt of the final rushes.
What it costs
What a fixer costs in Manchester
One day rate, paid to your fixer in full. Everything else is on its own line of the quote, before anything is booked.
From £450 a day
Your fixer is one of our producers. That’s their rate for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and they’re paid all of it.
| Your fixer’s day rate, 11 hours | £450 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £45 |
| Insurance, 2% | £9 |
| One day | £504 + VAT |
Recce and prep days at the same rate. Overtime at card rates, agreed with you before it happens.
Or call us on 07412 543822.
On top, at cost, each on its own line
- Permit and location fees: Screen Manchester, Salford City Council, TfGM, Network Rail or a private estate
- Parking bays and unit parking
- Travel outside Greater Manchester, and hotels
- Crew and kit your fixer books for you, at the same 10% + 2%
What the 2% covers
- Employers’ liability for every crew member we book, and insurance on the kit we hire in for you
- Nothing else on the shoot. Public liability stays with you as producer of record, and the venue will want your certificate
- A large kit rental may need extra insurance, as its own line on the quote
Want us as producer of record?
- Then it’s a production quote: everything at cost, plus 15% production fee and 5% insurance and contingency
- Our insurance covers the whole shoot, £10m public liability included
- More on working with a UK production service company
On the ground for
Who’s booked us to run the ground
The New York Times · Alderley Edge and Manchester
Manchester, London and Bolton
Matt Dunstan
US director · Manchester and London
Oregon · Portsmouth, London and Oxford
Paris · Wimbledon
New York · Canary Wharf
54 five-star Google reviews. More in our crew hire case studies.
Questions
Fixers in Manchester: questions
What does a fixer do in Manchester?
A fixer makes a shoot possible in a city you don’t know. Ours finds and recces locations, gets permission from Screen Manchester, Salford, TfGM or whoever owns the ground, books crew and kit, sorts vans, parking and hotels, and runs the ground on the day, working to your director or producer.
How much does a fixer cost in Manchester?
Our fixers are producers, from £450 for an 11-hour day, paid to them in full. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so one day is £504 + VAT. Recce and prep days are at the same rate. Permit fees, parking, travel and anything your fixer books for you go on the quote at cost, each on its own line.
Do I need a fixer or a production service company?
If your own director or producer will run the shoot, a fixer. If you need a UK company to take the production on, with the permits and public liability in its name, a production service company. The difference is who’s the producer of record. We do both, and a fixer booking can become a production if it grows.
Who gives permission to film in Manchester?
It depends on the ground. Screen Manchester covers the city’s streets, squares and council parks. MediaCityUK and Salford Quays are Salford City Council’s, and MediaCityUK itself is private land with its own estate team. The Metrolink is TfGM’s, Piccadilly and the other stations are Network Rail’s, the Rochdale and Ashton canals are the Canal & River Trust’s, and Castlefield Basin is the Bridgewater Canal Company’s.
How far ahead should I book a fixer in Manchester?
We confirm most Manchester bookings within 48 hours of the enquiry. Permission sets the pace after that: Screen Manchester wants 24 to 48 hours for up to five people with handheld kit, five to seven days with lights, and four to six weeks for a road closure. Salford wants 10 days, TfGM 10 working days, and Network Rail five working days for up to 10 crew.
Do I need a UK company to hire a fixer in Manchester?
No. Your booking is with us, a UK company, and you get one invoice for your fixer and anything they book. You will need public liability cover: Screen Manchester asks for £5m, or £10m in city-centre event spaces. If you don’t have it, we can be your producer of record instead.
Can a Manchester fixer work outside the city?
Yes. For The Athletic we worked in a back garden in Alderley Edge as well as on a court in Manchester, and Davies Group took us from Manchester to Bolton and London. In the Peak District or at Tatton Park the landowner gives permission, and drones near Manchester Airport need the airport’s permission through NATS. For London, here’s our fixer in London.
Tell us where you’re shooting.
Dates, places, and who’s coming. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on 07412 543822.