Film crew hire/New York/Producer
Hire a producer in New York. One person to call all day, from the lobby desk to the last drive.
Freelance New York producers who know which buildings want a COI before they’ll book the freight elevator, how long the Mayor’s Office takes over a permit, and how long a unit takes from Chelsea to Long Island City at five o’clock. They book the day, run it and look after your client. From $750 a day, paid to the producer in full.
- 54 five-star Google reviews
- 2 hrs for our team to read your brief, in working hours
- 10 hrs a New York crew day, plus a meal break
- 500+ productions, filmed in sixteen countries
Photos: Here Now Films, dix sept, Nathan Dumlao, Gordon Cowie and Jakob Owens
The role
What a producer does on your shoot
A producer turns a plan into a day that runs. Before the shoot they build the schedule, book the crew, kit and location, collect the certificates and releases, and send the call sheet. On the day they run the clock, look after your client and your contributors, and make the calls nobody behind the camera has time for.
After wrap, they check the rushes are safe and on their way to you or your edit. In New York a good part of the job is paperwork that has to land in the right order: the location’s COI request, the building’s crew list, the permit application if the shoot needs one, and the insurance certificate that has to reach the Film Office before the application does.
- One person to call. Your client, your contributors and the crew all go through the producer.
- The schedule holds. They build it, run it, and tell you early when a set-up is running long.
- Every certificate in place. COIs naming the building, the location or the City, sent before anyone has to ask twice.
- No surprises on the invoice. Overtime, parking and location extras agreed with you before they happen.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- A 10-hour day, plus a meal break
- The schedule and call sheet for the day
- Running the set: timings, crew, contributors and your client
- Contributor releases, signed and filed
- COI requests for the location and the building, chased
- A rushes check at wrap, and the handover
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee, on the whole quote
- Payroll and insurance for the job, at cost
- Prep days before the shoot, if it needs them
- Locations, permit fees and any extra insurance a building asks for, at cost
- Travel outside the five boroughs, and any cars or vans, at cost
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in New York.
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 producer to run your day inside your own production, or have us take the production on.
Crew hire
You run the shoot.
10% booking fee, on everything we book for you: crew, kit and travel. Payroll and insurance at cost, on their own line.
We do
- Find, book and brief the New York crew
- Every crew member employed for the job: payroll, workers’ compensation and COIs
- Book kit, vans and travel too, if you want them
- Send the full price, in dollars, before anything is booked
- One person to call all day
You do
- Run the shoot, or your producer does
- The plan, the schedule and the call sheet
- The location, its COI and any Mayor’s Office permit
- Responsibility for the production: you’re the producer of record
Payroll and insurance are their own line on the quote, at cost: payroll for each crew member, the insurance they need for the job, New York workers’ compensation included, and the certificates of insurance your location asks for.
Full production
We’re the producer of record.
From $20,000 for a New York production; most land between that and $75,000. One quote, in dollars, every line shown.
We do
- Our producer plans it with you and runs the job
- Locations, permits, kit, studio and travel, booked in the production’s name
- The production’s insurance, the COIs and the Mayor’s Office permit
- One quote and one contract with us, wherever you’re based
You do
- The creative calls
- Signing off the plan and the budget
The production’s insurance, the crew’s payroll and any permits are lines in the quote, so you see each one before you sign.
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 producer, call to wrap
An interview day for a corporate film on an upper floor of a Midtown office tower. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:00 Before call On site first: the van at the loading dock, kit up the freight elevator in its booked slot, then the room, the power and the holding room for contributors.
- 08:00 Crew call Badges from the lobby desk, against the crew list the building had the day before. A safety briefing, the order of the day, and who’s who on the client side.
- 08:30 Set-up Camera, lights and sound go in. The producer walks your client through the plan and checks the questions.
- 10:00 First contributor Met in the lobby, settled, mic’d, release signed. The producer watches the time and listens to the answers.
- 13:00 Meal break Ordered the day before and delivered to the floor, so the afternoon starts on time.
- 14:00 B-roll and pick-ups The crew moves floors with the next set-up ready, then a hand-held unit goes down to the sidewalk for the exteriors.
- 18:30 Wrap Kit down the freight elevator, the room put back, badges handed in, rushes checked and on their way.
Which producer
Which producer do you need?
“Producer” covers several different jobs on a New York crew. This is how we match one to the brief.
Shoot producer Runs your shoot days From $750 a day
The booking most clients mean. The film is planned; you need someone in New York to run the days: crew, timings, contributors and your client.
Best for interview days, events, and agency shoots where your own producer is on another job.
Line producer or production supervisor The budget, the bookings, the paperwork From $650 a day
On a US commercial the budget and the logistics sit with a line producer and a production supervisor, working to the producer. See production managers in New York.
Best on multi-day or multi-location shoots, where the logistics are a job on their own.
Producer-director Plans the film and directs it Quoted on the brief
Plans the story, runs the interviews and directs, sometimes with a camera in hand. See directors in New York.
Best for documentary interviews and small crews.
Service production For teams from outside the US Production quote
Runs the ground for a production landing at JFK or Newark: crew, kit, locations, permits and the certificates, on one contract with us. That makes us the producer of record, so it’s a production quote, in dollars.
Best for teams flying in. More on shooting in New York from abroad.
Production assistant An extra pair of hands From $250 a day
Releases, call sheets, contributors and the building lists, working to the producer. See production assistants in New York.
Best alongside a producer on busy days with lots of contributors.
What it’s for
What people book a producer for in New York
Interview and testimonial days
Leadership films and customer stories in Midtown and the Financial District, with every crew name at the lobby desk the day before.
Fireside chats and panels
Multi-camera rooms in a daylight loft or a hotel ballroom, where the run of show changes by the hour.
Agency shoots, white-label
Your producer is on another job; ours runs the New York day as part of your team.
Shoots with talent
Executives, founders and presenters with a fixed window, where the schedule has no slack.
Teams flying in
Productions landing at JFK or Newark that need a producer on the ground and one company to contract.
Recent work
Producers on our New York jobs, Chelsea to the Upper East Side
Our work · Upper East Side, New York · September 2026
Nevis × Focus, an announcement film
One afternoon in a panelled library on the Upper East Side, for Nevis and Focus Financial Partners: three half-hour interviews with Mark Swan, Adam Birenbaum and Justin Ferri, then the room reset for a three-way conversation on five cameras. The library came empty, so everything on screen was brought in. A New York crew shot it twelve days after the first email, and our own team cut it, five cuts in eight days, then graded and mixed it.
Crew hire · New York · October 2025
A producer for an agency’s day in New York
An agency’s one-day shoot in New York, with a director and DP flown in by the client. We booked the rest of the unit in New York, starting with a producer and an assistant producer, then a camera operator, a sound recordist, a gaffer, hair and make-up and a stills photographer. For a visiting director, a New York producer is the difference between walking onto a set that’s ready and spending the morning looking for one.
Our work · Chelsea, New York · April 2026
AlTi × Nevis, a fireside chat in a Chelsea loft
A multi-camera fireside chat on the future of AI in wealth management, filmed on 16 April 2026. Nancy Curtin of AlTi hosted Phil Dundas, AlTi’s CTO, and Mark Swan, CEO of Nevis. The producing was most of the job: a daylight loft on West 24th Street booked for the day through Peerspace, a New York crew, props sourced in New York, and an extra camera operator and camera added on the day. Our sixth production for AlTi; our own post team cut it, with cutdowns for LinkedIn and YouTube.
Before you book
Things to know
The day
- 10 hours, plus a meal break.
- Any overtime is agreed with you before it happens.
- Prep days before the shoot are quoted separately.
Certificates and permits
- New York buildings and locations ask to be named as additional insured on a COI, often with high limits. Ask for the requirement before you book.
- A high limit can mean an umbrella policy, and that costs real money: about $2,000 per million on one of our jobs (checked October 2026).
- A Mayor’s Office permit wants $1,000,000 of general liability naming the City of New York, with the COI at the Film Office 48 business hours before the application.
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the producer.
- 50% when you book, 50% on receipt of the final rushes.
- Every line on the quote: day rate, booking fee, payroll and insurance, kit, travel.
- Cancellation terms are on every quote.
Employment and insurance
- Every producer we book is employed for the job, on payroll, with New York workers’ compensation.
- Certificates of insurance (COIs) for your location or permit, naming whoever needs naming, on request.
- On a crew hire the location, its COI, the permit and your own general liability stay with you. When we’re the producer of record, the production carries them.
- In New York, Here Now Films books its crews through established New York production companies, so every crew member is employed, on payroll and fully insured for the job.
From $750 a day
There’s no published union scale for a producer in New York.
| Day rate, 10 hours | $750 |
| Booking fee, 10% | $75 |
| One day, before payroll, kit and travel | $825 |
Every producer we book in New York is employed and insured for the job. Payroll and insurance are their own line on the quote. What that covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the producer.
- Every crew member employed and insured for the job
- 50% at booking, 50% on the final rushes
- Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours
Or call us on +44 7412 543822.
Reviews
What clients say about our crews
Straight from our Google Business Profile.
Book a producer in New York.
Tell us the dates, the locations and who’s in front of the camera. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on +44 7412 543822.
Check availability
The whole crew
Every role in New York, booked the same way
One brief, one quote in dollars, every role on its own line. Our day rates in New York, paid to the crew member in full:
Production 06
- Director From $1,500
- Producer This page From $750
- Production manager $650
- 2nd AD $600
- Production assistant $250
- Runner $250
Camera 07
- DP From $1,200
- Camera operator $750
- 1st AC $700
- 2nd AC $550
- Steadicam operator From $1,500
- Gimbal operator $750
- Drone operator From $1,000
Data and playback 02
- DIT $750
- Video playback $650
Sound 01
- Sound mixer $850
Hair, make-up and costume 02
- Hair and make-up $650
- Costume $700
Art department 02
- Art director $750
- Set builders $550
Post-production 01
- Editor From $600
How our rates work: crew rates in New York. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in New York.
Questions
Hiring a producer in New York: questions
How much does a producer cost in New York?
Our New York producers start at $750 for a 10-hour day, and the producer is paid all of it. There’s no published union scale for the role. On top goes our 10% booking fee, so one day comes to $825, before payroll and insurance (at cost, on the quote) and travel. If you want us to take the whole production on as producer of record, it’s quoted as a production instead, and New York productions start at $20,000.
Who employs the crew, and are they insured?
Every crew member we book in New York is employed for the job and fully insured: payroll, New York workers’ compensation, and certificates of insurance for your location or permit. Payroll and insurance show as their own line on the quote, at cost. On a crew hire, the location, its COI and the permit stay with you, because you’re the producer of record. If you’d rather we were, it’s quoted as a full production.
Do I need a producer or a production assistant?
If someone has to make decisions on the day, book a producer. A production assistant works to them, from $250 a day, on releases, call sheets, contributors and the building lists. In New York the PA is the core junior job on most crews, and a busy contributor day usually has a producer and a PA, sometimes two.
What do New York locations ask of a producer?
Paperwork, before they’ll confirm the date. Most buildings and locations want a certificate of insurance (COI) naming them as additional insured, often with high limits, plus every crew name for security and a booked slot on the freight elevator. Lofts and homes usually want floor protection down before the kit comes in. Location-agency homes start around $5,200 for a 12-hour day plus cleaning, and many run $12,000 to $15,000 or more (checked October 2026). Your producer asks for the requirements first, so nothing lands the night before.
Do we need a film permit in New York?
Not if the crew is hand-held or on a tripod, takes no exclusive use of a street or park, and parks no production vehicles. Equipment beyond that, parked production vehicles or exclusive use need a permit from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment: $500 for each 14-day period, with at least $1,000,000 of general liability naming the City of New York (checked October 2026). The Film Office processes most permits 48 to 72 business hours before the shoot. More in filming permits in New York.
Can your producer run a New York shoot for a team from abroad?
Yes. We become the producer of record: your contract is with us, and a New York producer runs the ground, from crew and permits to vans and certificates, quoted as a production, in dollars. JFK, Newark and LaGuardia all serve the city, and an ATA Carnet covers kit coming in for the shoot and going home after it. New York is five hours behind the UK for most of the year, so the notes from wrap are waiting when you wake up. See shooting in New York from abroad.
How far ahead should I book a producer in New York?
Our latest New York shoot, Nevis × Focus, was filmed twelve days after the first email. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. If the producer is also booking a location or a permit, give them longer: the location’s COI request comes first, the Film Office processes most permits 48 to 72 business hours before the shoot, Times Square needs seven business days and a park at least five (checked October 2026).