Film crew hire/Birmingham/Grip
Hire a grip in Birmingham. The camera moves, smoothly, safely, and the same way every take.
Key grips and grips for adverts, brand films, studio days and car work across Birmingham and the West Midlands. They build and push the dolly, lay the track, rig the camera to cars and cranes, and plan any car rig around Production Central WM and West Midlands Police. Local where we can, from Manchester or London where the brief needs it. From £526 a day, paid to the grip 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
- 2,800+ freelance crew on our books, across the UK
Photos: sippakorn yamkasikorn, David Glessner, Rendy Novantino, Here Now Films and Billy
The role
What a grip does on your shoot
Grips move and hold the camera. They lay track and push the dolly, build sliders and jibs, rig the camera to a car, a crane or a wall, and make sure every rig is safe. A good dolly grip hits the same mark at the same speed, take after take.
In the UK, grips handle the camera support. Lighting stands and flags belong to the sparks, which is different from the US, where grips do those too. Worth saying when a US production flies into Birmingham with its own DP: the grip here won’t be rigging the lights.
Our Birmingham list is shorter on grips, as it is on the lighting crew they work beside. Some of the grips we book come in from Manchester or London, often with the package, and the travel is on the quote before anything is booked. Grip kit can come from Media Dog Hire at the NEC; cranes and tracking vehicles come in from further away.
- Moves that repeat. The same push-in at the same speed, so the director can choose any take.
- Track laid level. On a stage floor, a pavement or an office carpet, levelled with wedges until it’s silent.
- Rigs that hold. Cameras on cars, cranes and walls, rigged and checked by someone who does it every week.
- Safety first. Weights, straps and a plan for every rig, before the camera goes on.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Building and operating the dolly, slider or jib
- Laying and levelling track
- Rigging cameras to cars, cranes and structures
- Risk-checking every rig
- Striking and loading out the grip kit
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- The grip package: dolly, track, jib or car mounts, at a day rate on its own line
- A tracking vehicle or crane, with its own crew
- Road closures, police time and permits for car work, at cost
- Travel from outside Birmingham, and mileage, parking and the Clean Air Zone charge where the day needs them, at cost
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in Birmingham.
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 grip for your own camera team, or have us take the production on, road plans and permits with it.
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 grip, call to wrap
Track on a Digbeth street in the morning, a slider interview in a converted warehouse after lunch, with the track agreed with Production Central WM seven days ahead. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 06:30 Load in The grip van at the kerb, the package checked against the list from the kit house.
- 07:00 Track down 30ft of track laid where Production Central WM agreed it, levelled with wedges, the dolly on and pushed until it’s silent.
- 08:30 First move A slow push-in on the presenter as they walk. Marks for start and stop.
- 10:30 Track up Lifted and loaded before the street gets busy, the pavement as it was.
- 13:00 Lunch The slider prepped in the warehouse for the afternoon interview.
- 14:00 Interview A slow slider move on the contributor, rigged so it doesn’t creak.
- 18:30 Wrap Rigs struck and counted, the van loaded for the run back to the kit house.
Which kind
Which grip set-up do you need?
The camera support decides the grip. Here’s what each involves, and where Birmingham adds a rule.
Key grip Runs the grip department Card: Up to £575
Plans the camera support with the DOP and runs the grips.
Best on any shoot with dolly, crane or rigging work.
Dolly grip Track, dolly and repeatable moves From £526 a day + kit
Lays track, builds and pushes the dolly, and hits the marks every take. Track on a Birmingham street or pavement goes to Production Central WM at least seven days ahead, and usually means a site meeting.
Best for adverts, drama and slow, precise moves.
Slider and jib Small moves, small crews From £526 a day + kit
A slider, a Dana Dolly or a jib arm, set up and operated by one grip. A jib on the highway has to be notified to Production Central WM, like a crane.
Best for interviews and brand films that need a bit of movement.
Car rigs and tracking vehicles Cameras on moving cars Quoted on the brief
Suction and hard mounts, a tracking vehicle with a crane, and a closed road or private land. On a public road in the West Midlands that means telling Production Central WM, and a method statement and risk assessment for West Midlands Police and the council. See filming permits in Birmingham.
Best for car adverts and driving scenes.
Cranes and remote heads Big rising and sweeping moves Quoted on the brief
A telescopic crane with a remote head, operated by a crane crew and a camera operator at a wheels or a joystick, brought in from a grip house in London or Manchester.
Best for big adverts, events and music videos.
What it’s for
What people book a grip for in Birmingham
Adverts and brand films
Dolly moves and jib shots on the stages at Digbeth Loc. Studios and Curzon Street Studios.
Car shoots
Tracking vehicles on closed roads and private land, planned around Production Central WM and West Midlands Police.
Interviews with movement
A slow slider move in a boardroom on Colmore Row or at Brindleyplace, rigged so it doesn’t creak.
The canals
Slow moves along the water at Gas Street Basin and Farmer’s Bridge Locks, with the Canal & River Trust’s permission first.
Drama and music videos
Track and dolly in Digbeth, where Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man was based.
Recent work
Grips on our jobs, and on the road
Crew hire · City of London and Uxbridge · September 2025
Four days, two offices, one grip line
Customer-story interviews for a chip maker, with a US production company, over four days: two at a law firm’s office on Cannon Street, two at an office in Uxbridge. The quote carried a grip, a swing and a grip package; in the end the grip line went to a grip/spark, saving money every day. In the City the crew unloaded from the car park straight into the lift. The job came in £498 under budget.
Full production · Cornwall · June 2026
A tracking vehicle brought in where there wasn’t one
For AI for Empowerment, Cohere’s campaign shot on 35mm, the days on the Lizard needed a tracking vehicle. It came in from outside the county with its two-person crew and the 1st and 2nd ACs: Cornwall couldn’t supply them. It’s how we crew wherever the local pool runs out, Birmingham included.
Before you book
Things to know
The day and the kit
- 11 hours, including an hour for lunch.
- Overtime at card rates, agreed with you before it happens.
- The grip package goes on its own line, at a day rate.
Roads and permission
- A car rig on a public road means telling Production Central WM, with a method statement and risk assessment for West Midlands Police and the council. That covers low loaders, tracking vehicles and A-frames.
- Only a police officer can stop or divert traffic, and police time is charged: allow seven working days to book officers.
- A road closure needs 21 days’ notice after a joint agency meeting; an extensive one, eight weeks (checked October 2026).
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the grip.
- 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 grip 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.
- Production Central WM asks for at least £5m public liability and a risk assessment before it issues a permit.
£526 a day
APA/Bectu card: £526–575 a day, grip to key grip.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £526 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £52.60 |
| Insurance, 2% | £10.52 |
| One day, before kit and travel | £589.12 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the grip we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the grip.
- 50% by card at booking, 50% on the final rushes
- Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours
- Every line on the quote before anything is booked
Or call us on 07412 543822.
Reviews
What clients say about our crews
Straight from our Google Business Profile.
Book a grip in Birmingham.
Tell us the moves, the camera weight and the location. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on 07412 543822.
Check availability
The whole crew
Every role in Birmingham, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our day rates in Birmingham, 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 £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 Birmingham. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in Birmingham.
Production support
Everything around the crew
Grip work often needs a road plan, a permit or a stage floor. Here’s how each works in Birmingham, each item its own line on the quote.
02
Locations and permits
Production Central WM, the canals, New Street, the parks and the airport’s drone zone.
03
Studios and set builds
Digbeth Loc., Curzon Street, blackout and green screen studios, and set builds.
Questions
Hiring a grip in Birmingham: questions
How much does a grip cost in Birmingham?
The APA/Bectu card puts a grip at £526–575 for an 11-hour day, from grip to key grip, and we pay that in full. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so a day starts at £589.12 + VAT. The grip package is priced on its own line.
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’s the difference between a grip and a gaffer?
In the UK, the gaffer runs the lighting and the grip runs the camera support. In the US, grips also handle lighting stands and flags.
Can you rig a camera to a car in Birmingham?
Yes. On private land, with the owner’s permission. On public roads, Production Central WM has to be told about any filming from a moving vehicle, with a method statement and risk assessment for West Midlands Police and the council. Only the police can stop traffic, and they charge for it. A road closure takes 21 days’ notice, an extensive one eight weeks, and a Traffic Order two to six weeks (checked October 2026).
Can I use a dolly or a jib on a Birmingham street?
With permission. Camera track or any equipment on the highway goes to Production Central WM at least seven days ahead, and usually means a site meeting; a jib or crane on the highway has to be notified too. A towpath has a different landowner. The canals, Gas Street Basin and Farmer’s Bridge Locks among them, belong to the Canal & River Trust: online video from £196 an hour plus VAT, five working days’ notice and £5m public liability (checked October 2026).
Where does grip kit come from in Birmingham?
Kit houses in and around Birmingham include Media Dog Hire at the NEC, and Wex Rental, collected from Wex Photo Video on Hagley Road. Specialist kit can come up from London or across from Manchester. Cranes, remote heads and tracking vehicles usually come in with their own crew.
Are your grips local to Birmingham?
Some are. Our Birmingham list is shorter on grip and lighting crew than on camera, so some of the grips we book come in from Manchester or London, and the travel is on the quote before anything is booked. Our own team is based in London, on City Road, with bases in Manchester, Bristol and Cornwall.
How far ahead should I book a grip in Birmingham?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours, and the grip is rarely what sets the date. A road closure usually does: 21 days’ notice in the West Midlands, eight weeks for an extensive one. Track on the street needs seven days.