Film crew hire/Production manager
Hire a production manager, anywhere in the UK. Bookings, budgets, vans and the hundred things in between.
Production managers for multi-day and multi-location shoots across the UK. They book the crew, kit, vans and hotels, chase the permits and the certificates, keep the spend against the budget, and get a unit from one city to the next on time. £504–627 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
- 2,800+ freelance crew on our books, across the UK
Photos: Here Now Films, Kelly Sikkema and Tri Vo
The role
What a production manager does on a UK shoot
A production manager (PM) runs the logistics of a production, working to the producer. They book the crew and kit, sort travel, vans, hotels and catering, chase permits and insurance certificates, and track every cost against the budget. On the shoot, they’re the person who knows where everything is, and what it cost.
On a one-day shoot the producer usually does all of this. A PM earns their place when the shoot runs for days or moves between cities, and the UK adds its own layer: a different clean air zone in each city, a van that needs the right licence, and a council in every town with its own notice periods.
- Everything booked. Crew, kit, vans, hotels, catering and parking, confirmed in writing.
- A budget that holds. Spend logged every day, and overages raised before they happen.
- Paperwork in order. Risk assessments, certificates, permits and location agreements, filed.
- Movement planned. Call times, routes, trains, unit bases and parking, all on the call sheet.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day: ten working hours and an hour for lunch
- Booking crew, kit, vans and hotels
- The movement order and travel plan
- Spend tracked against the budget
- Permits, parking, 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, parking suspensions and clean air zone charges, at cost
- Travel, mileage and hotels when the shoot is away from the crew member’s home city, at cost
How our rates work, overtime and the APA/Bectu card: film crew rates in the UK.
Two ways to book
Crew hire or full production: who’s the producer of record?
Book a PM for your own production, or have us take the whole production on, PM included.
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 Bristol in the morning, a house outside Bath 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, 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 insurance certificate sent to the afternoon’s location.
- 12:00 The move Vans out of Bristol towards Bath. Both run clean air zones: Bristol charges a car or van that misses the standard £9 a day; Bath charges the van but not the car (checked October 2026).
- 13:00 Lunch At the second location, on time, and the drivers and runners briefed for the afternoon.
- 15:00 The numbers The day’s spend logged against the budget, every zone charge paid, overtime agreed with the producer before it happens.
- 17:30 Wrap Kit secured or returned, timesheets signed, tomorrow’s call sheet and movement order 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.
Location manager Finds and runs the locations Quoted on the brief
Finds the locations, negotiates them, gets the permissions from the owner, the council and anyone else with a say, and runs them on the day. See filming locations and permits in the UK.
Best when the shoot moves between several locations, or has one difficult one: a station, a beach on the Duchy of Cornwall’s foreshore, a National Trust house.
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 producer hire in the UK.
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 across the UK
Multi-day shoots
Three days or more, with crew, kit, vans and hotels to keep track of, and some of the crew coming in by train.
Several cities
A series shot in London, Manchester and Glasgow in a week, each city with its own council and its own parking rules.
Teams flying in
US and European productions landing at Heathrow, Manchester or Edinburgh, who need the ground run for them.
Studio days
Stage bookings with set builds, deliveries, generators and power.
Locations with their own rules
Stations, canals, National Trust houses and the Cornish foreshore, each with an application of its own on top of the council’s.
How we crew it
How we crew a production manager across the UK
How we crew it · UK
A PM when the logistics are the job
A one-day interview shoot doesn’t need a PM: the producer books it and runs it. We add one when the logistics become a job of their own: three or more shoot days, a move between cities, a team flying in, or a location with several owners to satisfy. The PM starts in prep, often a week ahead of a multi-day shoot, and stays to the wrap day, when the kit goes back and the paperwork is filed. Every cost they book goes on the quote, line by line, before it’s booked.
How we crew it · UK
Vans, zones and licences, checked before the day
England’s charging clean air zones run around the clock and differ by city: Bristol charges a car or van that misses the standard £9 a day, Sheffield charges vans £10 but not cars, and central London adds the £18 Congestion Charge to the ULEZ. Scotland’s low emission zones in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen charge nothing by the day; they fine, from £60 (checked October 2026). The PM checks every vehicle against the route, and every driver’s licence against the van: a category B licence covers up to 3,500kg, or 4,250kg for a zero-emission van (checked October 2026).
Before you book
Things to know
The day
- 11 hours, including an hour for lunch: ten working hours.
- Overtime by the hour at the APA card’s rate for the role, agreed with you before it happens.
- At least 11 hours between wrap and the next day’s call.
- Prep and wrap days are quoted separately.
Vans and charges
- A category B licence covers vans up to 3,500kg, or 4,250kg if zero-emission. Above that it’s C1, which most licences issued before 1997 include (checked October 2026).
- England’s charging clean air zones run around the clock, midnight to midnight (checked October 2026).
- Every charge goes on the quote at cost, on its own line.
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.
- Moving the date? Tell us as soon as you know.
- 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. Insurance for a UK shoot
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the production manager.
- 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 production manager, anywhere in the UK.
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 across the UK, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our UK day rates, 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 09
- DOP From £850
- Camera operator £529–656
- Lighting camera operator £529–656
- Videographer £529–656
- Focus puller (1st AC) £461–575
- Clapper loader (2nd AC) £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 across the UK. In one city? London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cornwall have their own role pages.
Production support
Everything around the crew
A PM sorts everything around the crew, from parking and hotels to the van’s clean air zone charge. Here are the guides they work from, and each item can go on the quote if you want us to book it.
01
Crew rates in the UK
Day rates for every role, the APA/Bectu card, overtime and what a day covers.
02
Kit and equipment hire
Rental houses across the UK, wet hire and dry hire, and the crew’s own kit.
03
Insurance for a UK shoot
Employers’ liability, public liability, kit cover, and what can leave you uninsured.
Questions
Hiring a production manager in the UK: questions
How much does a production manager cost in the UK?
Our production managers start at £504 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, inside the APA/Bectu card range of £504–627, and the PM is paid all of it. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so a day comes to £564.48 + VAT. Most shoots need prep days too, quoted separately, and permit fees, parking and clean air zone charges 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.
How long is a PM’s day, and what about overtime?
A day is 11 hours, ten of them working and one for lunch. After that, overtime is paid by the hour at the APA card’s rate for the role: 1.5×, 1.25× or single time on an hourly rate of a tenth of the day rate, graded by day rate, and we agree it with you before it happens. Between wrap and the next call there are at least 11 hours. Film crew rates in the UK
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 cities, or has a building, a landowner and a council all wanting paperwork.
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, from prep to delivery. A production manager runs the logistics that make them happen. On smaller jobs, one person does both.
Can a production manager sort permits and parking anywhere in the UK?
Yes, though every council does it differently, and parking suspensions are always the council’s call. Bristol’s film office wants at least seven days for a permit and a letter to residents seven days ahead; Cornwall Council wants ten working days for its land and sends unit bases to its parking team; Salford, with no film office, wants ten days through its licensing team (checked October 2026). City detail is in the London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cornwall guides, and the rest in filming locations and permits in the UK.
What do clean air zones mean for a shoot?
A daily charge for a van or car that misses the standard, set city by city. In England the charging zones run around the clock: Bristol charges £9 a day for a car or van, Bath and Bradford £9 for a van, Sheffield £10 and Tyneside £12.50, and London’s ULEZ £12.50, with the £18 Congestion Charge on top in the centre. In Scotland there’s no daily charge, only fines, starting at £60 (checked October 2026). Your PM checks every vehicle against the route, and any charge goes on the quote at cost. See travel, hotels and vans for a UK shoot.
How far ahead should I book a PM?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours, and the earlier a PM starts, the more they save. The real date is set by notice periods: 12 weeks for a road closure in the City of London or Cornwall, at least eight weeks for a London filming order, ten weeks for a temporary traffic order in Edinburgh, and 21 days for a child performance licence in England (checked October 2026). A week’s prep for a multi-day shoot is normal.
More on crew across the UK
- Film crew hire UK
- Film crew rates in the UK
- Production manager hire in London
- Production manager hire in Manchester
- Production manager hire in Birmingham
- Production manager hire in Bristol
- Production manager hire in Cornwall
- Production manager hire in New York
- Producer hire UK
- Runner hire UK
- How we select our crew
- Our crew hire case studies