Film crew hire/Clapper loader (2nd AC)
Hire a clapper loader (2nd AC), anywhere in the UK. Every take slated, every card and every roll accounted for.
Clapper loaders for commercials, brand films and drama across the UK, on digital and on film. They help the focus puller prep the package, slate every take, load the cards or the magazines, and keep the camera report the edit relies on. £355–448 a day, paid to the loader 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: Here Now Films, Mike Bautista and Voice + Video
The role
What a clapper loader does on your shoot
A clapper loader, or 2nd AC (second assistant camera), runs the paperwork and the media of the camera department. They mark every take with the slate, so sound and picture sync and the editor can find it; load and unload the cards, or the film magazines on a film shoot; and keep the camera report. HMRC describes the job as responsible for the rushes, the equipment and the running of the camera team, the link between the camera team, production, post-production and the rental house (checked October 2026).
On film the loader is the one person who handles the negative before the lab: loading magazines in a changing bag or a darkroom tent, canning the exposed rolls and labelling every can. On a digital shoot the same care goes into the cards: nothing is formatted until it’s been copied and checked.
- Every take marked. Scene, slate and take on the clapperboard, so the edit can find it and sync it.
- Media accounted for. Cards or rolls logged in and out, and never formatted before they’re backed up.
- A camera report that’s right. Lens, stop, filters and notes for every take, for the editor and the colourist.
- Batteries and lenses ready. Charged, cleaned and where the focus puller needs them.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Slating every take, with timecode where it’s used
- Loading and unloading cards, or film magazines
- The camera report, lens log and media log
- Handing cards to the DIT, or film cans to the lab
- Batteries, consumables and the camera cart
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Film stock, processing and scanning, at cost, on a film shoot
- A prep day at the kit house, if the package needs one
- 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?
One question sets the price: who’s the producer of record? Book a loader for your own camera team, 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 clapper loader, call to wrap
A 35mm advert on a stage at The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol: one set, two cameras. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 06:30 Load the mags Fresh rolls loaded into magazines in a darkroom tent beside the stage, each labelled with the stock and roll number.
- 07:30 Camera cart Batteries charged, lenses on the cart, the slate and the camera report ready.
- 08:30 First take Slate in, a clear call, out of shot. Every take written up: roll, slate, take, lens and stop.
- 10:00 Mag change A 400ft roll of 35mm lasts about four minutes at 25 frames a second. A fresh mag on in seconds; the exposed roll canned and labelled.
- 13:00 Lunch Short ends logged, magazines reloaded for the afternoon.
- 14:00 Second camera Slating two cameras at once, with a mark for each.
- 18:30 Wrap Every can taped, labelled and on the lab sheet for the courier; the camera report signed and handed over.
On film the job often starts the day before, at the kit house. On a digital shoot the day is the same with cards: logged out, handed to the DIT, and formatted only once two checked copies exist.
Which kind
Which loader do you need?
The job changes with the medium. Here’s what each version involves.
Digital 2nd AC Cards, slate and reports Card £355–448
Slates, swaps and logs the cards, hands them to the DIT or data wrangler, and keeps the camera report.
Best for adverts, brand films and drama on cinema cameras.
Film loader 16mm and 35mm Card £355–448
Loads and unloads magazines in the dark, cans and labels every roll, keeps the stock and lab sheets, and gets the cans to the lab.
Best for anything shot on film. Book someone who has loaded film recently: it’s a skill you keep by doing it.
Loader and data Two jobs, one person Quoted on the brief
On a one-camera digital shoot, the 2nd AC can copy and check the cards between set-ups, or take over as DIT at wrap. See DITs across the UK.
Best for small crews where a separate DIT would sit idle.
Focus puller, 1st AC Focus and the camera Card £461–575
The senior assistant, who pulls focus and runs the camera. See focus pullers across the UK.
Best booked alongside the loader on any cinema camera shoot.
What it’s for
What people book a clapper loader for across the UK
Commercials on stages
Two-camera days at Space Studios in Manchester, The Bottle Yard in Bristol and the stages of west London, with a report the grade can rely on.
Film shoots
16mm and 35mm, with the magazines, the cans and the run to the lab.
Drama and short films
Scene and take numbers the editor will need in six weeks’ time.
Multi-camera days
Two or three cameras slated and logged at once, in a studio or an office.
Music videos
Playback synced to the slate, take after take.
Recent work
Loaders on our jobs, on 35mm and in the studio
Our own production · Greenford, Cornwall and Oslo · May and June 2026
Nine reels of negative, all accounted for
Cohere’s AI for Empowerment was shot on 35mm, on an Arricam package from Panavision in Greenford. Our 2nd AC came from London with the 1st AC, and the prep on 12 June was big enough that it took two people a full working day to check every item; Panavision offered a second body as a backup, at no charge, because of the location. Nine reels of negative came back across the campaign. In Oslo the airline refused to let the exposed film travel by hand, and an X-ray would have ruined it, so it was processed and scanned there and came home by courier.
Crew hire · Woolwich, London · January 2025
A 2nd AC who took over as DIT at wrap
A one-day social spot for a sportswear brand, booked eight days out by Valentine Global, which brought its own director, DOP and camera. Our 2nd AC worked alongside the 1st AC through the day, in the artist’s studio in Woolwich and at a second location nearby, then switched to DIT at the end of it, copying and checking the rushes before they left set. There was no separate DIT on the crew.
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.
- A prep day at the kit house is quoted separately.
Kit and film
- Stock, processing and scanning at cost, each on its own line.
- On AI for Empowerment the 35mm package came from Panavision in Greenford, and the negative was processed and scanned at Cinelab in Slough.
- Plan how the exposed film reaches the lab before the shoot, especially if it has to fly: an X-ray can ruin it, and an airline can refuse to carry it by hand.
- Kit houses outside London include Films at 59 in Bristol and Cardiff, the rental houses at Space Studios in Manchester, No Drama in Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool and Newcastle, and Lights Camera Scotland in Edinburgh (checked October 2026). More in film equipment hire in the UK.
Across the UK
- A loader from near the shoot where we can; from London, Manchester or Bristol where the brief needs one, with the travel on the quote.
- Under the APA terms a prep day is booked for 8 or 10 hours at the hourly rate (checked October 2026).
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the loader.
- 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 loader 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.
- Film offices want public liability before they issue a permit: at least £5m in Bristol and Manchester, £10m in Edinburgh and on Network Rail (checked October 2026). On a crew hire that certificate is yours.
From £355 a day
APA/Bectu card: £355–448 a day for a clapper loader.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £355 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £35.50 |
| Insurance, 2% | £7.10 |
| One day, before travel | £397.60 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the loader we book, and cover on kit we hire in. Insurance for a UK shoot
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the loader.
- 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 clapper loader (2nd AC), anywhere in the UK.
Tell us the date, the camera, where the package is coming from, and whether it’s digital or film. 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 £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) This page £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 loader works inside a camera package: the kit house, the lab, the travel and the stage each get their own line on the quote, or use our UK guides to sort them yourself.
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 clapper loader (2nd AC) in the UK: questions
How much does a clapper loader cost in the UK?
Our clapper loaders start at £355 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and the clapper loader is paid all of it. APA/Bectu card benchmark: £355–448. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so one day comes to £397.60 + VAT, before kit and any travel. A prep day at the kit house is quoted separately, and film stock, processing and scanning go on at cost. Film crew rates in the UK
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.
Is a clapper loader the same as a 2nd AC?
Yes. In the UK the second assistant camera is usually called the clapper loader, a name from the days when the job was mostly loading film; HMRC lists it as clapper loader, also known as second assistant cameras (checked October 2026). The 1st AC is the focus puller.
Do I need a loader on a digital shoot?
On a cinema camera shoot with a focus puller, yes: someone has to slate, log and look after the cards. On a small crew the loader can double as the DIT, as ours did on Valentine Global’s studio day in Woolwich. On a small interview day the camera operator can do it.
Can your loaders load film?
Yes. We book loaders who have loaded 16mm and 35mm recently, which is the skill to ask for. On our own 35mm campaign, AI for Empowerment, the 2nd AC came from London, prepped the package in Greenford and ran it on the shoot. Tell us the camera and the stock when you book.
How does the exposed film get to the lab?
Plan it before the shoot: who takes the cans to the lab, and when. If it has to fly, an X-ray can ruin it, and an airline can refuse to carry it by hand: on our Oslo shoot it was refused, so the negative was processed and scanned in Oslo and came home by courier. The rest of that campaign was processed and scanned at Cinelab in Slough.
How long is a loader’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
Where do your loaders come from?
From near the shoot where we can, and from London, Manchester or Bristol where we can’t, with the travel on the quote before anything is booked. For one city: clapper loaders in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cornwall, and in the US, New York.
More on crew across the UK
- Film crew hire UK
- Film crew rates in the UK
- Clapper loader hire in London
- Clapper loader hire in Manchester
- Clapper loader hire in Birmingham
- Clapper loader hire in Bristol
- Clapper loader hire in Cornwall
- Clapper loader hire in New York
- Focus puller (1st AC) hire UK
- DIT hire UK
- DOP hire UK
- How we select our crew
- Our crew hire case studies