Film crew hire/Hair and make-up
Hire a hair and make-up artist, anywhere in the UK. Camera-ready at call, and still camera-ready at wrap.
Hair and make-up artists for shoots anywhere in the UK: leadership interviews in office towers, speakers at conference centres, presenters, adverts and brand films on location. Booked from London and briefed by our producers, they work to the camera, not the mirror. £398 a day, paid to the artist in full, plus a daily kit fee.
- 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: hessam nabavi, Bright Eliya, Here Now Films and Rhamely
The role
What a hair and make-up artist does on your shoot
A hair and make-up artist (HMUA, or HMU on the call sheet) gets everyone in front of the camera looking like themselves on a good day, then keeps them that way through every take: powder, flyaways, collars, and the shine that creeps back under the lights.
On an advert or a brand film they design a look to the brief. On an interview day nobody watching should notice the work at all, which is the point. We book hair and make-up for the camera: film, TV, video and stills, not weddings.
Across the UK, most of this work happens in someone else’s building: an office tower, a hospital boardroom, the green room at a conference centre. The artist needs a table, a mirror and a plug near the set, and their name on the security list with the rest of the crew. We book an artist who lives near the shoot where we can. When the brief needs a specialist, for prosthetics or period hair, they travel, and the train or the mileage and any hotel are on the quote before anything is booked.
- Made up for the camera. Products that read true on a 4K sensor, under LED and daylight. The test is the monitor, not the mirror.
- The same look all day. A continuity photo of every look, so the last take matches the first and day two matches day one.
- Contributors at ease. Ten minutes in the chair is often where a nervous contributor settles before the interview.
- Every skin tone and hair type. Tell us who’s on camera and we’ll match the artist to them, beards and grooming included.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Their own professional kit: foundations, powders, brushes and hair tools
- Hair and make-up for your contributors or cast, to the brief
- Checks and touch-ups between set-ups
- A continuity photo of each look
- Brushes cleaned between people, and single-use applicators
On top, each on its own line
- A daily kit fee for the artist’s own kit: £25
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote, kit included
- Wigs, prosthetics and special effects materials, priced to the brief
- A second artist, for full looks, a presenter all day or a big cast
- 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 an artist for your own shoot, anywhere in the UK, or have us produce the whole thing, wardrobe and all.
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 hair and make-up artist, call to wrap
An interview day with four contributors in an office in central Bristol. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:15 Arrive By car, with the kit in two cases. Bristol’s Clean Air Zone charges older cars as well as vans, £9 a day (checked October 2026), so we check the artist’s car when we book.
- 07:30 Sign in Names checked at reception, passes issued, the kit up in the goods lift with the camera team’s.
- 07:45 Set up the station A table, a mirror, good light and a plug, out of shot: in an office, usually the meeting room next door.
- 08:30 First contributor in the chair 15 to 20 minutes of natural grooming: skin evened out, shine down, hair and brows tidy. Longer for a presenter or a full look.
- 09:15 Camera check The look checked on the monitor with the DOP, under the real light, before the first take.
- 09:30 Through the takes Beside the monitor, watching. Powder, flyaways and collars between set-ups, and a continuity photo of every look.
- 13:00 Lunch An hour. Lips and powder back on before the first set-up after it.
- 18:30 Wrap Make-up off for anyone who wants it, the kit packed, and out through the loading bay before the building locks up.
As a rough guide, one artist can groom six to eight interview contributors in a day. For full looks, a presenter all day or a bigger cast, book two.
Which kind
Which kind of hair and make-up do you need?
What the shoot is for decides who we book. Times in the chair are per person, as a rough guide.
Natural grooming Interviews, corporate and documentary 15–20 min
Even skin, no shine, tidy hair and brows. Nobody watching should be able to tell.
Best for leadership films, testimonials, conference speakers and documentary contributors.
Presenter and broadcast Talking to camera, all day 30–45 min
Built to last under lights for hours, and checked between every take.
Best for presenters, podcast hosts and anyone carrying a piece to camera.
Beauty, fashion and commercial Adverts, brand films and styled hair 45–90 min
A designed look to a brief and a mood board, with close-ups that hold up at 4K, often alongside a costume designer or stylist.
Best for adverts, brand films, and beauty or fashion products.
Period, character and prosthetics Drama, reconstructions and safety films From 1 hour
Period hair, wigs and facial hair, ageing, wounds and casualty make-up, with prosthetic pieces made and tested before the shoot.
Best for drama, heritage films, and safety and training films. Book it early: pieces are made to order. A staged crime or accident in public goes to the police first: in London through the Met Police Film Unit, in the West Midlands through Production Central WM.
What it’s for
What people book hair and make-up for across the UK
Leadership and corporate interviews
Office towers in the City, Canary Wharf, Spinningfields and around Colmore Row, where everyone signs in and the work should go unnoticed.
Conferences and events
Speakers groomed before they go on stage at venues like ExCeL in London, Manchester Central, the ICC in Birmingham or the SEC in Glasgow, then touched up for the interview room between sessions.
Overseas productions
A US or European team flies in with its director and its cameras, and books hair and make-up here, often for several cities in one week.
Podcasts and presenters
Hosts and guests touched up between blocks under studio light.
Adverts and brand films
A look that has to match across two or three days on location, from a house in Cheshire to a beach in Cornwall.
Recent work
Hair and make-up on our jobs
Production service · Portsmouth, London and Oxford · November 2023
Three cities in three days, for an Oregon studio
Swanson Studios flew in from Oregon to photograph and interview surgeons and the people around them for Intuitive, the surgical robotics company: a hospital in Portsmouth, a hospital in London and Intuitive’s office at Oxford Science Park, one city a day from 29 November to 1 December 2023. Swanson ran their own cameras. We ran the UK side, hair and make-up included, with a gaffer, sound, a DIT, two vans and the hotels. The interviews ran 10 to 20 minutes each, back to back: 17 slots on the call sheet across the three days.
Crew hire · Canary Wharf, London · October 2024
A three-camera podcast set, 48 floors up
Magnet Media, a New York agency, recorded two podcast episodes on Level 48 of One Canada Square: a host and one guest, then the host and two guests, on three cameras. Call was 06:00 at the loading bay, and both episodes were shot by one o’clock. One hair and make-up artist looked after the host and the three guests, and every crew name, the artist’s included, went to reception for a security badge.
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.
- In an office tower or a conference centre, the artist’s name goes on the security list with the crew’s.
Before the day
- Tell us about allergies and skin sensitivities when you book, and we pass them on.
- Contributors arrive with clean, moisturised skin, hair as they usually wear it, and the clothes on a hanger.
On location
- On a street shoot the artist counts as crew: Bristol and Birmingham charge £84 + VAT for a street permit for up to ten (checked October 2026).
- Each city does it differently: filming locations and permits in the UK.
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the artist.
- 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 artist 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.
£398 a day
APA/Bectu card benchmark: £341–398 a day.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £398 |
| Kit fee | £25 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £42.30 |
| Insurance, 2% | £8.46 |
| One day, before travel | £473.76 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the artist we book, and cover on kit we hire in. Insurance for a UK shoot
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the artist.
- 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 hair and make-up artist, anywhere in the UK.
Tell us how many people are on camera, the look, and where and when you’re shooting. 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) £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 This page £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
Hair and make-up rarely comes alone, so here’s how rates, kit, insurance, permits and travel work around it on a UK shoot.
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 hair and make-up artist in the UK: questions
How much does a hair and make-up artist cost in the UK?
Our hair and make-up artists are £398 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, paid to the artist in full. The APA/Bectu card benchmark is £341–398. A daily kit fee of £25 goes on top, then our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance on the lot: £473.76 + VAT for the day. The rate is the same in every city we crew. Travel, mileage and any hotel are extra, at cost, when the artist works away from home.
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 the 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
Can you send an artist outside London?
Yes, anywhere in the UK. We book an artist who lives near the shoot where we can, so there’s no travel to pay. For a specialist, such as prosthetics or period hair, or on a date when the local artists are booked, they travel, and the train or the mileage and any hotel are on the quote before anything is booked. Our own team works from London, at 124 City Road, and from our bases in Manchester, Bristol and Cornwall. In one of our crew cities? Hair and make-up in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cornwall.
Does the make-up artist count towards a filming permit?
Usually, yes: film offices count the whole crew. Bristol charges £84 + VAT for street filming with up to ten people, and Production Central WM, the West Midlands film office, £84 + VAT for up to ten crew. Leeds counts cast as well: £84.20 + VAT for up to four crew, or ten with cast. In London, Film London treats five or fewer, participants included, filming handheld and out of everyone’s way, as a small crew that needs no permission on the street (all checked October 2026). See filming locations and permits in the UK.
Is a freelance make-up artist self-employed?
Usually. HMRC’s employment status manual lists make-up artists, hair and make-up included, among the behind-camera roles normally treated as self-employed, where the artist brings a standard make-up kit, does most of the work away from the engager’s premises, or is booked for a specific production for a finite period (ESM4120, checked October 2026). When you book through us, we contract and pay the artist, and you pay one invoice.
Do I need hair and make-up for a corporate interview?
Usually, even a light touch. Under lights skin shines, and a 4K camera sees it. If the budget is tight, book one artist and schedule your contributors back to back: six to eight in a day.
Can an overseas production book an artist through you?
Yes. Overseas teams contract with us, a UK company, so they don’t need one of their own, and we book and pay the artist. Swanson Studios, from Oregon, worked that way across Portsmouth, London and Oxford. See working with a UK production service company.
More on crew across the UK
- Film crew hire UK
- Film crew rates in the UK
- Hair and make-up hire in London
- Hair and make-up hire in Manchester
- Hair and make-up hire in Birmingham
- Hair and make-up hire in Bristol
- Hair and make-up hire in Cornwall
- Hair and make-up hire in New York
- Costume designer and stylist hire UK
- Art director hire UK
- How we select our crew
- Our crew hire case studies