Film crew hire/Cornwall/Production manager
Hire a production manager in Cornwall. Bookings, budgets, hotels and the hundred things in between.
Production managers for shoots across Cornwall. They book the crew, kit, vans and hotels, chase the FilmApp permits, parking dispensations and certificates, keep the budget straight, and get a unit and its kit down the A30 and along the coast on time. From £504 a day, paid to the production manager in full.
- 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK
- 30+ of them in and around Cornwall
- 54 five-star Google reviews
- 2 hrs for our team to read your brief, in working hours
Photos: Kelly Sikkema, Here Now Films, Jakob Owens, Brands&People and Nick Fewings
The role
What a production manager does on your shoot
A production manager (PM) runs the logistics of a production, working to the producer. They book crew and kit, sort travel, vans, hotels and catering, chase permits and insurance certificates, and track the spend against the budget. On the day, they’re the person who knows where everything is.
On a one-day shoot a producer usually does all of this. A PM earns their place on multi-day, multi-location shoots, and Cornwall adds its own layer: crew and kit coming a long way, hotels to find in season, sea and beach days planned round the tide, and a parking dispensation at £20 a vehicle a day with five working days’ notice (checked October 2026).
As a crew agency we have 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, 30+ of them in Cornwall, and we scale a crew up as the shoot needs: a producer alone for a day, a PM and a coordinator for a week on the coast. When the office needs more than Cornwall has free, the PM comes from Bristol, Devon or London, with travel on the quote.
- Everything booked. Crew, kit, vans, hotels, sleeper berths and catering, confirmed in writing.
- A budget that holds. Spend tracked against the budget every day, and overages raised before they happen.
- Paperwork in order. Risk assessments, insurance certificates, FilmApp permits and landowners’ agreements, filed.
- Movement planned. Call times, routes, unit bases and car park bays, all on the call sheet.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Booking crew, kit, vans and hotels
- The movement order and travel plan, sleeper berths included
- Spend tracked against the budget
- Permits, parking dispensations 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 and parking dispensations, at cost
- Travel from outside Cornwall, hotels where the day needs them, mileage and parking, at cost
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in Cornwall.
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 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: a boatyard in Falmouth in the morning, the north coast after lunch. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 06:30 The hotel Breakfast for the crew who came down from Bristol and London, the vans loaded, and the day’s route on the call sheet, road signs over the sat-nav.
- 07:30 Crew call Radios out, the day’s changes briefed with the producer, and the boatyard’s own safety rules read to the unit.
- 09:00 Behind the scenes Tomorrow’s kit from Falmouth University’s film school stores confirmed: 24 hours’ notice, a copy of public liability before collection, payment on collection (checked October 2026). A sleeper berth booked for the focus puller coming down from London.
- 12:00 The move Falmouth to the north coast by the A30, dual carriageway between Chiverton and Carland Cross since June 2024 (checked October 2026). The second location knows when to expect the unit.
- 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, the parking dispensations paid, overtime agreed with the producer before it happens.
- 19:00 Wrap Timesheets signed and tomorrow’s call sheet out. If the forecast means moving a day on council land, it’s decided now. Cornwall Council wants 48 hours’ notice of a cancellation on its land, or charges a late fee (checked October 2026).
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 Books and runs the logistics From £504 a day
Books and runs everything around the shoot, and keeps the costs against the budget, working to the producer.
Best on multi-day, multi-location shoots, and anything with crew and kit coming down the A30.
Production coordinator Runs the production office
Works to the PM: call sheets, bookings, travel, hotels, contact lists and the production file.
Best on long shoots and series, where the office never stops.
Line producer Owns the budget and the schedule
Owns the budget and the schedule from the first day of prep to delivery, and reports against both.
Best on documentaries, series and productions that run for weeks.
Location manager Finds the places, and the permissions
Finds the locations, negotiates them, gets the permissions from the owner, Cornwall Council, the National Trust or a harbour master, and runs them on the day. See filming permits in Cornwall.
Best when the shoot moves along the coast, or has one difficult location: a working harbour, a nature reserve, a beach in August.
Producer Makes the decisions on the day
If someone needs to make the decisions on the day, that’s a producer. See producers in Cornwall.
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 in Cornwall
Multi-day shoots on the coast
Three days or more, with crew, kit, vans and hotels to keep track of, and a weather day held.
Several locations
Falmouth in the morning, the north coast after lunch, Penwith the next day, each with its own owner and its own permission.
Crew and kit coming down
A focus puller on the sleeper from Paddington, a lighting crew from Bristol, bigger kit by van, all arriving in the right order.
Studio days
Screen Cornwall says Cornwall has no film studios; the nearest stages are The Bottle Yard in Bristol. Falmouth University hires out its film school studios: Studio 1 is 154 square metres, at £750 a day (checked October 2026).
Islands and harbours
The Isles of Scilly by the Scillonian or Skybus, with any freight booked ahead, as the ferry company asks (checked October 2026), or a day on a working quay with the harbour master’s say-so.
Recent work
Production management, in Cornwall and further afield
How we crew it · Cornwall
A PM for the long way down
A one-day interview in Truro doesn’t need a PM: the producer books it and runs it. We add one when the logistics become the job: several days along the coast, crew and kit coming down from Bristol, Devon or London, hotels to find in a county where, Screen Cornwall says, summer accommodation is limited (checked October 2026), and a weather day held. The PM starts in prep, often a week ahead, 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.
Crew, kit and edit · Team USA House, Paris · July to September 2024
34 days in France for GMR Marketing
The crew and kit for Xfinity’s athlete studio at Team USA House, across the Olympic and Paralympic Games, for GMR Marketing. The logistics were most of the job: two stints and 34 days in France with the travel, the crew UK-based throughout and crossing with the kit by van through the tunnel, a load-in and recce before the first shoot, and an editor cutting on site every day.
Before you book
Things to know
The day
- 11 hours, including an hour for lunch.
- Overtime at card rates, agreed with you before it happens.
- Prep and wrap days are quoted separately.
Parking, permits and the drive
- A parking dispensation for vehicles essential to filming is £20 a day per vehicle from Cornwall Council, with at least five working days’ notice (checked October 2026).
- A unit base in a council car park is agreed with Cornwall Council’s parking team, outside FilmApp, and the car park has to be the council’s own (checked October 2026).
- Hotels, sleeper berths and mileage at cost, each on its own line of the quote.
Filming in Cornwall
- Cornwall Council asks for £5m public liability and a location-specific risk assessment with every application.
- RNLI lifeguards patrol 20 Cornish beaches from May; tell the lifeguards before filming on a patrolled beach.
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.
£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. What it covers
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 in Cornwall.
Tell us the dates, the locations, and who and what is coming down. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on 07412 543822.
Check availability
The whole crew
Every role in Cornwall, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our day rates in Cornwall, 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 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 Cornwall. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in Cornwall.
Production support
Everything around the crew
A PM sorts everything around the crew, from crew hotels and sleeper berths to parking dispensations and the kit coming down, and each item can go on its own line of the quote if you want us to book it.
01
Kit rental
Kit in West Cornwall and Falmouth, the crew’s own kit, and what comes down from Bristol and London.
02
Locations and permits
Cornwall Council, the National Trust, Natural England, the harbours and the drone rules.
Questions
Hiring a production manager in Cornwall: questions
How much does a production manager cost in Cornwall?
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 starts at £564.48 + VAT. Most shoots need prep days too, quoted separately, and permit fees, parking dispensations and hotels 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.
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 along the coast, brings crew and kit down from Bristol or London, or has a landowner, a harbour and the council all wanting paperwork.
How do crew and kit get to a Cornish shoot?
By road, mostly, and some of the crew by train. London Paddington to Truro takes 4 hours 21 minutes on the fastest trains, and to Penzance 5 hours 4; the Night Riviera sleeper runs six nights a week, Paddington to Penzance (checked October 2026). Westbound, the sleeper also stops at Liskeard, Bodmin Parkway, Lostwithiel, Par, St Austell, Truro, Redruth, Camborne, Hayle and St Erth, and a single cabin starts from £49 (checked October 2026). Cornwall Airport Newquay has Ryanair to London Stansted, a twice-weekly easyJet summer service to Gatwick, and flights to Manchester all year (checked October 2026). Visit Cornwall puts London less than five hours from the heart of Cornwall by car (checked October 2026), and the PM plans the drive round the traffic.
Where does the crew stay?
Near the location, booked before the crew is. Screen Cornwall’s Film Office keeps an accommodation database with Visit Cornwall, out-of-season stays included, and warns that summer accommodation is limited (checked October 2026). On our Cohere day on the Lizard, the crew who travelled stayed in Helston. Hotels go on the quote at cost, each on its own line.
Can a production manager sort permits, parking and road closures?
Yes. Cornwall Council asks for ten working days’ notice, or five for a crew under five with a handheld camera, and 12 weeks for any traffic management or road closure (checked October 2026). A parking dispensation for vehicles essential to filming is £20 a day per vehicle from Cornwall Council, with at least five working days’ notice (checked October 2026). A road closure goes to the council’s Street Works team with at least 12 weeks’ notice, and an application still missing information six weeks before the date is declined (checked October 2026). Cornwall Council asks for £5m public liability and a location-specific risk assessment with every application. On a crew hire that certificate is yours; on a full production our policy covers it.
What happens if the weather turns?
The PM has a plan for it before the shoot. Weather days are held or priced in advance, and sea and beach days are planned round the tide tables. ADMIRALTY EasyTide gives free tide predictions for today and the next six days (checked October 2026). Cornwall Council wants 48 hours’ notice of a cancellation on its land, or charges a late fee (checked October 2026). Any change to the cost is agreed with you before it happens.
Where do your production managers come from?
Cornwall where we can. As a crew agency we have 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, 30+ of them in Cornwall, and we scale a crew up as the shoot needs: when the production office is bigger than Cornwall has free that week, the PM or the coordinator comes from Bristol, Devon or London, with travel and hotels on the quote before anything is booked. Our founders work from our Newquay office, and our base is London, at 124 City Road.
How far ahead should I book a PM in Cornwall?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours, and the earlier a PM starts, the more they save. Cornwall’s notice periods set the real date: ten working days for Cornwall Council land, 12 weeks for traffic management or a road closure, and up to four months for a landowner to get Natural England’s consent on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (checked October 2026). In summer the hotels set it too.