Film crew hire/Cornwall/Hair and make-up
Hire a hair and make-up artist in Cornwall. Camera-ready, and kept that way in the wind.
Hair and make-up artists for shoots across Cornwall: adverts in a house and on the coast, surfers out of the sea at Fistral, makers in their St Ives studios, drama in a harbour village. They work to the camera, not the mirror, and keep every look the same through wind, drizzle and sea air until wrap. £398 a day, paid to the artist 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: Christian Agbede, Here Now Films, Bright Eliya, hessam nabavi and Carl Beech
The role
What a hair and make-up artist does on your shoot
A hair and make-up artist (HMUA, or HMU on a call sheet) gets everyone in front of the camera looking like themselves on a good day, then keeps them that way: powder between takes, flyaways, collars. On the Cornish coast, add salt spray, drizzle and a wind that rearranges hair between every take.
On an advert or a brand film they build a look to the brief and hold it from a kitchen in the morning to a beach in the afternoon. On an interview the work should go unnoticed, which is the point. We book hair and make-up for the camera: film, TV, video and stills. Not weddings.
Most Cornish shoots happen outdoors or in someone’s home, so the artist plans the station before the day: a spare room near the set, or on the coast a van or a gazebo at the unit base. Heated hair tools need power, and a clifftop doesn’t always have it. Our Cohere shoot on the Lizard had a hair and make-up artist on the crew list and a Site of Special Scientific Interest for a location: nothing could break the ground, so every gazebo was weighted, and with no generators the unit ran on portable power stations.
We’re a crew agency with 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: one artist for an interview, or a make-up team for a cast and a family on the beach. We book artists who live in Cornwall first. When the dates or the brief need more, artists come down from Bristol, Devon or London, with travel and a hotel on the quote before anything is booked.
- Made up for the camera. Products that read true on a 4K sensor, in flat sea light or low evening sun. The test is the monitor, not the mirror.
- Weatherproofed. Long-wear products, a belt kit on the beach, and a touch-up after every gust and every shower.
- The same look all day. A continuity photo of every look, so the beach matches the kitchen and day two matches day one.
- Every face on camera. Leads, real families and first-time contributors, every skin tone and hair type. Tell us who’s on camera and we’ll match the artist.
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 every set-up, indoors and out
- Continuity photos 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 family cast
- A make-up station at the unit base, a van or a weighted gazebo, when the location has no room for one
- 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 an artist for your own Cornish shoot, or have us take the whole production on, 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, house to beach
An advert with two leads and a family: the morning in a house near Falmouth, the afternoon on the beach below it. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:00 Arrive and set up From the crew hotel or from home, with the kit in two cases and a belt bag for the beach. A table, a mirror, daylight and a plug in a room near the set, out of shot.
- 07:30 Leads in the chair 30 to 45 minutes each for a designed look, built to last outdoors.
- 08:30 The family Quicker, lighter grooming for the real people in the film: shine down, hair tidy, nothing that looks like make-up.
- 09:00 Camera check The look checked on the monitor with the DOP, under the window light the morning is lit with.
- 09:15 Through the takes Beside the monitor, watching. Powder, flyaways and collars between set-ups, and a continuity photo of every look.
- 12:30 Lunch and the move An hour, then down to the beach. The station is now the back of a van or a gazebo weighted against the wind.
- 13:30 On the beach Hair reset and salt spray blotted between takes, faces touched up after every gust, the same look as the kitchen.
- 18:00 Wrap Make-up off for anyone who wants it, wet brushes dried, and the kit packed before the light goes.
As a rough guide, one artist can look after two leads and a small family, or six to eight interview contributors, in a day. On the coast, allow longer between set-ups: wind and drizzle undo a look faster than any studio light.
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 for interviews and documentaries 15 to 20 minutes
Even skin, no shine, tidy hair and brows. Nobody watching should be able to tell.
Best for makers in their studios in St Ives or Penryn, farmers and fishermen in their own place, and founders on camera for the first time.
Presenter make-up for pieces to camera outdoors 30 minutes or more
Long-wear products, set to last for hours in wind and sea air, and checked between every take.
Best for presenters walking the coast path, on a beach or on Bodmin Moor, where the nearest mirror is in the van.
Commercial and beauty for adverts and brand films Quoted on the brief
A designed look to a brief and a mood board, with close-ups that hold up at 4K and match from the house to the beach.
Best for adverts, brand films, and beauty, fashion and outdoor clothing products.
Hair styling for fashion and lifestyle Quoted on the brief
Hair styled to a look with heated tools, extensions or wigs, and reset after every gust.
Best for fashion and campaign shoots on Cornish beaches. Book the look with a costume designer or stylist in Cornwall.
Period, character and effects for drama and reconstructions Book it early
Period hair, wigs and facial hair, ageing, bruising and casualty make-up, with prosthetic pieces made and tested before the shoot.
Best for drama, heritage films, and safety and training films. Cornwall Council’s code of practice says a staged crime or accident needs special guidance, and asks for the Ambulance Service to be told about any pretend ambulance, so tell us when you book.
What it’s for
What people book hair and make-up for in Cornwall
Adverts and brand films
A look that has to hold from a cottage kitchen to a clifftop, for brands shooting in a house near Fowey in the morning and on the beach at Porthcurno by the afternoon.
Surf and outdoor brands
Athletes and contributors out of the sea at Fistral or Watergate Bay, hair dried and faces reset between sets.
Makers, galleries and gardens
Artists in their studios in St Ives, gardeners at Heligan and scientists at the Eden Project, groomed lightly for interviews in their own place.
Real families
Families and children cast for adverts and campaigns, with a licence from Cornwall Council for the children and a chaperone on set.
Drama and TV
Period hair and continuity for drama: Port Isaac was Port Wenn in Doc Martin for 18 years, and House of the Dragon filmed at Holywell Bay and St Michael’s Mount.
Recent work
Hair and make-up on our jobs
One advert in Cornwall, and three days on the road with an overseas studio.
Our work · Talland Bay and Lostwithiel, Cornwall · August 2025
Whistlefish’s first TV ad
Whistlefish’s first TV ad, for the Cornish card and gift company: two days in one house and on the coast at Talland Bay, Hessenford and Lostwithiel, with two professional leads beside real families. We booked a key make-up artist and a chaperone for the children, then took the ad through Clearcast to ITV in the West and Sky AdSmart.
Production service · Portsmouth, London and Oxford · November 2023
Three cities in three days, for an Oregon studio
Swanson Studio flew in from Oregon to photograph and interview surgeons and the people around them for Intuitive: a hospital in Portsmouth, a hospital in London and Intuitive’s office at Oxford Science Park, one city a day. They brought the cameras. We ran the UK side, hair and make-up included, with lighting, 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.
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.
- On a coast shoot the artist works from the unit base, a van or a weighted gazebo: tell us what the location has.
Before the day
- Tell us about allergies and skin sensitivities when you book; we pass them on.
- Contributors arrive with clean, moisturised skin, hair as they usually wear it, and a warm layer for between takes outdoors.
Filming in Cornwall
- Cornwall Council asks for £5m public liability and a location-specific risk assessment with every application.
- Cornwall Council’s notice goes by cast and crew together: five working days for fewer than five people with a handheld camera, ten for five or more (checked October 2026).
- Children in an advert need a licence from Cornwall Council, and one chaperone can look after up to 12 (checked October 2026).
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. What it covers
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 in Cornwall.
Tell us how many people are on camera, the look, and where in Cornwall 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 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 £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 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 in Cornwall. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in Cornwall.
Production support
Everything around the crew
Hair and make-up rarely comes alone, so here’s how the permits, the logistics and the rest of a Cornish shoot fit around 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 hair and make-up artist in Cornwall: questions
How much does a hair and make-up artist cost in Cornwall?
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 sets £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, before any travel from outside Cornwall. Our rates are national: Cornwall costs the same as anywhere else we crew. When the artist comes down from Bristol, Devon or London, the travel and a hotel are their own lines on the quote.
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.
Where do your hair and make-up artists come from?
Cornwall first, where we can. We’re a crew agency with 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, 30+ of them in Cornwall. For a specialist, such as prosthetics or period hair, or a date when the local artists are booked, the artist comes down from Bristol, Devon or London, and the travel and a hotel are on the quote before anything is booked. On our Cohere shoot on the Lizard the crew hotel was in Helston, near the location. Our founders work from our Newquay office.
Can make-up hold up on a Cornish beach or clifftop?
Yes, with planning. Culdrose, on the Lizard, averages about 151 days a year with a millimetre of rain or more, and a mean wind of 12 knots (Met Office 1991–2020 averages). So the artist works with long-wear products and a belt kit, from a station out of the wind: a van, the unit base or a gazebo weighted down, because some clifftops can’t be pegged. Heated hair tools are planned around the power: on a clifftop with no generator, that means portable power stations.
We’re filming children. What do we need?
A licence and a chaperone. Cornwall Council licenses children who perform in film, TV and adverts, and says performing without a licence is illegal. A body of persons approval needs at least 21 days’ notice, and one chaperone can look after up to 12 children (checked October 2026). On Whistlefish’s first TV ad, with real families on camera, we booked a chaperone for the children alongside the make-up artist.
Does the make-up artist count on a Cornwall Council permit?
Yes. Filming on Cornwall Council land, its beaches, woods, parks, gardens and old mining sites among them, needs a permit through FilmApp. Screen Cornwall’s Film Office gives advice, locations and introductions to landowners, but doesn’t issue the permits. Cornwall Council’s notice goes by cast and crew together: five working days for fewer than five people with a handheld camera, ten for five or more (checked October 2026). The fee goes by the kind of production, not the head count: Cornwall Council’s 2026–27 location fee for a commercial is £1,500 a full day, £660 for documentary and daytime TV and £180 for online content, with drone permission £216 a full day on top and a £10 admin fee on every application, all paid upfront (checked October 2026). See filming permits in Cornwall.
Where does the artist set up on a location shoot?
Wherever is warm, dry and close to the set: a spare room in the house, a van, or the unit base. A unit base in a council car park is agreed with Cornwall Council’s Parking Team, separately from the FilmApp permit (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).
Do I need hair and make-up for an interview?
Usually, even a light touch. Under lights skin shines and a 4K camera sees it; outdoors, wind and sea air do the rest. If the budget is tight, book one artist and schedule contributors back to back: six to eight in a day, fewer if the interviews move between a harbour, a studio and a clifftop.