Film crew hire/Brighton/Director
Hire a director in Brighton. A director plans the film with you and runs the shoot that gets it.
People book a director in Brighton for offices at New England House, conferences at the Brighton Centre and shoots on the seafront. The director plans the interviews or the script with you, then directs the contributors or the cast and the camera team on the day. Our own team directs most of the films we make. On larger shoots we bring in an outside director and build the production round them. Our director day rate starts at £500, and the director gets all of it.
- 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 and Ekkanat Sartsoongnern
The role
What a director does on your shoot
A director decides what the film is and gets it on the day. Before the shoot they write the treatment, plan the interviews or the script with you, and agree the look with the DOP. On the day they run the contributors or the cast, call the takes and the set-ups, and keep a list of what the edit still needs.
The director decides what the film should feel like, and the DOP decides how it looks. On a small corporate crew the director often produces too, and that can include the permissions. We book a director who lives in Brighton or Hove first, and the crew round them too. If nobody local is free, or the shoot needs more people, we bring crew down from London. We add the travel to the quote before anything is booked.
- You agree the plan with the director before the shoot. They write the treatment, the interview questions or the shot list for you to sign off.
- The director puts contributors at ease. People who have never been filmed feel settled enough to say it properly.
- The director gets the coverage the edit needs. They note the selects and pick up any gaps before the crew wraps.
- The director gives one set of calls. The crew, the client and the contributors all hear the same instructions.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Directing the contributors or cast, the camera and the set-ups
- The shot list or interview plan for the day
- A walk-through with you before the first set-up
- Notes on selects and pick-ups at wrap
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Prep, including the treatment, recces and casting, quoted on the brief
- Edit days, if the director cuts or supervises the cut
- Travel from London or outside Brighton, and mileage and parking where the day needs them, at cost
Read how our rates work and the two ways to book in crew rates in Brighton.
Two ways to book
Crew hire or full production
The price depends on who is the producer of record. That’s the company responsible for the shoot. You can book a director for your own shoot, or ask us to run the whole production.
Crew hire
You run the shoot.
10% + 2% booking fee and insurance on everything we book for you, including 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
- You’re the producer of record, so the production is your responsibility
The 2% covers employers’ liability for every crew member we book and the kit we hire in for you. It doesn’t cover anything else on the shoot. A large kit rental may need extra insurance, which goes on the quote as its own line.
Full production
We’re the producer of record.
15% + 5% production fee, plus insurance and contingency, on the whole production budget. We quote it 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
The 5% pays for our production insurance across the whole shoot, including £10m public liability, and the contingency.
If your own producer or director will run the day, book crew hire. If you want us to run the production, ask for a full production quote.
On the day
An example day with a director
A leadership film in an office at New England House, with four contributors in the morning and B-roll on the seafront after lunch. The times are an example. The call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:30 Before call The van parks in a suspended bay outside, booked with the council 7 working days ahead. Brighton has no emission charge for vans. Every crew name and the kit list went to the building’s security in advance, so the crew go straight up.
- 08:00 Crew call The director walks the DOP through the plan. They agree the frames, the interview set-up and where the second camera sits.
- 09:30 First contributor The director settles the first contributor and talks them through the questions. Then they run the interview and listen for the line the film hangs on.
- 12:30 Lunch The director checks the morning’s answers against the plan and rewrites one question for the afternoon.
- 13:30 Seafront B-roll A small handheld unit films on the seafront. Filming on council land, including the seafront and the beach, needs permission from the Sussex Film Office, which handles filming for Brighton and Hove City Council.
- 15:30 Last contributor The last contributor has 20 minutes between meetings, so the director goes straight to the questions that matter.
- 18:30 Wrap The director notes the selects for the edit and lists any pick-ups. The rushes are copied to two drives and sent on, and the crew are out by 19:00.
We checked this in November 2026. Fees and rules change, and this page isn’t the official source. For the latest, check with the Sussex Film Office and Brighton and Hove City Council.
Types
Types of director we book
The word director covers different jobs on different shoots. Each type below says what the director does and which briefs it suits.
Interview and corporate director Leadership films, customer stories, internal films From £500 a day
An interview director plans the questions with you, runs the contributors and directs the camera team. It’s most of what our own team directs.
Good for interview days with a few contributors and a fixed window with each, in an office at New England House or with a keynote speaker at the Brighton Centre.
Documentary director, or shooting producer-director Plans the story and finds it on the day Quoted on the brief
A documentary director researches and plans the film, runs the interviews and directs, sometimes with a camera in hand. On a small crew they produce too.
Good for branded documentary and interview-led films, such as a lab at the University of Sussex or a venue getting ready for the Brighton Festival in May.
Commercials director Adverts and campaigns with a cast Quoted on the brief
A commercials director is usually represented, and brought in for the job. We build the production round them. That’s how we ran AI for Empowerment.
Good for scripted work with a cast. That means an AD team, and either a studio or a street with the Sussex Film Office’s permission. See film studios in Brighton.
A director for your crew You bring the director, we crew the shoot Crew hire
When the director is yours, flown in from abroad or down from London on the train, we put the crew and kit round them and they direct. Matt Dunstan, a US director, has worked with us that way in London and in Manchester. After the first shoot, in London in February 2024, he wrote, “We had one hell of a team.”
Good for agencies and overseas productions with a director already attached.
Us making the film We’re the producer of record From £9,500
If you want the whole film made, we produce it too. We quote the director, producer, crew, permissions and edit as a production, at cost plus 15% and 5% for insurance and contingency.
Good when there’s no production team on your side. See video production across the UK.
What it’s for
What people book a director for in Brighton
Founder and customer films
Directors run interview days in offices at New England House and round the station, where many of the city’s tech and games companies work. Contributors often have half an hour between meetings.
Conferences at the Brighton Centre
Crews film the keynotes, and the director records speaker interviews between the sessions. There are only a few minutes with each speaker.
Adverts and fashion on the seafront
Adverts and fashion shoots use the beach, Hove Lawns and the piers. The Sussex Film Office handles the beach, and the pier’s owner handles the pier.
University and research films
Directors film researchers and students where they work, at the University of Sussex in Falmer and the University of Brighton.
The Downs and the coast
Brand films go out to Devil’s Dyke, Ditchling Beacon and Seven Sisters. Drones need permission from Shoreham’s air traffic control, and from Seven Sisters Country Park over the park.
Recent work
Directors on our jobs, and how we crew Brighton
Our work · the moors of the South West of England
The Living Layer
A documentary for the South West Peatland Partnership, made by our own team over a year on the moors of the South West of England. It follows the restoration work through the year, up to the first moss growing on bare peat.
How we crew it · Brighton
A crew built round the director
Our own team directs most of the films we make, and travels down from London for the shoot. If you bring your own director, or book a freelance one through us, we build the crew round them. We start with crew who live in Brighton or Hove. If the brief needs more people, or nobody local is free that day, the crew comes down from London. We add the travel to the quote before anything is booked.
Before you book
Things to know
The day
- The day is 11 hours, including an hour for lunch.
- Overtime is paid at card rates, and we agree it with you before it happens.
- Prep, recces and edit days are quoted separately.
Permissions in Brighton
- Private property needs the owner’s permission in writing, with the usage agreed.
- Streets, parks and the beach go through the Sussex Film Office, which handles filming on council land for Brighton and Hove City Council. Brighton Palace Pier, the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Marina, Brighton station and Churchill Square each need their owner’s permission.
- Private venues usually ask to see your public liability certificate. The Royal Pavilion, for example, asks for at least £10m. On a crew hire that certificate is yours. On a full production it’s ours. We checked this in November 2026. Fees and rules change, and this page isn’t the official source. For the latest, check with Brighton and Hove City Council and Brighton and Hove Museums.
Paying and changes
- You pay nothing until you confirm the director.
- We take 50% by card when you book and 50% when you receive the final rushes.
- The quote shows every line, including the day rate, booking fee, kit and travel.
- Cancellation terms are on every quote.
What our insurance covers
- Our insurance covers employers’ liability for the director we book, up to £10m.
- Kit we hire in for you is insured. A large kit rental may need extra insurance, as its own line on the quote.
- On a crew hire, it doesn’t cover anything else. Public liability, the location and your own kit stay with you, and your venue will want to see your certificate. When we’re the producer of record, our policy covers the shoot.
From £500 a day
There’s no APA/Bectu card rate for directors.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £500 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £50 |
| Insurance, 2% | £10 |
| One day, before travel | £560 + VAT |
The 2% covers employers’ liability for the director we book and the kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the director.
- 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
These reviews come from our Google Business Profile.
Book a director in Brighton.
Tell us what the film is for, who’s in it, and whether you need a crew as well. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on 07412 543822.
Check availability
The whole crew
Every crew role we book in Brighton
Send one brief and we send one quote, with every role on its own line. These are our day rates in Brighton, and each crew member gets their full rate:
Production 06
- Director This page 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 £398
- Costume £519–694
Art department 02
- Art director £675–878
- Set builders £341–512
Post-production 01
- Editor From £350
See how our rates work in crew rates in Brighton, or start from one of our crew set-ups in Brighton.
Production support
Everything around the crew
A director’s prep includes the places and the permissions. We can book a studio and ask the Sussex Film Office or a private owner for permission, and each goes on the quote as its own line. You can also sort them yourself.
01
Kit rental
Where to hire camera, lighting and sound kit for a Brighton shoot, and when the crew bring their own.
02
Locations and permits
The Sussex Film Office, private places such as the pier, filming on the beach and the drone rules.
03
Studios and set builds
Studios in Brighton for interviews and product shots, and where to go for a bigger set build.
04
Props and wardrobe
Where props and costume come from, and the stylists and hair and make-up artists we book.
Questions
Questions about hiring a director in Brighton
How much does a director cost in Brighton?
Our directors start at £500 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and the director gets all of it. There’s no APA/Bectu card rate for directors. Prep, recces and edit days are quoted on the brief. We add our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so one day comes to £560 + VAT, before any travel from London. If you want the whole film made, we quote it as a production, and every production starts at £9,500.
What does the insurance on a crew booking cover?
It covers two things. The first is employers’ liability for every crew member we book, up to £10m. The second is the kit we hire in for you. That’s what the 2% pays for. A large kit rental may need extra insurance, which goes on the quote as its own line. On a crew hire, you’re the producer of record, so public liability, the location, your own kit and anything you book yourself stay with you. If you want us to be the producer of record, we quote it as a full production, and our insurance covers the whole shoot.
Do you direct in-house, or book freelance directors?
Both. Our own team directs most of the films we make. All six of our productions for AlTi Tiedemann Global, in London and New York, were directed by our London team, with the New York crews booked locally. On larger shoots we bring in an outside director and run the production round them, as we did on AI for Empowerment.
Do I need a permit to film on a street in Brighton?
Yes, for streets, parks, the seafront and the beach. The Sussex Film Office handles filming on council land for Brighton and Hove City Council. It doesn’t publish its fees, so we ask it for a price and add the permit to the quote. Private places, such as Brighton Palace Pier, the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Marina, Brighton station and Churchill Square, need the owner’s permission. On a crew hire, the permission is yours. There’s more in filming permits in Brighton. Check with the Sussex Film Office for the latest.
Can you crew a Brighton shoot for a director flying in?
Yes. We crew it and book the kit and locations, and your director directs. If you need a UK company to contract with, we become the producer of record and quote it as a production. See how a UK production service company works.
Are your directors from Brighton?
Our own directors aren’t. Our base is London, at 124 City Road, and we have bases in Manchester, Bristol and Cornwall. Our directors come down for the shoot, and the fastest trains from London take about an hour. For a freelance director and the rest of the crew, we book people who live in Brighton or Hove first. If the brief or the date needs someone else, they come down from London, and we add the travel to the quote before anything is booked.
How far ahead should I book a director in Brighton?
As early as you can, because the prep is where the film gets decided. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. The notice periods often set the date. A suspended parking bay needs 7 working days’ notice, filming in or near the sea needs at least 10 working days, and a road closure can take up to 12 weeks. The city is busy during the Brighton Marathon in April, the festivals in May and early June, and Pride in early August, so allow more time then. Check with Brighton and Hove City Council for the latest.