Film crew hire/Birmingham/Clapper loader
Hire a clapper loader in Birmingham. Every take slated, every card and every can of film accounted for.
Clapper loaders (2nd ACs) for brand films, adverts and drama on Birmingham’s stages and streets, from Curzon Street Studios to the Jewellery Quarter. They help prep the package at the kit house, slate the takes, load the cards or the film magazines, and keep the camera report the edit relies on. From £355 a day, paid to the loader in full.
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- £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, Voice + Video and Lulu Black
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 knows what’s what. They load and unload cards, or film magazines on a film shoot, and keep the camera report.
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. One mistake there costs a day.
On a Birmingham shoot the package comes from Media Dog Hire at the NEC or Wex Rental’s collection point on Hagley Road, or, for film and other specialist kit, up from London, and the loader helps the focus puller check it out the day before.
- Every take marked. Scene, slate and take on the clapperboard, so the edit can find it and sync it.
- Media accounted for. Cards or film 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 from outside Birmingham, at cost
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in Birmingham.
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 in Studio A at Curzon Street Studios: 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 off the set, each labelled with the stock and roll number.
- 07:30 Camera cart Batteries charged, lenses on the cart, slate and the camera report ready.
- 08:30 First take Slate in, clear call, out of shot. Every take written up: roll, slate, take, lens and stop.
- 10:00 Mag change A 400ft roll of 35mm runs out after about four minutes at 25 frames. A new 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; the camera report signed and handed over.
On film the job often starts the day before, at the kit house: a 35mm package can come up from London, and the loader preps it there. On a digital shoot the day is the same, with cards instead of film: logged out, handed to the DIT, and only formatted once two verified 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 cards, hands them to the DIT or wrangler, and keeps the camera report.
Best for brand films, adverts 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 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 offload cards with verification software between set-ups, or take over as DIT at wrap, as ours did on a studio day in Woolwich, London. See DITs in Birmingham.
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 in Birmingham.
Best booked alongside the loader on any cinema camera shoot.
What it’s for
What people book a clapper loader for in Birmingham
Adverts at Curzon Street
Two-camera days in Studio A, or green screen in Studio B, with slated takes and a report the grade can rely on.
Film shoots
16mm and 35mm packages up from London, with the magazines, the cans and the lab run.
Drama and short films
Scene and take numbers for the edit, in a city that has hosted Silent Witness and The Cadburys.
Multi-camera days at the ICC and the NEC
Two or three cameras on a keynote or a panel, slated and logged at once.
Music videos
Playback synced to the slate, take after take, in Digbeth’s warehouses and studios.
Recent work
Loaders on our jobs, on 35mm and in the studio
Full production · London and Cornwall · June 2026
Two people, one working day, one 35mm package
Cohere’s AI for Empowerment was shot on 35mm, on an Arricam package from a London kit house. The 2nd AC came from London with the 1st AC, and the prep on 12 June was big enough that it took two people to check every item within one working day. The kit house offered a second body as a backup, at no charge, because of the location, and getting the kit and the film rolls to Cornwall meant extra drop-offs.
Crew hire · Woolwich, London · January 2025
A 2nd AC who became the DIT at wrap
A one-day social spot for a sportswear brand, in the talent’s own studio in Woolwich and then on Woolwich Church Street after a unit move. Our 2nd AC worked with the 1st AC through the day, 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.
- Overtime at card rates, agreed with you before it happens.
- A prep day at the kit house is quoted separately.
Kit and film
- Stock, processing and scans at cost, on their own lines.
- Kit houses in Birmingham include Media Dog Hire at the NEC, and Wex Rental, collected from Wex Photo Video on Hagley Road. Specialist kit can come up from London or across from Manchester.
- Exposed film travels by hand, never in the hold, and is hand-checked rather than X-rayed at airports.
Studios and travel
- Curzon Street Studios is available to hire: Studio A is 14 by 17 metres with a 6.1-metre grid, and Studio B has a large fixed green screen.
- A loader from Birmingham where we can; from Manchester, London or Bristol where the brief needs one, with the travel on the quote.
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.
- 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.
- Production Central WM asks for at least £5m public liability and a risk assessment before it issues a permit.
£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. What it covers
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 in Birmingham.
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 in Birmingham, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our day rates in Birmingham, 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 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 in Birmingham. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in Birmingham.
Production support
Everything around the crew
A loader works inside a camera package, so the kit house, the lab and a studio at Curzon Street each get their own line on the quote, or you can sort them yourself.
02
Locations and permits
Production Central WM, the canals, New Street, the parks and the airport’s drone zone.
03
Studios and set builds
Digbeth Loc., Curzon Street, blackout and green screen studios, and set builds.
Questions
Hiring a clapper loader in Birmingham: questions
How much does a clapper loader cost in Birmingham?
The APA/Bectu card puts a clapper loader at £355–448 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and the loader is paid that in full. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so a day starts at £397.60 + VAT, before travel from outside Birmingham. A prep day at the kit house is quoted separately.
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.
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 a studio day in Woolwich, London. On a small interview day the camera operator can do it.
Can your loaders load film?
Yes. We crew loaders who have loaded 16mm and 35mm recently, which is the skill to ask for. Our 2nd AC on Cohere’s AI for Empowerment came from London, prepped the 35mm package and ran it on the shoot. Tell us the camera and the stock when you book.
Where can we hire a film camera for a Birmingham shoot?
Ask us when you book. A 35mm or 16mm package is specialist kit, which can come up from London; Birmingham’s kit houses include Media Dog Hire at the NEC and Wex Rental’s collection point on Hagley Road. Wherever it comes from, the loader preps it at the kit house the day before: on AI for Empowerment that took two people a full working day.
Is there a studio in Birmingham for a shoot like this?
Curzon Street Studios, in Eastside, is available to hire: Studio A is 14 by 17 metres with a 6.1-metre grid, and Studio B has a large fixed green screen. Steven Knight’s Digbeth Loc. Studios is home to Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, and the BBC’s Tea Factory in Digbeth is due to open in 2027.
Are your loaders from Birmingham?
We crew loaders from Birmingham where we can. Where the brief or the date needs someone else, they come from Manchester, London or Bristol, and the travel goes on the quote before anything is booked. New Street is 1 hour 17 minutes from London Euston on the fastest trains, about an hour and a half from Manchester Piccadilly and an hour and a quarter from Bristol Temple Meads; Birmingham International, for the airport and the NEC, is ten minutes out (checked October 2026). Our team works from London, with bases in Manchester, Bristol and Cornwall.