Film crew hire/Birmingham/Sound recordist
Hire a sound recordist in Birmingham. Clean dialogue, every word, whatever the place sounds like.
Sound recordists for interviews, documentaries, brand films and conferences across Birmingham, from conference halls at the ICC to warehouses by the railway in Digbeth. They mic everyone who speaks, hold the boom, deal with the trains, the traffic and the air conditioning, and hand over sound the edit doesn’t have to rescue. Local where we can, from Manchester or London where the brief needs it. £550 a day, paid to the recordist in full.
- 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, Keagan Henman, Hassan OUAJBIR and Adam Jones
The role
What a sound recordist does on your shoot
A sound recordist, or sound mixer, records everything you hear in the film: the interviews, the dialogue, the room. They place radio mics on the people speaking, boom from above, mix and record it all, and listen to every take in headphones so a rustle or a passing train gets caught on the day, not in the edit.
Picture problems can often be fixed in the grade. Bad sound usually means doing it again, or living with it. In Birmingham, where the main line into New Street runs over Digbeth on brick viaducts and the big venues are built for crowds, that’s why a recordist is the first person we add to a camera operator.
- Every voice clean. Radio mics hidden on clothes, and a boom for the natural sound of the room.
- Noise dealt with. Air conditioning off, fridges unplugged, doors closed, takes held for trains and sirens.
- Backed up twice. Recorded on two cards, with timecode matched to the cameras.
- Mics fitted with care. Explained to contributors before they’re fitted, and fitted by someone they’re comfortable with.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Radio mics on everyone speaking
- Boom for the room and for movement
- Mixing, recording and monitoring every take
- Timecode synced to the cameras
- Sound files and the sound report at wrap
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Their sound kit, at a day rate on its own line
- A boom operator, for drama or a big cast
- An extra room or unit to keep things quiet, if the building needs it
- Travel from outside Birmingham, and mileage, parking and the Clean Air Zone charge where the day needs them, 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 recordist for your own shoot, 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 sound recordist, call to wrap
Interviews with three people in a converted warehouse in Digbeth, beside the railway viaduct, then B-roll and atmos. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 08:00 Listen to the room Trains on the viaduct, the lift, the heating, the unit next door: what can be switched off, booked out or waited for, and what can’t.
- 08:30 Set up Recorder and receivers on the cart, timecode jammed to both cameras.
- 09:30 First contributor A radio mic fitted under a collar, a boom just out of shot, a sound check while the producer chats.
- 10:15 A hold A train over the viaduct. Two answers asked again.
- 13:00 Lunch Batteries changed, files backed up.
- 14:00 Room tone and atmos A minute of the room for the edit, and the street for the B-roll.
- 18:00 Wrap Mics collected, files and the sound report handed over.
Which kind
Which sound set-up do you need?
The kit and the crew change with the number of voices, how much they move, and what the place sounds like.
Interview kit Two radio mics and a boom £550 a day + kit
A recorder, two or three radio mics, a boom and headphones. Enough for most interviews and corporate films.
Best for interviews, testimonials and talking heads.
Multi-voice and conferences Four to eight radio mics £550 a day + kit
More channels, more radio mics, and often a feed from the venue’s desk. The big venues don’t publish filming rules, so at the ICC or the NEC the desk feed is agreed with the event team before the day.
Best for panels, podcasts and conferences.
Documentary and run-and-gun Light, mobile, on the move £550 a day + kit
A bag rig with radio mics and a boom, following the action and the conversation. On a canal towpath, the Canal & River Trust’s permission comes first, with five working days’ notice.
Best for branded documentaries and observational filming.
Sound mixer and boom operator Drama and adverts Quoted on the brief
A mixer at the cart and a boom operator on the floor, for dialogue scenes with movement.
Best for drama, adverts and anything with a script.
Sound to camera No recordist Not recommended
Mics plugged straight into the camera, with nobody listening. It works until it doesn’t.
Fine for a quick vox pop; risky for anything you can’t do again.
What it’s for
What people book a sound recordist for in Birmingham
Interviews in offices
Colmore Row and the business district, and Brindleyplace, with air conditioning that never quite switches off.
Conferences and panels
The ICC, the NEC and bp pulse LIVE: several mics, a feed from the venue’s desk, and a backup of both.
The universities
Researchers and students interviewed at the University of Birmingham and across the city’s campuses, between lectures.
Sport
Interviews at Edgbaston Stadium and the city’s clubs, with crowds, wind and the PA to deal with.
Documentaries and customer stories
Jewellery Quarter workshops at the bench and Digbeth kitchens in service: real places with real noise.
Recent work
Sound on our jobs, and how we crew Birmingham
Full production · Hackney Road, London · November 2024
Two floors booked for one quiet room
For AlTi Tiedemann Global we interviewed three senior staff in HIDE, the top-floor studio at JJ Studios (now JJ Spaces) on Hackney Road. After the recce we booked LOFT, the floor below, as well, so nothing underneath would reach the mics. A location sound recordist recorded the day. We booked sound for AlTi again at Many Rooms in Battersea in March 2026, with the kit on its own line.
How we crew it · Birmingham
Recordists brought in, and Birmingham’s noise
Our Birmingham list is shorter on sound than on camera, so some of the recordists we book come in from Manchester or London, with the travel on the quote before anything is booked. Whoever comes, the recce is for sound as well as light. In Digbeth the main line into New Street runs over brick viaducts, so a room under or beside them means holds for trains. At the ICC or the NEC, which don’t publish filming rules, we ask the venue for a quiet room and a feed from its desk. Where the room next door is busy, we book it as a buffer, as we did with LOFT below HIDE.
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.
The location
- Tell us what’s nearby: the railway, a main road, building work, the unit or floor next door.
- We’ll ask the location to switch off what can be switched off before the day. At the big venues we agree the room, the power and any desk feed with the event team, because none of them publishes filming rules.
- On a Birmingham street, Production Central WM’s code asks for noise to be kept to a minimum when setting up early, and any playback or speakers need its consent.
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the recordist.
- 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 recordist 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.
£550 a day
APA/Bectu card benchmark (sound mixer): £541–668 a day.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £550 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £55 |
| Insurance, 2% | £11 |
| One day, before kit and travel | £616 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the recordist we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the recordist.
- 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 sound recordist in Birmingham.
Tell us how many people are speaking, where, and what the place sounds like: a railway, a road, a busy hall. 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 £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 This page £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
Sound starts with the location. Here’s how locations, permits and the rest of a Birmingham shoot work, each item its own line on the quote.
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 sound recordist in Birmingham: questions
How much does a sound recordist cost in Birmingham?
Our sound recordists are £550 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, paid to the recordist in full; the APA/Bectu card for a sound mixer sets £541–668. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance: £616 + VAT for the day. Their sound kit goes on its own line.
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.
Are your sound recordists local to Birmingham?
Some are. Our Birmingham list is shorter on sound than on camera, so some of the recordists we book come in from Manchester or London, with their own kit, and the travel is on the quote before anything is booked. Where a local recordist fits the brief, we book them first. Our own team is based in London, on City Road, with bases in Manchester, Bristol and Cornwall.
Do your recordists bring their own kit?
Yes: a recorder, radio mics, a boom and headphones, priced at a day rate on its own line. For more channels or specialist radio mics, Media Dog Hire at the NEC hires sound kit, and specialist kit can come up from London or across from Manchester.
How many radio mics do I need?
One for each person speaking at the same time, and a spare. For a panel of four and a host, that’s six.
Can you deal with a noisy Birmingham location?
Mostly. We ask for air conditioning and machines to be switched off, choose the quietest room, and hold takes for trains and sirens. In Digbeth the main line into New Street runs over brick viaducts, so a location by the arches means holds; at a venue we ask for a room away from the halls. Tell us what’s nearby when you book.
Can we record at New Street station?
Yes, through Network Rail. Birmingham New Street is a Network Rail managed station: corporate and commercial filming is £750 an hour for up to ten crew, two hours minimum, plus VAT, weekdays 10:00 to 16:00 or after 20:00 only, with up to £10m public liability (checked October 2026). Under five working days’ notice adds £500, and running into the peaks isn’t allowed.
Can we record on the canals?
Yes, with permission. The canals, Gas Street Basin and Farmer’s Bridge Locks among them, belong to the Canal & River Trust: online video from £196 an hour plus VAT, five working days’ notice and £5m public liability (checked October 2026). We recce the spot at the hour you’ll shoot, so the sound is what you’ll get on the day.
How far ahead should I book a sound recordist in Birmingham?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Good recordists get booked first, so the earlier the better. For street filming, the notice is the council’s: Production Central WM asks for five working days for a small-scale shoot and four weeks for a large one; seven days for kit on the highway, 14 days for a residents’ letter drop, and 21 days for a road closure (checked October 2026).