Film crew hire/Birmingham/Video playback
Hire a video playback operator in Birmingham. The agency sees every take. So does head office.
Video playback operators for adverts, brand films, conferences and customer stories across Birmingham, from the green screen at Curzon Street Studios to the halls of the NEC. They send the picture to every monitor that needs it, record and replay the takes on QTake, and stream the shoot to a client in the next room or in another country. From £334 a day, paid to the operator 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, Gordon Cowie, Tri Vo, Christian Harb and Chris Dack
The role
What a video playback operator does on your shoot
A video playback operator, or VTR, runs the pictures off the camera: wireless video to the director, the client, the agency and the focus puller, a recording of every take, and instant replay so anyone can see what was just shot. On bigger shoots they use QTake, which logs, replays and streams every take, with the look applied.
It keeps people away from the camera. The client watches in comfort at video village, the director can compare takes side by side, and the crew can get on with the next set-up.
In Birmingham that might mean an agency watching a green-screen advert at Curzon Street Studios, or a brand’s team in a side room at the ICC watching the stage interviews as they happen. Playback lets them all see the same take without crowding the camera.
- Instant replay. Any take back on the monitor in seconds, logged with scene and take.
- Everyone on the same picture. Director, client, agency and focus puller, each on their own monitor.
- Watch from anywhere. A secure stream for a client who can’t be on set, with only a few seconds’ delay.
- Comps and mix on set. Overlays, split-screens and green-screen checks before the crew move on.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Wireless video from every camera to every monitor that needs it
- Recording and logging every take
- Instant replay on request
- Setting up and running video village
- A remote stream, if the kit allows
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- The playback kit: QTake system, monitors and transmitters, at a day rate
- A second operator or an assistant, on big multi-camera days
- 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 playback for your own Birmingham shoot, or have us take the production on, video village 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 playback operator, call to wrap
An advert on the fixed green screen in Studio B at Curzon Street Studios, with the agency and the client on set and the brand’s head office watching from abroad in the afternoon. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:00 Rig video village Monitors, chairs and a table for the agency and the client, off the studio floor but close enough to talk to the director.
- 08:00 Cameras in Transmitters on both cameras, receivers paired, the look applied to the feed.
- 09:00 Rolling Every take recorded and logged by scene and take; the director’s choice marked.
- 11:00 Replay The client asks to see take 4 against take 7, side by side. Thirty seconds later, they can.
- 13:30 Stream check Link sent to head office; picture and sound checked with them half an hour before they join.
- 14:00 Head office on The brand team joins at the start of their working day, for the set-ups they asked to see live.
- 16:00 Green screen A rough key over the background plate, so everyone knows the shot works before moving on.
- 19:00 Wrap The playback log and selected takes handed to the producer and the editor.
Which kind
Which playback do you need?
From one monitor and a transmitter to a full QTake set-up with viewers in another country.
Wireless monitoring A transmitter and a monitor or two Quoted on the brief
Wireless video from the camera to a director’s monitor, set up by the camera team.
Best for small crews where only the director needs to watch.
Video playback operator Monitors, recording and replay Card £334–518
A dedicated operator with monitors, recording and instant replay for everyone at video village.
Best for adverts and brand films with an agency or client on set.
QTake Logging, replay, comps and streaming Quoted with the kit
The industry’s playback software: every take logged and replayable, looks applied, rough comps, and a secure stream for remote viewers. The operator usually brings the system, on its own line.
Best for commercials, drama and anything with VFX, such as a day on Curzon Street’s green screen.
Remote viewing only Watch from somewhere else Quoted on the brief
A secure stream of the camera feed to people who can’t be on set, a few seconds behind it.
Best for overseas clients and head offices that can’t send anyone to Birmingham.
What it’s for
What people book video playback for in Birmingham
Adverts with an agency on set
Video village for the agency and the client, at Digbeth Loc. Studios and Curzon Street Studios.
Green screen and VFX
A rough comp on set, on the large fixed green screen in Curzon Street’s Studio B.
Conferences and live events
The stage on the client’s monitors in a side room, at the ICC, the NEC or bp pulse LIVE.
Clients watching from abroad
A stream to a head office in another country, timed for their working day.
Music videos
Takes compared side by side against the track, in Digbeth’s warehouses and arches.
Recent work
Playback on our crews, and how we crew Birmingham
Crew hire · City of London and Uxbridge · September 2025
Playback on all four days, added late
Customer stories for a chip maker, shot by a US production company that flew in four of its own crew: two days at a law firm’s offices on Cannon Street, then two at an office in Uxbridge. We crewed the rest of the unit. Playback was added late in prep: an operator with a playback package, a Teradek and a livestream licence, on all four shoot days. In the City the kit went in through the underground car park and up in the lift.
How we crew it · Birmingham
Green screen at Curzon Street, checked before the move
Curzon Street Studios, in Eastside, has a large fixed green screen in Studio B. With a playback operator on the day, each take is keyed roughly over the background plate as it’s shot, so the director, the agency and whoever is doing the VFX know the shot works before the crew strike the set. If head office can’t come, the same feed streams to them, tested with them before they join.
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.
- Video village is rigged before crew call, so it’s ready when the cameras are.
Kit and the stream
- The playback kit is on its own line: QTake, monitors and transmitters.
- For remote viewing the location needs a solid connection: in a venue or an office block we ask for a wired line before the day, and test it.
On a Birmingham street
- Playing a track or sound out loud on the highway needs Production Central WM’s consent first, under its code of practice.
- Street filming goes through Production Central WM too: five working days’ notice for a small-scale shoot (checked October 2026).
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the operator.
- 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 operator 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.
£334 a day
APA/Bectu card: £334–518 a day, video operator to senior video operator.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £334 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £33.40 |
| Insurance, 2% | £6.68 |
| One day, before kit and travel | £374.08 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the operator we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the operator.
- 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 video playback operator in Birmingham.
Tell us how many cameras and monitors, who needs to watch, and from which city. 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 This page £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
Playback needs power, room for video village and, for remote viewers, a connection the building will give you. Here’s how the rest of a Birmingham shoot works, 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 video playback operator in Birmingham: questions
How much does a video playback operator cost in Birmingham?
The APA/Bectu card puts a video operator at £334–518 for an 11-hour day, from video operator to senior video operator, and we pay that in full. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so a day starts at £374.08 + VAT. The playback kit is 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.
What is QTake?
Playback software used on most commercials and dramas. It records and logs every take, replays them instantly, applies the look, does rough comps, and streams the picture to remote viewers. The operator usually brings it, priced with the rest of the playback kit.
Can our team abroad watch the Birmingham shoot live?
Yes, with a secure stream from the playback system, a few seconds behind the set. We agree which set-ups they need live and time them for their working day, test the link with them before they join, and log the selects for anything they miss.
Do I need a playback operator?
If only the director needs to watch, a transmitter and a monitor from the camera team is enough. If an agency or a client is on set, or watching from another office or another country, book an operator.
Can playback run at the ICC or the NEC?
Yes. Video village needs power, a room or a corner off the floor, and a way in for the kit. None of the big venues publishes filming rules, so we send the venue the crew names and the kit list early, and ask for a wired connection if anyone’s watching remotely.
Can we play music out loud on a Birmingham street?
With permission. Production Central WM’s code of practice allows audio playback, megaphones or speakers on the highway only with its consent, so a music video with the track playing on a Digbeth street goes in the application, alongside the street filming permit (checked October 2026).
How far ahead should I book playback in Birmingham?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. The date is usually set by the rest of the shoot: the studio, the agency’s diary and the location’s permission. 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). For QTake and remote viewing, leave time before the day to test the kit and the stream with the people watching.
Are your playback operators local to Birmingham?
Where we can. We crew Birmingham shoots from Birmingham first, and from Manchester, London or Bristol where the brief needs a particular system or operator, with the travel on the quote before anything is booked. Our own team is based in London, on City Road, with bases in Manchester, Bristol and Cornwall.