Film crew hire/Bristol/Director
Hire a director in Bristol. One person deciding what the film is, from the first question to the last take.
Directors for interviews, brand films, documentary and commercials across Bristol and Bath, from a room at The Forge to the Harbourside or a stage at The Bottle Yard. Most of the films we make are directed in-house; on bigger shoots we bring in an outside director and build the production round them. From £500 a day, paid to the director in full.
- 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK
- 150+ of them in and around Bristol and Bath
- 54 five-star Google reviews
- 2 hrs for our team to read your brief, in working hours
Photos: Here Now Films and Jarred Kyle
The role
What a director does on your shoot
A director decides what the film is about, and then makes sure the shoot gets it. In prep they write the treatment, draft the interview questions or break down the script with you, and agree the look with the DOP. On the day they put contributors at ease or direct the cast, call each set-up and take, and keep a running list of what the edit is still missing.
The director says what the film should feel like; the DOP works out how that looks. On a small corporate crew the director often produces as well, and in Bristol that can mean the permissions too: Bristol Film Office for a street or the Harbourside, the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust for a tripod on the bridge, Network Rail for Temple Meads, and Bath’s own film office once the shoot crosses into Bath.
- A plan before the day. Treatment, interview questions or shot list, signed off with you before anyone loads a van.
- Contributors at ease. People who have never been filmed, settled enough to say it in their own words.
- Coverage the edit can use. Selects noted on the day, and the gaps picked up before the crew wraps.
- One voice on set. The crew, the client and the contributors hear one set of calls, not three.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Directing the shoot: contributors or cast, camera and 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: the treatment, recces and casting, quoted on the brief
- Edit days, if the director cuts or supervises the cut
- Travel from outside Bristol, 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 Bristol.
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 director for your own production and crew, or have us make the whole film with you.
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 director, call to wrap
A brand film for a business with offices by the Floating Harbour: three contributors in the morning, then b-roll on the waterfront after lunch. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:30 Before call The vans into the pay and display bays suspended outside, booked with the council three working days ahead at £22 plus VAT a vehicle (checked October 2026). Engines off on arrival.
- 08:00 Crew call The plan walked through with the DOP: the frames, the interview set-up, where the second camera sits.
- 09:30 First contributor Mic’d, settled and asked the easy questions first. The director listens for the one answer the film will hang on.
- 12:30 Lunch The morning checked against the plan: one answer to chase again, one question rewritten.
- 13:30 Harbourside b-roll A handheld unit of five on the waterfront. City Docks and the Harbourside are Bristol Film Office locations: £178 plus VAT for a crew of up to ten, on at least seven days’ notice (checked October 2026).
- 15:30 Last contributor Twenty minutes between meetings, so straight to the questions that matter.
- 18:30 Wrap Selects noted for the edit, pick-ups listed, rushes on two drives and on their way. Out by 19:00.
Which kind
Which director do you need?
“Director” means different jobs on different shoots. This is how we match one to the brief.
Interview and corporate director Leadership films, customer stories, internal films From £500 a day
Plans the questions with you, settles the contributors and directs the camera team. It’s most of what we direct in-house.
Best for interview days with a fixed window for each person, from an office by the Floating Harbour to a meeting room at the University of Bristol.
Documentary director, or shooting producer-director Plans the story and finds it on the day Quoted on the brief
Researches the film, runs the interviews and directs, sometimes with a camera in hand; on a small crew they produce too.
Best for branded documentary and interview-led films: a stall in St Nicholas Market, a workshop at Bristol Dockyards, or a week across Somerset, as on our film for Somerset Local Nature Partnership.
Commercials director Adverts and campaigns with a cast Quoted on the brief
Usually represented, and brought in for the job, with the production built round them. That’s how we ran AI for Empowerment.
Best for scripted work with a cast: in Bristol that means an AD team, a unit base and a Bristol Film Office permit, or a stage at The Bottle Yard Studios in Whitchurch.
A director for your crew You bring the director, we crew the shoot Crew hire
When the director is yours, down from London or flown in, we put the crew and kit round them and they direct.
Best for agencies and overseas productions with a director already attached. Temple Meads is 1 hour 19 minutes from Paddington on the fastest trains (checked October 2026).
Us making the film We’re the producer of record From £9,500
If you want the whole film made, we produce it too: director, producer, crew, permissions and edit, quoted as a production at cost plus 15% and 5% for insurance and contingency.
Best when there’s no production team on your side. See video production in Bristol.
What it’s for
What people book a director for in Bristol
Leadership and customer films
Interview days in offices round the Harbourside and Temple Meads, with contributors who have half an hour between meetings.
Branded documentary
People filmed where they work: a stall in St Nicholas Market, the working shipyard at Bristol Dockyards, a lab at the University of Bristol.
Commercials with a cast
A script, an AD team, and a stage at The Bottle Yard Studios or a street on a Bristol Film Office permit.
Landmark films
The SS Great Britain, Clifton Suspension Bridge, the Royal Crescent in Bath: places with owners and rules of their own, each asked first.
Overseas productions
A director for a US or European team landing at Bristol Airport, or coming in on the train from Paddington.
Recent work
Directing on our jobs, in Bristol and further afield
Our work · The Forge, Bristol
Xanadoo’s concept film
A concept film for Xanadoo, a museum planned for South-East Wales by two founders who came from the Eden Project. We turned a room at The Forge in Bristol into an interview set for the day, led the interviews and cut a what, why and how film for funders and partners.
Full production · Canada, Norway, Cornwall and Portugal · 2026
An outside director, our production round them
Cohere’s AI for Empowerment, shot on 35mm in four countries, one shoot day in each. The director was brought in for the job, as a commercials director usually is, and we built the production round them: the film camera package, a crew in each country, three landowners’ permissions for a single sequence on the Lizard, and all of it on one budget.
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.
- Prep, recces and edit days are quoted separately.
Permissions in Bristol
- Private property: the owner’s permission in writing, with the usage agreed.
- Council streets, parks and the Harbourside: Bristol Film Office, through FilmApp. Bath has its own film office. Clifton Suspension Bridge: its trust. Temple Meads: Network Rail.
- Bristol Film Office asks for at least £5m public liability and a full risk assessment with every application. On a crew hire that certificate is yours; on a full production it’s ours.
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the director.
- 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 director 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.
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% is employers’ liability for the director we book, and cover on 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
Straight from our Google Business Profile.
Book a director in Bristol.
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 role in Bristol, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our day rates in Bristol, paid to the crew member in full:
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
How our rates work: crew rates in Bristol. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in Bristol.
Production support
Everything around the crew
Most of a Bristol director’s prep is places and permissions: Bristol Film Office, the Harbourside, the bridge trust, Temple Meads, The Bottle Yard. Each can go on the quote if you want us to book it.
02
Locations and permits
Bristol Film Office, Bath Film Office, the harbour, the bridge and the drone rules.
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Studios and set builds
The Bottle Yard’s stages, green screen and blackout studios, and set builds.
Questions
Hiring a director in Bristol: questions
How much does a director cost in Bristol?
Our directors start at £500 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and the director is paid all of it. Prep, recces and edit days are quoted on the brief. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so one day comes to £560 + VAT, before any travel from outside Bristol. If you want the whole film made, it’s quoted as a production, and every production starts at £9,500.
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.
Do you direct in-house, or book freelance directors?
Both. Most of the films we make are directed in-house: Xanadoo’s concept film, shot in a day at The Forge in Bristol, was ours from finding the location to running the interviews and cutting the film. On bigger 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 Bristol?
If it’s a street, a park or the Harbourside, yes. Filming on council land in Bristol goes through Bristol Film Office, part of Bristol City Council and based at The Bottle Yard Studios. It covers the city only: Bath has its own film office, part of Bath & North East Somerset Council. Bristol’s 2026–27 street filming permit is £84 for a crew of up to ten and £163 for 11 to 40; parks, green spaces and the harbourside are £178 for up to ten, all plus VAT (checked October 2026). Bristol Film Office asks for at least £5m public liability and a full risk assessment with every application. See filming permits in Bristol.
Can we film on Clifton Suspension Bridge?
Clifton Suspension Bridge belongs to its own trust: handheld cameras are welcome, a tripod needs a word with a Bridge Attendant and an indemnity form, and drones of 250g or more must stay 50 metres from the bridge (checked October 2026). Commercial filming is considered case by case, closing the bridge to the public costs extra, and a big production should talk to the Bridge Master first. Commercial drone work needs Bristol Film Office’s permission as well (checked October 2026).
Can you crew a Bristol shoot for a director flying in?
Yes: we crew it and book the kit and the locations, and your director directs. If you need a UK company to contract, we become the producer of record and it’s a production quote. Bristol Airport has daily flights from Amsterdam, Paris, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast, and the A1 Flyer bus runs to Temple Meads and the bus station up to six times an hour (checked October 2026). See how a UK production service company works.
Where are your directors based?
Our own directors travel to the shoot. Our Bristol office is at Raw Space, 111 Gloucester Road, in Bishopston: an office, not a studio. Our headquarters is in London, at 124 City Road. We’re a crew agency with 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, 150+ of them in and around Bristol and Bath, so we can scale a crew from one person for a morning to a full unit for a week. Local crew first. When a shoot needs more hands, or a role Bristol is short of that week, we bring them in from across the South West, Cardiff or London, and the travel is on the quote before anything is booked.
How far ahead should I book a director in Bristol?
As early as you can: the prep is where the film gets decided. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. The dates that bind are the notice periods: Bristol Film Office wants at least seven days for a permit, with a letter to the neighbours seven days before the shoot, and seven days for a drone on council land; a road closure of up to two days needs two weeks (checked October 2026).