Film crew hire/Bristol/Production assistant
Hire a production assistant in Bristol. The extra pair of hands that lets the producer watch the shoot.
Production assistants for shoots across Bristol and Bath. They meet your contributors at reception, deal with security and the passes, get the releases signed, run to the kit house in Clifton or out to The Bottle Yard, and mind the kit, working to your producer or director. £400 a day, paid to the PA 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, Erwi, dix sept and Andy Newton
The role
What a production assistant does on your shoot
A production assistant (PA) works to the producer or the director and takes the small jobs off them, so they can concentrate on the shoot: meeting contributors at reception, getting release forms signed, running to the shop, minding kit, keeping the room tidy and the call sheet up to date.
On a busy interview day, a good PA is the difference between a producer who watches the interviews and one who spends them in the corridor, or out on the street moving the van before the bay’s suspension runs out.
- Contributors looked after. Met at reception, briefed, given a drink and ready when the producer calls.
- Releases signed. Every person on camera, before they leave the building or the quay.
- Kit minded. Nothing left in a corridor, a lift lobby or an open van on the Harbourside.
- The producer freed up. The small jobs done without being asked twice.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Contributors met, briefed and looked after
- Release forms signed and filed
- Runs: the shop, lunch, a forgotten cable
- Help loading in and out
- The call sheet and contact list kept current
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Mileage, if they drive their own car for the shoot
- Parking and the Clean Air Zone charge, at cost
- Travel from outside Bristol, 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 PA 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 production assistant, call to wrap
Interviews at a company’s offices near the Harbourside, then vox pops on the waterfront after lunch. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:45 Arrive Signed in at reception, passes collected, the van’s unloading slot and the suspended bay checked.
- 08:00 Load in Kit up in the lift, a room set aside for contributors to wait in, water and the list of who’s coming.
- 09:30 Contributors Met at reception, briefed on what happens next, release signed before the first question.
- 11:00 A run A spare battery collected from Films at 59 Rental in Clifton, back before the next interview ends.
- 13:00 Lunch Ordered at eleven so it arrives on time, and cleared away after.
- 14:00 Vox pops Passers-by on the waterfront asked, told what it’s for and signed up before they say a word. 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).
- 18:30 Wrap Releases checked against the list, the room put back, passes handed in, kit down to the van.
Which kind
PA, runner or something else?
The junior production jobs overlap. Here’s how they differ.
Production assistant Contributors, releases and runs £400 a day
Works to the producer: people, paperwork and the jobs nobody else has time for.
Best on interview days, events and anything with contributors.
Runner Errands, kit and the unit base £245 a day
The entry-level job: fetching, carrying, tea and parking. See runners in Bristol.
Best as an extra pair of hands on a bigger crew.
Production coordinator The office and the bookings Quoted on the brief
Works to the production manager on bookings, travel, passes and call sheets. See production managers in Bristol.
Best on long shoots and series.
Driver People and kit, on time Quoted on the brief
Drives the crew van or the talent, with the right licence, in a van that meets Bristol’s Clean Air Zone standard or pays its daily charge. See shoot logistics in Bristol.
Best when the crew and kit move between locations, or between Bristol and Bath.
Producer Runs the day From £450 a day
If the day needs someone to make decisions, book a producer in Bristol.
Best when there’s a client or contributors to manage.
What it’s for
What people book a production assistant for in Bristol
Interview days
Contributors met, settled and signed off, one after another, in offices round the Harbourside and Temple Meads.
Conferences and events
Vox pops at venues like Bristol Beacon, which hires out spaces for 2 to 2,000 people, with a release for every face.
Campus films
Students and staff at the University of Bristol, from Royal Fort House to the living wall on the Life Sciences building, each with a release.
Shoots with talent
Someone to look after the presenter or the executive between takes, and walk them back to the car.
Overseas productions
An extra pair of hands for a visiting producer, from Bristol Airport or Temple Meads to the first set-up.
Recent work
PAs on our jobs, and on a Bristol event day
Production service company · Portsmouth, London and Oxford · November 2023
Three cities in three days for Swanson Studios
Swanson Studio flew in from Oregon to photograph and interview surgeons and the people around them for Intuitive, the surgical robotics company: a hospital in Portsmouth, a hospital in London, then Intuitive’s office at Oxford Science Park, one city a day. They brought the cameras. We brought everything else, a production assistant and driver from our own team among them, with two vans, the hotels and the pick-ups from Heathrow. On days like those the PA’s job is the people: seventeen interview slots across three days, ten to twenty minutes each, back to back.
How we crew it · Bristol
Vox pops at Bristol Beacon, or on the Harbourside
On an event day the PA brings people to the camera, tells them what it’s for and gets the release signed, so the operator can keep rolling and nobody ends up in the film without saying yes. Indoors, the venue’s own rules apply, agreed before the day; Bristol Beacon, for one, hires out spaces for anything from 2 to 2,000 people (checked October 2026). Out on the waterfront it’s Bristol Film Office: City Docks and the Harbourside are £178 plus VAT for a crew of up to ten, and a street is £84, each on at least seven days’ notice (checked October 2026).
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.
Vox pops and releases
- A release from everyone on camera, yours or ours, signed before they leave.
- Vox pops on a Bristol street or the Harbourside are filming on council land, on a Bristol Film Office permit.
- Bristol Film Office asks for at least £5m public liability and a full risk assessment with every application.
Getting around Bristol
- Tell us if the PA needs to drive: mileage, parking and the Clean Air Zone charge go on the quote.
- Bristol’s zone is Class D, so it charges cars as well as vans: £9 a day for one that isn’t compliant, around the clock (checked October 2026).
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the PA.
- 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 PA 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.
£400 a day
APA/Bectu card: £350–441 a day for a production assistant.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £400 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £40 |
| Insurance, 2% | £8 |
| One day, before travel | £448 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the PA we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the PA.
- 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 production assistant in Bristol.
Tell us the date, the place and what the PA should look after. 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 From £500
- Producer From £450
- Production manager £504–627
- 2nd AD £355–448
- Production assistant This page £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
A PA’s day in Bristol touches most of the guides below: the permit for the vox pops, the kit run to Clifton, the bays and the Clean Air Zone. Any item can go on the quote.
02
Locations and permits
Bristol Film Office, Bath Film Office, the harbour, the bridge and the drone rules.
03
Studios and set builds
The Bottle Yard’s stages, green screen and blackout studios, and set builds.
Questions
Hiring a production assistant in Bristol: questions
How much does a production assistant cost in Bristol?
Our production assistants are £400 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, paid to the PA in full; the APA/Bectu card sets £350–441. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance: £448 + VAT for the day, before any travel from outside Bristol.
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’s the difference between a PA and a runner?
A runner fetches, carries and keeps the unit base going. A PA works more closely with the producer, on contributors, releases and the call sheet. On a small crew one person often does both.
Can a PA handle releases and vox pops in Bristol?
Yes. Send us your release, or use ours, and the PA gets one signed by everyone on camera before they leave. Out of doors, vox pops are filming on council land: a Bristol street is £84 plus VAT on a Bristol Film Office permit for a crew of up to ten, the Harbourside and the parks £178, with at least seven days’ notice (checked October 2026). In a venue, the venue’s own rules apply, so we ask before the day.
Can we film vox pops at Temple Meads?
Only with Network Rail’s permission. Bristol Temple Meads is a Network Rail managed station: corporate and commercial filming is £750 an hour for up to ten crew, two hours minimum, plus VAT, on weekdays 10:00 to 16:00 or 20:00 to 06:30, with up to £10m public liability (checked October 2026). Less than five working days’ notice adds £500, and running into the peak isn’t allowed (checked October 2026).
Can a PA drive in Bristol?
Yes, if they have a car and business insurance; tell us when you book. Mileage, parking and the Clean Air Zone charge go on the quote at cost. Bristol’s Clean Air Zone is Class D, so it charges cars as well as vans: £9 a day for a car or van below Euro 6 diesel or Euro 4 petrol, £100 for an HGV or coach, around the clock. Bath’s zone is Class C and doesn’t charge private cars (checked October 2026).
Are your PAs local to Bristol?
Where we can. 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.
Can a PA meet a visiting team?
Yes. 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). The PA meets the team, gets them and the kit to the first location, and keeps the day’s contact list current. Filming at the airport itself is escorted airside, and the security search area is off limits (checked October 2026).
How far ahead should I book a PA in Bristol?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. If the PA is sorting building passes, send us the contributor list early, and if there are vox pops on a street or the Harbourside, Bristol Film Office wants at least seven days (checked October 2026).