Film crew hire/Bristol/Spark
Hire a spark in Bristol. Lamps rigged, cable run, power safe, the next set-up waiting.
Sparks (lighting technicians) for brand films, adverts, events, studio days and night shoots across Bristol and Bath. They rig and run the lights and the power to the gaffer’s plan, carry the kit in, and have the next set-up ready before it’s called. Some are local; some come in with their gaffer from across the South West, Cardiff or London. £457 a day, the APA/Bectu card rate, paid to the spark 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: H&CO, Here Now Films, Marcos Paulo Prado, Tri Vo and Matt Boyle
The role
What a spark does on your shoot
A spark, or lighting technician, is part of the lighting crew. They work to the gaffer: unloading the lamps, rigging them on stands, booms and rigs, running the cable and the distribution, adjusting lights between takes, and striking it all at wrap.
On a two-person lighting team, the spark pre-rigs the next set-up while the gaffer and the DOP are still shooting the current one. That’s where the time is saved, and on a Bristol day that moves from a stage at The Bottle Yard to a street in the centre, or from the Dry Dock to the ship at Bristol Dockyards, it’s what keeps the schedule.
- Rigged to the plan. Lamps, stands, flags and diffusion where the gaffer wants them.
- Cable run safely. Out of doorways and fire exits, taped down or matted, on distribution that won’t trip.
- The next set-up ready. Pre-rigged while the current one shoots.
- Kit looked after. Every lamp and cable counted out and counted back.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Rigging and focusing lamps to the gaffer’s plan
- Running cable and power distribution
- Pre-rigging the next set-up
- Flags, diffusion and gels, set and adjusted
- Striking and loading out
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Lighting kit, from the gaffer’s van or a kit house
- A desk operator, for programmable lighting
- 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 spark for your own Bristol shoot, or have us take the whole film on, lighting crew included.
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 spark, call to wrap
A studio day in Tankhouse 3 at The Bottle Yard Studios, 7,110 sq ft and 65 feet high: product in the morning, two presenters in the afternoon. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:00 Load in The gaffer’s van unloaded at the stage, the lighting kit sorted by set-up.
- 07:30 Power Distribution off the studio supply, cable run round the edge of the floor and out of the walkways.
- 08:00 Rig A big soft source flown over the product table, flags to control the spill.
- 10:30 Pre-rig While the product shoots, the presenter set-up rigged on the other side of the stage.
- 13:00 Lunch Lamps cooled, gels changed for the afternoon.
- 14:00 Presenters Small adjustments between takes: a flag in, a lamp down a stop.
- 16:30 A bigger head The plan changes; a larger lamp collected from VI Rental’s office on the same site.
- 18:30 Wrap Everything struck, counted and loaded; the floor clear for the next booking.
Which kind
Which lighting technician do you need?
The lighting crew, from the top down.
Gaffer Plans it and runs the crew £550 a day
Plans the lighting with the DOP and runs the crew, usually with their own van. See gaffers in Bristol.
Book one first: the gaffer decides how many sparks they need.
Best boy Runs the sparks and the kit Quoted on the brief
Runs the sparks and the kit: what’s on the truck, what’s on set, what goes back to the kit house at The Bottle Yard.
Best on big lighting crews and multi-day shoots.
Spark Rigs, cables, focuses, strikes £457 a day
Rigs, cables, focuses and strikes, to the gaffer’s plan.
Best on any shoot with more than a few lamps, a fast schedule or a company move.
Desk operator Programmed light
Runs a lighting desk for colour-changing LEDs and effects. Re-Production hires pixel tubes such as the Astera AX1 from £25 a day (checked October 2026).
Best for music videos, events and stage shoots.
Rigger Working at height
Rigs lamps on trusses, ceilings and grids, working at height to the rules. Tankhouse 3 at The Bottle Yard is 65 feet high.
Best for stage rigs, venue builds and big location set-ups.
What it’s for
What people book a spark for in Bristol
Studio days
The stages at The Bottle Yard, at Whitchurch Lane and Hawkfield Way, where the lights change between set-ups.
Events and venues
A stage, an interview corner and a sponsor set at Bristol Beacon, each pre-rigged before the doors open.
Brand films and adverts
A gaffer and a spark, so the next set-up is ready, even with a move from the Harbourside to Clifton.
Historic interiors
The ship and the Dry Dock at Bristol Dockyards, or a Georgian house in Bath, where the lamps go where the building lets them.
Night shoots
Big lamps, long cable runs, batteries or a baffled generator, and the Harbourside lit for camera.
Recent work
Sparks on our jobs, and how we crew Bristol
Crew hire · Woolwich, London · January 2025
A spark beside the gaffer, booked eight days out
Valentine Global brought its own director, DOP and camera kit to London for a sportswear brand’s social spot, after a sister shoot in New York, and booked us eight days out. We crewed the rest: a gaffer, who was at the half-day recce the day before, a spark, a 1st and 2nd AC, a sound recordist and the van. The gaffer was lighting the artist’s studio from 09:00, and the schedule had B-roll outside at 14:45, a company move at 15:30 and a second location by 17:00. That’s the day a spark is for.
How we crew it · Bristol
Sparks who know the gaffer
Our Bristol list is shorter on sparks than on camera, so we start with the gaffer and the spark they usually work with. If that pair comes from across the South West, Cardiff or London, they share the van, arrive knowing the kit, and the travel is on the quote before anything is booked. Bigger lamps come from VI Rental or Films at 59 at The Bottle Yard; on a Bristol pavement, the stands and the cable go in the Film Office application first.
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.
Safety
- Sparks work to the gaffer and the building’s rules on power and working at height. Some venues want PAT certificates before the kit comes in.
- Work at height, on a truss, a grid or a cherry picker, goes on the risk assessment, with the kit and an operator on the quote.
Filming in Bristol
- Bristol Film Office asks for at least £5m public liability and a full risk assessment with every application.
- Its code of practice asks for cable flown 2.6 metres over a footway and 5.2 metres over a road, or matted, and generators baffled or built into vehicles. It also wants hi-vis on the highway and a first aider on set at all times.
- Night shoots need Bristol Film Office’s and Avon and Somerset Police’s authorisation in advance (checked October 2026).
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the spark.
- 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 spark 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.
£457 a day
APA/Bectu card: Up to £457 a day for a lighting technician. We pay the full rate.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £457 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £45.70 |
| Insurance, 2% | £9.14 |
| One day, before travel | £511.84 |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the spark we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the spark.
- 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 spark in Bristol.
Tell us the date, the location and who’s gaffing. 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 £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 spark’s day depends on the power, the kit and where the van can stop. The Bristol guides cover each, every item on its own line of 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 spark in Bristol: questions
How much does a spark cost in Bristol?
We pay our sparks £457 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch: the APA/Bectu card rate for a lighting technician. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance: £511.84 + 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 gaffer and a spark?
The gaffer runs the lighting department and plans the lighting with the DOP. A spark rigs and runs the lights to the gaffer’s plan. In the UK the sparks also set the stands, flags and diffusion that an American crew would give to the grips.
How many sparks do I need?
The gaffer decides, from the plan. An interview day often needs none; a brand film one; a night exterior, a stage day at The Bottle Yard or an event at Bristol Beacon two or more. A company move across the city is a good reason to add one.
Do your sparks come from Bristol?
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. Some of our sparks are local. Our Bristol list is shorter on lighting crew than on camera, so others come in from across the South West, Cardiff or London, usually with the gaffer they work with, and the travel is on the quote before anything is booked.
Can we light a scene on a Bristol street?
Yes, with permission. Filming on council land in Bristol goes through Bristol Film Office, part of the city council and based at The Bottle Yard. Its code of practice asks for cable flown 2.6 metres over a footway and 5.2 metres over a road, or matted, and generators baffled or built into vehicles, with hi-vis on the highway. 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).
Where does lighting kit come from in Bristol?
From the gaffer’s van first, then a kit house: VI Rental and Films at 59 at The Bottle Yard, Films at 59 in Clifton, and Re-Production, which hires film lighting by the day, from Astera pixel tubes at £25 to an IVL Photon from £350 (checked October 2026). The biggest lamps come down from London.
How far ahead should I book a spark in Bristol?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. We book sparks with the gaffer they usually work with where we can, so book the gaffer first and the spark comes with the plan. For lights on a street, Bristol Film Office’s notice sets the date, not the crew: at least seven days, with a letter to neighbours and businesses seven days before (checked October 2026).