Film crew hire/Cornwall/Art director
Hire an art director in Cornwall. The set, the props and everything else in the frame, carried in and put back.
Art directors and art departments for adverts, brand films, music videos and drama across Cornwall. They design the look, dress the location, and run the props, graphics and builds that fill the frame, from a cottage kitchen to a clifftop where nothing can be pegged into the ground. From £675 a day, paid to the art director in full.
- 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK
- 30+ of them in and around Cornwall
- 54 five-star Google reviews
- 2 hrs for our team to read your brief, in working hours
Photos: Here Now Films, Kumpan Electric, Paolo Chiabrando and Greg Willson
The role
What an art director does on your shoot
An art director is responsible for everything in the frame that isn’t a person or a light: the set, the dressing, the props and the graphics. They design the look agreed with the director and the DOP, budget it, and run the props buyers, dressers and builders who make it real. In Cornwall that usually means a real place, not a stage.
On a small shoot the art department can be one person. On our Cohere shoot on the Lizard it was: an art assistant and props buyer, working on clifftops that are a Site of Special Scientific Interest, where nothing could break the ground, every gazebo was weighted, and the kit was carried in on beach carts.
The frame here is a holiday cottage, a harbour with a harbour master, a garden, or a stretch of coast with three owners. Screen Cornwall names the main landowners as Cornwall Council, the Duchy of Cornwall and the National Trust, and an SSSI needs Natural England’s written consent through the landowner. The art director works to all of them as well as the brief, and puts everything back at wrap.
We’re a crew agency with 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, 30+ of them in Cornwall, and we scale an art department up as the shoot needs: one props buyer for an interview set, or an art director with dressers and builders for an advert. Cornwall first; when the brief needs more, people come down from Bristol, Devon or London, with travel and hotels on the quote before anything is booked.
- A look designed. Mood boards, references and drawings, agreed before anything is bought, hired or driven down the A30.
- Every prop chosen. Sourced, hired, bought or made, with nothing in shot you can’t clear.
- Locations dressed, and put back. A real place changed just enough for the camera, photographed first and returned exactly as it was.
- A budget that holds. Spend tracked, hires returned, and the van’s miles counted before anything is booked.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Designing the set and the dressing to the brief
- Running the props, dressing and build team
- Sourcing props, furniture and graphics
- Dressing on the day, and changes between set-ups
- The art budget, tracked and accounted for
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- The art budget: props, hires, materials and graphics, at cost
- Prep and wrap days, which most jobs need, quoted separately
- Props buyers, dressers and set builders, as the brief needs
- The props van, parking dispensations, and props brought down from upcountry, at cost
- Travel from outside Cornwall, hotels where the day needs them, mileage and parking, at cost
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in Cornwall.
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 an art director for your own Cornish production, or have us take the whole film 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 an art director, cottage to clifftop
Dressing a holiday cottage near St Ives as a family home for a brand film, then a picnic on the coast path in the afternoon. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- Prep The week before Reference agreed, props bought, furniture hired from upcountry and driven down, graphics printed, and the van’s route checked: Visit Cornwall warns that sat-navs send drivers down narrow lanes.
- 06:30 Dress The van unloaded. The owner’s things photographed and packed away; the cottage dressed to the design, room by room.
- 08:30 Camera check The DOP lines up the first shot; a lamp moved, a picture changed, a brand on a mug turned round.
- 09:00 Standby A props person on set for continuity, and the next room dressed ahead of the crew.
- 13:00 Lunch Food on set replaced, the kitchen reset, and the picnic packed for the coast.
- 14:30 The coast path The picnic dressed on the grass and weighted against the wind, with every piece carried in and carried out.
- 18:30 Strike The cottage put back exactly as it was, using the morning’s photos, and the hires loaded for the drive back upcountry.
Which kind
Which art department do you need?
From one person with a van of props to a full department. Card rates are per 11-hour day.
Art director the look and the team Card £675–878
Designs the set and the dressing, budgets it, and runs the team.
Best for adverts, brand films, music videos and drama.
Props buyer sourcing and buying Card £493–585
Sources, buys and hires props and dressing to the art director’s list.
Best on any shoot with a dressed set, and often the whole art department on a small one, as on the Lizard. In Cornwall that means knowing what to buy locally and what to bring down, once the van and the returns are counted.
Standby props on set
Look after the props on set, reset between takes and keep continuity.
Best on drama and any shoot with props that get used, eaten or wet.
Set builders construction
Build, paint and strike sets and pieces to the art director’s drawings. See set builders in Cornwall.
Best when the location can’t do it alone. Screen Cornwall says Cornwall has no film studios, so a build goes up in a hired space or on location.
Armourer weapons on set
A film armourer looks after any firearm or replica weapon on set.
We book one whenever firearms are on set. Cornwall Council’s code of practice says firearms need special guidance, so they go in with the permit application.
What it’s for
What people book an art director for in Cornwall
Adverts and brand films
A cottage, a kitchen or a shop dressed to look like the brand’s world, from a fishing village like Mevagissey to a farmhouse on Bodmin Moor.
Hotels, cafés and holiday lets
Hospitality and holiday brands dressed for the camera, from Newquay to Falmouth, between one booking and the next.
Food and drink
Tables, quays and markets dressed for food films at Padstow or Newlyn, with food on set replaced between takes.
Gardens and heritage
Period dressing at heritage sites like Tintagel, where English Heritage handles filming enquiries, and in the gardens at Heligan or the Eden Project.
Music videos and fashion
A look built in a barn, an old mining building or on a beach.
Recent work
Art departments on our jobs
An art department of one on the Lizard, and an art director booked the day before in London.
Our work · The Lizard, Cornwall · June 2026
Cohere: AI for Empowerment
The Cornish leg of a campaign we produced on 35mm in four countries. On the Lizard the art department was one person, an art assistant and props buyer, working on clifftops that are a Site of Special Scientific Interest: nothing broke the ground, every gazebo was weighted, there were no generators, and the kit went in on beach carts. Three landowners’ permissions covered one sequence.
Crew hire · Canary Wharf, London · October 2024
A podcast set on the 48th floor
Magnet Media, a New York agency, moved its podcast shoot to Level 48 of One Canada Square when the client’s own office fell through. We booked an art director the day before, with Magnet’s sign-off, to dress the set for three cameras and cover the logos in shot. Four podcast microphones on black arms were dressing; the sound came from lavs and a boom.
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, dressing and strike days are quoted separately.
The art budget
- Props, hires and materials at cost, each on its own line.
- Props brought down from upcountry come by van, at cost, and the drive is on the quote.
- Ask each hire house how it charges: by the day or by the week.
Filming in Cornwall
- Cornwall Council asks for £5m public liability and a location-specific risk assessment with every application.
- On a Site of Special Scientific Interest the landowner needs Natural England’s written consent first, which can take up to four months (checked October 2026).
- Cornwall Council’s permit terms allow no vehicles on its property without specific permission (checked October 2026).
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the art 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 art 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.
£675 a day
APA/Bectu card: £675–878 a day for an art director.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £675 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £67.50 |
| Insurance, 2% | £13.50 |
| One day, before the art budget | £756 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the art director we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the art 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 an art director in Cornwall.
Tell us the location, the look and the dates, and what has to go back exactly as it was. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on 07412 543822.
Check availability
The whole crew
Every role in Cornwall, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our day rates in Cornwall, 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 This page £675–878
- Set builders £341–512
Post-production 01
- Editor From £350
How our rates work: crew rates in Cornwall. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in Cornwall.
Production support
Everything around the crew
An art department leans on the permits, the logistics and the build, so here’s how the rest of a Cornish shoot fits around it.
01
Kit rental
Kit in West Cornwall and Falmouth, the crew’s own kit, and what comes down from Bristol and London.
02
Locations and permits
Cornwall Council, the National Trust, Natural England, the harbours and the drone rules.
Questions
Hiring an art director in Cornwall: questions
How much does an art director cost in Cornwall?
The APA/Bectu card puts an art director at £675–878 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and we pay that in full. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so a day starts at £756 + VAT. The art budget, for props, hires and materials, is at cost. Our rates are national: a Cornish day costs the same as anywhere else we crew, with any travel from outside Cornwall 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.
Where do the props come from for a Cornish shoot?
Some are bought locally. Furniture, themed ranges and anything specialist come down from the prop houses upcountry by van, at cost, and the props buyer works out which is cheaper once the drive and the returns are counted. Visit Cornwall puts London or Birmingham at less than five hours by car from the heart of Cornwall, on an A30 that’s mostly dual carriageway, and warns of heavy traffic in peak season, school holidays and at weekends (checked October 2026). Every hire is its own line on the quote. See props and wardrobe in Cornwall.
Can you dress a clifftop, a beach or a nature reserve?
Yes, on the landowner’s terms. Much of the coast has other owners: the National Trust signs a contract for any commercial shoot and doesn’t allow unauthorised drones; the Duchy of Cornwall holds over 160 miles of Cornish foreshore; and on a Site of Special Scientific Interest the landowner needs Natural England’s written consent, which can take up to four months (checked October 2026). On our Cohere shoot on the Lizard, one sequence needed three landowners’ permissions, and on the SSSI nothing could break the ground, so every gazebo was weighted. See filming permits in Cornwall.
Can you dress a National Trust or English Heritage property?
Yes, on the owner’s terms. The National Trust won’t allow commercial work at the places in its care without a contract signed by both sides, and its location fees fund conservation. English Heritage takes commercial filming enquiries for Tintagel Castle and its other sites through its own team (checked October 2026). We photograph everything first, dress for the camera, and put it back as it was.
Can you dress a harbour or a fishing village?
Yes, with the harbour master’s say-so. Cornwall Council’s harbour masters look after harbours including Newquay, Truro, Penzance and St Ives, and their byelaws are enforced; Falmouth and Padstow have their own harbour commissioners, and Falmouth asks for an event application form (checked October 2026). Working quays keep working, so the dressing fits round the boats. Port Isaac was Port Wenn in Doc Martin for 18 years.
Can we use replica weapons or stage an accident?
Yes, with notice. Cornwall Council’s code of practice says staged crimes, firearms and police uniforms need special guidance, and asks for the Ambulance Service to be told about any pretend ambulance and the Fire Brigade about special effects, fire or explosions. We book an armourer whenever firearms are on set, and impersonating a police officer is an offence, so police uniforms are covered between takes.
Can you dress someone’s home or a holiday let?
Yes. We photograph everything first, pack it away, dress for the camera, and put it all back exactly as it was. Tell us about the lane before the day: a props van that can’t turn at the bottom of it costs everyone time.