Film crew hire/Cornwall/Clapper loader
Hire a clapper loader in Cornwall. Every take slated, every card and every roll of film accounted for.
Clapper loaders (2nd ACs) for adverts, brand films and drama across Cornwall, on digital and on film, from clifftop sets on the Lizard to a studio at Penryn. They help prep the package at the kit house, slate the takes, load the cards or the film magazines, and keep the camera report the edit relies on. From £355 a day, paid to the loader 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, Mike Bautista, Tyler Haehn, Voice + Video and Greg Willson
The role
What a clapper loader does on your shoot
A clapper loader, or 2nd AC (second assistant camera), runs the paperwork and the media of the camera department. They mark every take with the slate, so sound and picture sync and the editor knows what’s what. They load and unload cards, or film magazines on a film shoot, and keep the camera report.
On film, the loader is the one person who handles the negative before the lab: loading magazines in a changing bag or a darkroom tent, canning the exposed rolls and labelling every can. A 400ft roll of 35mm runs about three and a half minutes, so a busy day means a lot of cans, and one mistake costs a day.
On a clifftop there’s no darkroom, so the bag or the tent goes wherever the camera cart can reach, out of the wind and the sand. On the Lizard for Cohere, our 2nd AC travelled down with the 1st AC, a camera trainee worked alongside them, and a kit assistant came from The Cornish Camera Co. in West Cornwall.
- Every take marked. Scene, slate and take on the clapperboard, so the edit can find it and sync it.
- Media accounted for. Cards or film rolls logged in and out, and never formatted before they’re backed up.
- A camera report that’s right. Lens, stop, filters and notes for every take, for the editor and the colourist.
- Batteries and lenses ready. Charged, cleaned and where the focus puller needs them, out of the rain.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Slating every take, with timecode where it’s used
- Loading and unloading cards, or film magazines
- The camera report, lens log and media log
- Handing cards to the DIT, or film cans to the lab
- Batteries, consumables and the camera cart
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Film stock, processing and scanning, at cost, on a film shoot
- A prep day at the kit house, if the package needs one
- 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 a loader for your own camera team, 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 clapper loader, call to wrap
A 35mm brand film on a headland: one camera, a cliff path and a sequence that moves with the talent. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 06:30 Load the mags Fresh rolls loaded into magazines in a changing tent at the unit base, each labelled with the stock and roll number.
- 07:15 Camera cart Batteries charged, lenses on the cart, slate and camera report ready, everything strapped down for the walk out.
- 08:00 First take Slate in, clear call, out of shot. Every take written up: roll, slate, take, lens and stop.
- 09:30 Mag change A 400ft roll runs out after about three and a half minutes. A new mag on in seconds, the exposed roll canned and labelled out of the wind.
- 13:00 Lunch Short ends logged, magazines reloaded for the afternoon.
- 14:00 The moving shots Tail slates where the camera can’t stop for a board at the top of a take, each one noted on the report.
- 18:30 Wrap Every can taped, labelled and on the lab sheet; the camera report signed and handed over.
Airport X-ray destroys exposed, undeveloped film, so from a Cornish shoot the cans go to the lab by road, by courier or by hand, planned before the shoot: the negative from the Lizard for Cohere was processed and scanned at Cinelab in Slough. On a digital shoot the day is the same, with cards instead of film: logged out, handed to the DIT, and only formatted once two verified copies exist.
Which kind
Which loader do you need?
The job changes with the medium. Here’s what each version involves.
Digital 2nd AC for cinema cameras
Slates, swaps and logs cards, hands them to the DIT or wrangler, and keeps the camera report.
Best for brand films, adverts and drama on cinema cameras.
Film loader for 35mm and 16mm
Loads and unloads magazines in the dark, cans and labels every roll, keeps stock and lab sheets, and gets the cans to the lab.
Best for anything shot on film. Book someone who has loaded film recently: it’s a skill you keep by doing it. Falmouth University’s stores hire a Bolex H16 16mm camera at £150 a day, on 24 hours’ notice (checked October 2026).
2nd AC and DIT for small crews
On a one-camera digital shoot, the 2nd AC can offload cards with verification software between set-ups, or take over as DIT at wrap, as ours did in Woolwich, London. See DITs in Cornwall.
Best for small crews where a separate DIT would sit idle.
Focus puller (1st AC) the senior assistant
Pulls focus and runs the camera. See focus pullers in Cornwall.
Best booked alongside the loader on any cinema camera shoot.
What it’s for
What people book a clapper loader for in Cornwall
Adverts and brand campaigns
Cinema-camera days on the coast and in houses, with slated takes and a report the grade can rely on.
Film shoots
35mm and 16mm, with the magazines, the cans and the run to the lab. Screen Cornwall lists Bait, shot on 16mm black-and-white film and processed by hand.
Drama
Scene and take numbers for the edit, in a county where Port Isaac was Port Wenn in Doc Martin for 18 years.
Multi-camera days
Two cameras on a stage, a festival or a long interview, slated and logged at once.
Studio days at Penryn
Falmouth University’s film school studios, Studio 1 at 154 square metres, hired by the day.
Recent work
Loaders on our jobs, on 35mm and on a small crew
Our work · The Lizard, Cornwall · June 2026
Nine reels of 35mm, all accounted for
Cohere’s AI for Empowerment was shot on Kodak Vision3 through an Arricam LT, in Cornwall and three other countries, and nine reels of original camera negative came back across the campaign. On the Lizard our 2nd AC travelled down with the 1st AC, a camera trainee worked alongside them, and the kit went out along the cliff path on beach carts. The Lizard’s negative was processed and scanned at Cinelab in Slough.
Crew hire · Woolwich, London · January 2025
A 2nd AC who became the DIT at wrap
A social spot for Valentine Global, in an artist’s studio in Woolwich, booked eight days out, around the agency’s own director, DOP and camera kit. Our 1st AC pulled focus, and our 2nd AC worked with them through the day, then switched to DIT at the end of it. There was no separate DIT on the crew.
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.
- A prep day at the kit house is quoted separately.
Kit and film
- Stock, processing and scans at cost, on their own lines.
- For kit in Cornwall there’s The Cornish Camera Co. in West Cornwall, and Falmouth University’s film school stores, which hire to outside productions on 24 hours’ notice: a Sony FX6 kit is £200 a day (checked October 2026). Bigger kit comes down from Bristol or London.
- Exposed film never goes through an airport X-ray: the run to the lab is planned before the shoot.
Filming in Cornwall
- Cornwall Council asks for £5m public liability and a location-specific risk assessment with every application.
- Cornwall Council asks for ten working days’ notice, or five for a crew under five with a handheld camera, and 12 weeks for any traffic management or road closure (checked October 2026).
- Screen Cornwall says Cornwall has no film studios; the nearest stages are The Bottle Yard in Bristol. Falmouth University hires out its film school studios: Studio 1 is 154 square metres, at £750 a day (checked October 2026).
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the loader.
- 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 loader 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.
£355 a day
APA/Bectu card: £355–448 a day for a clapper loader.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £355 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £35.50 |
| Insurance, 2% | £7.10 |
| One day, before travel | £397.60 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the loader we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the loader.
- 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 clapper loader in Cornwall.
Tell us the date, the camera, where the package is coming from, and whether it’s digital or film. 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 This page £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 Cornwall. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in Cornwall.
Production support
Everything around the crew
A loader works from the package and the lab: kit from West Cornwall, Falmouth, Bristol or London, a studio at Penryn and the run to the lab each go on the quote as their own line.
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 a clapper loader in Cornwall: questions
How much does a clapper loader cost in Cornwall?
The APA/Bectu card puts a clapper loader at £355–448 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and the loader is paid that in full. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so a day starts at £397.60 + VAT, before travel from outside Cornwall. A prep day at the kit house is quoted separately.
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.
Is a clapper loader the same as a 2nd AC?
Yes. In the UK the second assistant camera is usually called the clapper loader, a name from the days when the job was mostly loading film.
Do I need a loader on a digital shoot?
On a cinema camera shoot with a focus puller, yes: someone has to slate, log and look after the cards. On a small crew the loader can double as the DIT, as ours did on a studio day in Woolwich, London. On a small interview day the camera operator can do it.
Can your loaders load film?
Yes. We crew loaders who have loaded 16mm and 35mm recently, which is the skill to ask for. On Cohere’s AI for Empowerment our 2nd AC travelled down to the Lizard to load the 35mm, with a camera trainee alongside. Tell us the camera and the stock when you book.
How does exposed film get from Cornwall to the lab?
By road, by courier or by hand, and never through an airport X-ray, which destroys undeveloped film. Plan the route before the shoot: the negative from the Lizard for Cohere went to Cinelab in Slough to be processed and scanned. If anyone flies home from Cornwall Airport Newquay with the cans, get the airline’s agreement to hand-carriage in writing first.
Where can we hire a film camera for a Cornish shoot?
Ask us when you book. Falmouth University’s stores hire a Bolex H16 16mm camera at £150 a day, on 24 hours’ notice (checked October 2026). For 35mm, bigger kit comes down from Bristol or London; wherever the package comes from, the loader preps it at the kit house the day before.
Are your loaders from Cornwall?
We’re a crew agency with 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, 30+ of them in Cornwall, so we can scale a crew from one camera operator on a beach to a full unit on a clifftop. Cornish crew first. When a shoot needs more hands, or a role that’s scarce down here, they come from Bristol, Devon or London, and the travel and hotels are on the quote before anything is booked. London Paddington to Truro takes 4 hours 21 minutes on the fastest trains, and to Penzance 5 hours 4; the Night Riviera sleeper runs six nights a week, Paddington to Penzance (checked October 2026).