Film crew hire/Cornwall/Director
Hire a director in Cornwall. The person who decides what the film is, then gets it before the weather turns.
Directors for brand films, branded documentary, interviews and adverts across Cornwall, from a clifftop on the Lizard to a farm on Bodmin Moor or a harbour in St Ives. Most of the films we make are directed in-house; on larger 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
- 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 and Simon Godfrey
The role
What a director does on your shoot
A director decides what the film is, then gets it on the day. In prep they write the treatment, plan the interviews or the script with you, agree the look with the DOP and walk the location. On the day they run the contributors or the cast, call the set-ups and the takes, and keep a list of what the edit still needs.
The director says what the film should feel like; the DOP decides how that looks. In Cornwall the location has a say as well. A clifftop on the Lizard or in Penwith may belong to the National Trust, sit in a nature reserve or cross a private estate, each with its own permission and conditions, and the wind can change the plan by lunchtime. A good director here picks locations with the permissions in mind, and keeps a fallback on the call sheet.
As a crew agency we have 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, 30+ of them in Cornwall, and we scale a crew up as the shoot needs: two people round the director for an interview, a full unit for a scripted day on the coast.
- A plan before the day. Treatment, interview questions or shot list, signed off with you, and a fallback for the weather.
- Contributors at ease. People who’ve never been filmed, settled enough to say it properly.
- The coverage the edit needs. Selects noted and gaps picked up before the light goes.
- One voice on set. The crew, the client and the contributors hear one set of calls, even on radios along a cliff path.
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 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 director for your own production and crew, or have us make the 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 Cornish food business: an interview in the farm kitchen in the morning, then the coast below it in the afternoon light. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:00 Crew call The plan walked through with the DOP at the farm: the interview frame, where the second camera sits, and the afternoon’s coast shots checked against the tide times.
- 08:30 First contributor Settled and talked through it. The director runs the interview and listens for the line the film hangs on.
- 10:30 The work Hands, the yard and the animals, handheld, while the contributor does the job for real rather than for the camera.
- 12:30 Lunch The morning’s answers checked against the plan; one question rewritten for the afternoon.
- 14:00 The coast A crew of three and the contributor on a council beach, on a FilmApp permit applied for five working days ahead: Cornwall Council’s notice for fewer than five people, cast and crew together, with a handheld camera (checked October 2026).
- 16:30 The weather call The wind is up on the headland, so the last set-up moves into the lee of the harbour wall rather than lose it. The fallback was on the call sheet.
- 18:30 Wrap Selects noted for the edit, pick-ups listed, rushes on two drives and on their way to our post team in London.
The Met Office’s 1991–2020 averages give Culdrose, on the Lizard, a mean wind of about 12 knots. A coastal day with us always has a fallback written into the plan.
Which kind
Which director do you need?
“Director” covers different jobs on different shoots. Here’s how we match one to a brief.
Interview and corporate director Contributors, questions and the camera team From £500 a day
Plans the questions with you, runs the contributors and directs the camera team. It’s most of what we direct in-house.
Best for interview days with a few contributors and a fixed window with each, from an office in Truro to a boatyard in Falmouth.
Documentary director Real people, where they live and work
Researches the film, finds the people, runs the interviews and directs, sometimes with a camera in hand; on a small crew they produce too.
Best for branded documentary and micro-docs: a farmer on Bodmin Moor, a skipper out of Newquay harbour, a potter in Porthleven. Our four films for Airbnb were street-cast on foot in St Ives, Newquay, Falmouth and Bude.
Commercials director Scripted work 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 on the Lizard.
Best for adverts and brand campaigns with a cast. Screen Cornwall says Cornwall has no film studios, so a scripted interior usually means a house or a converted farm building, as Doc Martin used at Roscarrock Farm (checked October 2026).
Your director, our crew For agencies and visiting productions
When the director is yours, coming down from London or flying in to Newquay, we put the crew and kit round them and they direct.
Best for agencies and overseas productions with a director already attached. The fastest trains from London Paddington reach Truro in 4 hours 21 minutes (checked October 2026).
A director and the whole film When there’s no production team on your side
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 Cornwall.
What it’s for
What people book a director for in Cornwall
Brand films on the coast
Clifftops, coves and harbours from the Lizard to Penwith, where the light, the wind and the tide set the schedule.
Branded documentary
People filmed where they work: a farm on Bodmin Moor, a boat out of Newlyn, a studio in St Ives.
Tourism and hospitality
Hotels, gardens and places to stay, shot out of season when the beaches are empty, or in August when they aren’t.
Commercials with a cast
A script, an AD team, and a house, a farm building or a beach to shoot it in, in a county with no film studios.
Productions coming down
A director for a London agency, or an overseas team arriving on the sleeper or into Cornwall Airport Newquay.
Recent work
Directing on our jobs, from the Lizard to British Columbia
Our work · The Lizard, Cornwall · June 2026
An outside director, our production round them
The Cornish leg of Cohere’s AI for Empowerment, a campaign we produced on 35mm in four countries. The director was brought in for the job, as a commercials director usually is, and we built the production round them: three landowners’ permissions for one sequence, a tracking vehicle and its three-person team, and a unit on twelve radios along a mile of cliff path, from a 07:00 call to a 21:00 wrap in fog.
Our work · Burnaby, British Columbia · June 2026
Toast: a director in London, a crew in Burnaby
A customer story for Toast at Bin 4 Burger Lounge, a family-run restaurant in Burnaby. We booked a crew in Vancouver rather than fly one out, briefed it with our shot list, story arc and interview plan, and our director ran the interviews live from London over a video link. Our director, a good local crew and a plan detailed enough to brief them: it’s how we crew a Cornish shoot too.
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.
Filming in Cornwall
- Private property: the owner’s permission in writing, with the usage agreed.
- Council land, its beaches, woods, parks and old mining sites among them: Cornwall Council, through FilmApp. Much of the coast: the National Trust, the Duchy of Cornwall or Natural England.
- Cornwall Council asks for £5m public liability and a location-specific 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 Cornwall.
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 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 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 Cornwall. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in Cornwall.
Production support
Everything around the crew
A director’s prep in Cornwall is half landowners and weather, from Cornwall Council’s FilmApp to the National Trust and the tide tables, and each item can go on the quote if you want us to book 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 a director in Cornwall: questions
How much does a director cost in Cornwall?
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 Cornwall. 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, our summer campaigns for The Lost Gardens of Heligan among them. On larger shoots we bring in an outside director and build the production round them, as we did on the Lizard for Cohere’s AI for Empowerment.
Do I need a permit to film on a Cornish beach?
Often, yes. Filming on Cornwall Council land, its beaches, woods, parks, gardens and old mining sites among them, needs a permit through FilmApp. Screen Cornwall’s Film Office gives advice, locations and introductions to landowners, but doesn’t issue the permits. 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). Cornwall Council asks for £5m public liability and a location-specific risk assessment with every application. Off council land, the landowner says yes instead. See filming permits in Cornwall.
Can we film on the Lizard, or other protected coast?
Yes, with the right permissions, and they take longer than the council’s. 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). Our own day on the Lizard for Cohere needed three landowners’ permissions for one sequence, and the clifftops’ status as a Site of Special Scientific Interest ruled out drones and generators. So the director picks the location with the permissions in mind, not after.
What if the weather turns?
Sometimes it will, and the plan allows for it. The Met Office’s 1991–2020 averages give Culdrose, on the Lizard, a mean wind of about 12 knots. Before our Cohere day on the Lizard, a fortnight of sunny forecasts fell apart into fog the evening before. The options, and what each would cost, went to the client in writing; the client chose to go, and the call moved to 07:00 to work while the mist was thickest. Cornwall Council wants 48 hours’ notice of a cancellation on its land, or charges a late fee (checked October 2026).
Where are your directors based?
We started in Cornwall, and our founders work from our Newquay office; our base is London, at 124 City Road, where our post team is. Our directors travel to the shoot. 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). As a crew agency we have 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, 30+ of them in Cornwall, and we scale a crew up as the shoot needs: the crew round the director comes from Cornwall first, and from Bristol, Devon or London when the film needs more, with travel and hotels on the quote before anything is booked.
How far ahead should I book a director in Cornwall?
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 permissions: ten working days for Cornwall Council land, 12 weeks for any traffic management or road closure, and up to four months for a landowner to get Natural England’s consent on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (checked October 2026).