Film crew hire/Cornwall/Gaffer
Hire a gaffer in Cornwall. The DOP’s light, rigged and powered, wherever the supply runs out.
Gaffers for brand films, adverts, interviews and drama across Cornwall, from converted barns and houses by the sea to clifftops with no power at all. They turn the DOP’s lighting plan into lamps, stands and cable, find the power or bring it, and weight every stand against the wind. Cornish crew first, from Bristol, Devon or London where the brief needs it. £550 a day, paid to the gaffer in full, with the van and kit on its own line.
- 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, Jametlene Reskp, Eli Cooper, Jonah De Oliveira and Greg Willson
The role
What a gaffer does on your shoot
The gaffer is the head of the lighting department. They work out with the DOP how each set-up will be lit, choose the lamps, plan the power, and run the sparks who rig and focus the lights. On a location they find the supply, or bring one, and make sure nothing trips, overheats or blows over.
Many gaffers own a van of LEDs, stands, flags and cable, so one booking covers the person and the kit. In Cornwall the van’s day is often longer than the shoot’s: down the A30, along a lane or a farm track, and the last stretch to a beach or a clifftop on carts, because vehicles don’t go onto Cornwall Council land without specific permission.
We’re a crew agency with 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. Lighting crew is one of the departments Cornwall is short of, so we start with who’s free locally, and bring a gaffer and their van down from Bristol, Devon or London when the brief needs one, with the travel and hotels on the quote before anything is booked.
- The plan, lit. The DOP describes the look; the gaffer chooses and places the lamps that make it.
- Power where there is none. House power, batteries, portable power stations or a silent generator, worked out at the recce.
- Stands that stay up. Sandbagged and tied off, with frames brought down before the wind takes them.
- Quick turnarounds. The next set-up pre-rigged while the current one shoots.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Planning the lighting with the DOP
- Rigging, focusing and adjusting every lamp
- Power: finding it, distributing it, keeping it safe
- Running the sparks, if you book them
- Striking the lights and leaving the location as found
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- The van and kit, at a day rate, on its own line
- Portable power, a silent generator or extra lamps from a kit house, if the location needs them
- 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 gaffer for your own Cornish shoot, or have us take the production on, the power and the permissions with it.
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 gaffer, call to wrap
A brand film for a Cornish food producer: interviews in a converted barn in the morning, then an exterior on the coast path a few fields away in the afternoon. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:00 Van in Down the farm track and parked by the barn doors, the kit off in the order of the plan.
- 07:30 Power The barn’s supply checked with the farmer, cable runs kept out of the yard, the portable power stations for the afternoon on charge.
- 08:00 The plan A walk round with the DOP: the open doors as the key, a soft fill, the back wall left to fall off.
- 09:00 Rigged and focused Lamps up, flags set, the dust in the beam kept or killed: the DOP’s call.
- 13:00 Lunch The exterior kit onto carts: LED panels, batteries, stands and sandbags.
- 14:30 Coast path Panels on battery, stands sandbagged and tied off, and the frame held by hand when the gusts come.
- 18:30 Wrap Struck and carried back, the barn as it was, the van loaded for the A30.
Which kind
Which lighting crew do you need?
How big the lighting team gets depends on the look, the space and how fast the day moves. In Cornwall it also depends on where the power comes from, and how far the kit has to be carried.
Gaffer with a van One person, a full LED kit £550 + van
A gaffer with their own van of LEDs, stands, flags and cable, priced on its own line. Often all an interview or a small brand film needs.
Best for interviews, corporate films and one-location days.
Gaffer and spark Two people, faster turnarounds Per person
The gaffer runs the plan; the spark rigs, runs cable and pre-rigs the next set-up, and shares the carry. See sparks in Cornwall.
Best for multi-set-up days, moves between locations and anything a long walk from the van.
Full lighting crew Gaffer, best boy and sparks Quoted on the brief
A best boy to run the crew and the kit, and as many sparks as the plan needs. Some lamps can be hired in the county; the biggest come down from Bristol or London with the crew.
Best for adverts, drama, night exteriors and barns lit from scratch.
Power on location Batteries, portable power or a silent generator Quoted on the brief
Power for a location without a supply, sized at the recce: batteries and portable power stations for LEDs, a silent generator for bigger lamps where the land allows one.
Best for beaches, moors and clifftops, and for big lamps after dark.
Barns and pop-up studios Lighting a space that isn’t a studio Quoted on the brief
A barn, a boatshed or an empty unit, lit from scratch: the gaffer plans the power, the blackout and the rig for a building that was never meant for any of them. Cornwall has no film studios, so converted buildings do the job.
Best for multi-day shoots, drama and anything that needs control the weather won’t give you.
What it’s for
What people book a gaffer for in Cornwall
Barns as studios
Screen Cornwall says Cornwall has no film studios: converted farm buildings are used instead, Roscarrock Farm was fitted out for Doc Martin, and unused industrial buildings can become pop-up studios (checked October 2026).
Houses and hotels by the sea
Interiors with a window full of sea and sky, balanced so the view holds behind the faces.
Studio days at Falmouth
Studio 1 at Falmouth University, 154 square metres with a full rig, at £750 a day plus VAT, room only, or the green-screen studio with its 360° lighting rig (checked October 2026).
Exteriors off the grid
Bodmin Moor, Penwith and the Lizard, where the power comes in on carts and the wind decides how big a frame can fly.
Harbours after dark
St Ives, Newquay and Mevagissey lit for camera, agreed with the harbour master or the harbour office first.
Recent work
Lighting on our jobs, and how we crew Cornwall
Our work · The Lizard, Cornwall · June 2026
Portable power on a protected clifftop
For Cohere’s AI for Empowerment, shot on 35mm, the Lizard leg ran from a 07:00 unit call to a 21:00 wrap, in fog. The clifftops are a Site of Special Scientific Interest: no generators, so the whole shoot ran on portable power stations, and nothing pegged into the ground, so every gazebo was weighted. Kit went in on beach carts, because vehicles don’t. Our gaffer, a lighting technician, also did the spark’s job.
Production service · Portsmouth, London and Oxford · November and December 2023
A gaffer, two vans and three cities
For Swanson Studios, an Oregon studio filming surgeons for Intuitive, we booked a gaffer with lighting, grip and stills kit from two London hire houses: seven Aputure LS 600Ds, strobes, softboxes and backdrops. Each morning they had about three hours to light a stills set and an interview set in a new room; each night both were struck and the vans drove on, with the crew’s hotels booked ahead. The same plan brings a gaffer and their kit down to Cornwall.
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.
The van and the county
- Visit Cornwall says the A30 is mostly dual carriageway, but sat-navs send drivers down narrow lanes, so the van follows the road signs (checked October 2026).
- A parking dispensation for vehicles essential to filming is £20 a day per vehicle from Cornwall Council, with at least five working days’ notice (checked October 2026).
- Cornwall Council’s permit terms don’t allow vehicles onto its land without specific permission, so the kit often goes in on carts.
Filming in Cornwall
- Cornwall Council asks for £5m public liability and a location-specific risk assessment with every application.
- Cornwall Council’s code of practice asks for silent generators as much as possible, and noise kept to a minimum between 22:00 and 08:00 (checked October 2026).
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the gaffer.
- 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 gaffer 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.
£550 a day
APA/Bectu card: Up to £585 a day for a gaffer.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £550 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £55 |
| Insurance, 2% | £11 |
| One day, before the van and travel | £616 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the gaffer we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the gaffer.
- 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 gaffer in Cornwall.
Tell us the location, the look and where the power will come from, if you know. 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 £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 gaffer needs power, somewhere for the van and sometimes a generator or a pop-up studio. Here’s how each works in Cornwall, from kit hire to the permissions behind them.
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 gaffer in Cornwall: questions
How much does a gaffer cost in Cornwall?
Our gaffers start at £550 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and the gaffer is paid all of it. The APA/Bectu card benchmark is Up to £585. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so one day comes to £616 + VAT, before kit and any travel from outside Cornwall. The van and lighting kit go on their own line, with the same fee and insurance.
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.
Are your gaffers local to Cornwall?
Some are. As a crew agency we have 2,800+ freelance crew on our books, 30+ of them in Cornwall, and we scale a crew up as the shoot needs. Lighting is one of the departments Cornwall is short of, so where a local gaffer fits the brief we book them first, and otherwise one comes down from Bristol, Devon or London, usually with their van, with the travel and hotels on the quote before anything is booked. We started in Cornwall, and our founders still work from our Newquay office.
Do your gaffers bring their own van?
Many do: LED panels, stands, flags and cable, priced on its own line. Falmouth University’s film school stores hire to outside productions on 24 hours’ notice: an ARRI M18 HMI kit or an Aputure 600C kit is £200 a day and an Aputure Storm 400X £65, plus VAT, with a copy of your public liability insurance before collection (checked October 2026). The Cornish Camera Co. in West Cornwall hires lighting and stands, batteries and power. The biggest lamps come down from Bristol or London.
What if the location has no power?
The gaffer checks at the recce. If there’s no supply, or not enough, we add batteries, portable power stations or a silent generator and an operator to the quote. Cornwall Council’s code of practice asks for silent generators as much as possible, and noise kept to a minimum between 22:00 and 08:00 (checked October 2026). Some protected land allows no generator at all: on Cohere’s clifftops on the Lizard, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, no generators were allowed, and the whole shoot ran on portable power stations.
Can we light a beach, a harbour or a street at night?
Yes, with permission. 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. Harbours have their own say: Cornwall Council’s harbour masters run Newquay, Truro, Penzance and St Ives, and Falmouth and Padstow have harbour commissioners. On a lifeguarded beach the lifeguards are told before filming, and after 22:00 the council’s code asks for noise to be kept to a minimum (checked October 2026).
How does the weather change a lighting day in Cornwall?
Culdrose, on the Lizard, averages about 151 days a year with a millimetre of rain or more, and a mean wind of 12 knots (Met Office 1991–2020 averages). Wind is what limits the lighting: stands sandbagged and tied off, frames held by hand or brought down, and a covered set or a spare day in the plan. We put the weather call to you in writing, with the cost of each option, before it has to be made.
How far ahead should I book a gaffer in Cornwall?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. The notice that sets the date is usually the location’s. 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). A parking dispensation for vehicles essential to filming is £20 a day per vehicle from Cornwall Council, with at least five working days’ notice (checked October 2026). In summer, book the crew hotels early too: Screen Cornwall warns that accommodation is limited and traffic harder (checked October 2026).