Film crew hire/Cornwall/Sound recordist
Hire a sound recordist in Cornwall. Clean dialogue, every word, whatever the wind is doing.
Sound recordists for interviews, documentaries, brand films and drama across Cornwall, from workshops and boatyards to the open cliff. They mic everyone who speaks, hold the boom, deal with the wind, the surf and the gulls, and hand over sound the edit doesn’t have to rescue. Cornish crew first, from Bristol, Devon or London where the brief needs it. £550 a day, paid to the recordist 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, Adil Mukhi, Keagan Henman, Hassan OUAJBIR and Simon Godfrey
The role
What a sound recordist does on your shoot
A sound recordist, or location sound mixer, records everything you hear in the film: the interviews, the dialogue, the place itself. They put radio mics on the people speaking, boom from above, mix and record it all with timecode matched to the cameras, and listen to every take in headphones, so a gust or a gull gets caught on the day, not in the edit.
Picture problems can often be fixed in the grade. Bad sound usually means doing it again, or living with it, and on the Cornish coast the trouble is wind more often than not: Culdrose, on the Lizard, averages a mean wind of about 12 knots, and Camborne about 10.5 (Met Office 1991–2020 averages). That’s why a recordist is the first person we add to a camera operator, and why a recce here is for sound as much as for light.
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. Sound is one of the departments Cornwall is short of, so where a local recordist fits the brief we book them first, and otherwise one comes down from Bristol, Devon or London with their kit, with the travel and a hotel on the quote before anything is booked.
- Every voice clean. Radio mics hidden on clothes, and a boom for the natural sound of the place.
- Wind beaten. Fur on every mic, radio mics under clothing, and the interview turned into the lee of a wall.
- Backed up twice. Recorded on two cards, with timecode matched to the cameras.
- Mics fitted with care. Explained to contributors before they’re fitted, and fitted by someone they’re comfortable with.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Radio mics on everyone speaking
- Boom for the room and for movement
- Mixing, recording and monitoring every take
- Timecode synced to the cameras
- Sound files and the sound report at wrap
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Their sound kit, at a day rate on its own line
- A boom operator, for drama or a big cast
- Extra radio mics or a feed from the desk, for a panel or a festival stage
- 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 recordist for your own Cornish shoot, 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 sound recordist, call to wrap
Interviews with three boatbuilders in a workshop by the water in Falmouth, then a walk-and-talk on the slipway. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 08:00 Listen to the room The compressor, a radio, the winch on the slipway, gulls on the roof: what can be switched off, asked to wait or worked round.
- 08:30 Set up Recorder and receivers on the cart, timecode jammed to both cameras.
- 09:30 First contributor A radio mic under the collar, a boom just out of shot, a sound check while the producer chats.
- 10:15 A hold A boat engine starting at the slipway. Two answers asked again.
- 13:00 Lunch Batteries changed, files backed up.
- 14:00 The slipway The walk-and-talk in the wind: fur on the radio mics, the boom on the sheltered side.
- 16:00 Room tone and atmos A minute of the workshop, then the water and the gulls, for the edit.
- 18:00 Wrap Mics collected, files and the sound report handed over.
Which kind
Which sound set-up do you need?
The kit and the crew change with the number of voices, how much they move, and what the place sounds like.
Interview kit Two radio mics and a boom £550 a day + kit
A recorder, two or three radio mics, a boom and headphones. Enough for most interviews and corporate films.
Best for interviews, testimonials and talking heads.
Multi-voice and events Four to eight radio mics £550 a day + kit
More channels, more radio mics, and often a feed from the PA. At a festival on a quay or a beach, the desk feed is agreed with the event team before the day.
Best for panels, festivals and conferences.
Documentary and run-and-gun Light, mobile, on the move £550 a day + kit
A bag rig with radio mics and a boom, following the action across a moor, a beach or the deck of a working boat. On the water, Screen Cornwall advises telling the coastguard when and where you’re filming (checked October 2026).
Best for branded documentaries and observational filming.
Sound mixer and boom operator Drama and adverts Quoted on the brief
A mixer at the cart and a boom operator on the floor, for dialogue scenes with movement.
Best for drama, adverts and anything with a script.
Sound to camera No recordist Not recommended
Mics plugged straight into the camera, with nobody listening. On the coast, the wind is usually in the first take.
Fine for a quick vox pop on a still day; risky for anything you can’t do again.
What it’s for
What people book a sound recordist for in Cornwall
Customer stories in workshops and on farms
Makers, growers and boatbuilders interviewed where they work, beside machines that don’t stop for long.
Documentaries on the moor and the coast
Bodmin Moor, Penwith and the Lizard, where the wind decides where the interview goes.
Boats and harbours
Working boats out of Newquay, Padstow or Falmouth, with engines running and the harbour busy around them.
Festivals and events
Stages, crowds and interviews in a tent, with a feed from the desk and a backup of both.
Drama
Series and features, with Screen Cornwall’s SCEPI fund investing in up to ten film and HETV projects filmed between 2025 and 2028 (checked October 2026).
Recent work
Sound on our jobs, and how we crew Cornwall
Our work · The Lizard, Cornwall · June 2026
Location sound for films with no dialogue
Cohere’s AI for Empowerment was shot on 35mm in four countries, and the films have no dialogue: music sits under the location sound, never over it. Our sound recordist on the Lizard worked one day on the cliffs, in fog, from a 07:00 unit call to a 21:00 wrap. There was no phone signal on the headland, so the unit ran on twelve walkie-talkies strung along a mile of cliff path.
Crew and production support · Alderley Edge, Cheshire · April 2025
Radio mics on court, a boom for the sit-down
The pilot of The Athletic’s Truth or Padel was shot on a private court in the back garden of a house in Alderley Edge, with a producer, two camera operators and a sound recordist. The recordist kept radio mics on both players through the match and a boom on the seated interview after it. The pilot became the plan for every episode that followed, in Barcelona, Manchester and Essendon.
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 location
- Tell us what’s nearby: a harbour, a main road, a slipway, a festival stage, the airport at St Mawgan.
- On the Lizard, a recordist listens for helicopters: RNAS Culdrose, near Helston, is the home base of the Royal Navy’s Merlin helicopters and one of Europe’s largest helicopter bases (checked October 2026).
- We recce at the hour you’ll shoot, for wind as well as noise, and plan a sheltered fallback.
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 noise to be kept to a minimum between 22:00 and 08:00, so early set-ups are quiet ones (checked October 2026).
- On the water, Screen Cornwall advises telling the coastguard when and where you’re filming (checked October 2026).
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the recordist.
- 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 recordist 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 benchmark (sound mixer): £541–668 a day.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £550 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £55 |
| Insurance, 2% | £11 |
| One day, before kit and travel | £616 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the recordist we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the recordist.
- 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 sound recordist in Cornwall.
Tell us how many people are speaking, where, and what the place sounds like: a workshop, a boat, a clifftop. 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 This page £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
Sound starts with the location, and in Cornwall with the weather. Here’s how locations, permissions and the rest of a Cornish shoot work, each item its own line on the quote.
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 sound recordist in Cornwall: questions
How much does a sound recordist cost in Cornwall?
Our sound recordists start at £550 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and the sound recordist is paid all of it. The APA/Bectu card benchmark is £541–668. 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. Their sound kit goes 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.
Are your sound recordists 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. 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. Sound is one of the roles that often travels, with its own kit. We started in Cornwall, and our founders still work from our Newquay office.
Do your recordists bring their own kit?
Yes: a recorder, radio mics, a boom and headphones, priced at a day rate on its own line. In the county, The Cornish Camera Co. in West Cornwall hires audio and comms, and specialist kit comes down from Bristol or London with the recordist.
How do you deal with wind on the Cornish coast?
With fur, shelter and planning. Culdrose, on the Lizard, averages a mean wind of about 12 knots, and Camborne about 10.5 (Met Office 1991–2020 averages), and a clifftop gets more. Radio mics go under clothing with covers, the boom wears a fur, and interviews turn their backs to a wall or a hedge. We recce at the hour you’ll shoot, and plan a sheltered fallback for the windy days.
Can you record on a boat or in a harbour?
Yes, with planning. Engines, winches and the harbour itself are loud, so we agree with the skipper when the engine can idle or stop, and put contributors on radio mics. Harbours have their own say: Cornwall Council’s harbour masters run Newquay, Truro, Penzance and St Ives; Falmouth and Padstow have their own harbour commissioners. On the water, Screen Cornwall advises telling the coastguard when and where you’re filming (checked October 2026).
What noise should we plan for on the Lizard?
Helicopters, among other things. RNAS Culdrose, near Helston, is the home base of the Royal Navy’s Merlin helicopters and one of Europe’s largest helicopter bases (checked October 2026), so a recordist on the Lizard listens for them and holds takes when one passes. The wind off the sea and the surf below the cliffs do the rest.
Can we record voiceover in Cornwall?
Falmouth University’s School of Film & Television hires its 25-seat dubbing theatre, with an Avid S6 desk, to outside productions: £450 a half day or £900 a day, plus VAT, room only, with no technician (checked October 2026). For our own productions, our post team in London finishes the sound.