Film crew hire/Edinburgh/Gaffer
Hire a gaffer in Edinburgh. The DOP’s lighting plan, rigged, powered and safe, van and all.
Gaffers for brand films, adverts, interviews, conferences and studio days across Edinburgh and the Lothians, from Georgian offices in the New Town to the stages at FirstStage Studios in Leith. They turn the DOP’s lighting plan into lamps, stands, cable and power, get the van to the door, and run the sparks who rig it. £550 a day, paid to the gaffer in full, with the van and kit on its own line.
- 54 five-star Google reviews
- 2 hrs for our team to read your brief, in working hours
- £10m employers’ liability on every crew member we book
- 2,800+ freelance crew on our books, across the UK
Photos: Here Now Films, Jametlene Reskp, Eli Cooper, Jonah De Oliveira and Madeleine Kohler
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 power, or bring a generator, and make sure nothing trips, overheats or falls over.
Many gaffers own a van of LEDs, stands, flags and cable, so one booking covers the person and the kit. In Edinburgh the van has rules of its own: it has to meet the Low Emission Zone to drive into the city centre, and lamps on a pavement or a road are agreed with the council through Film Edinburgh before the day.
- The plan, lit. The DOP describes the look; the gaffer chooses and places the lamps that make it.
- Power that holds. House power, distribution or a generator, worked out at the recce.
- Quick turnarounds. The next set-up pre-rigged while the current one shoots.
- Safe rigging. Stands weighted, cables run and taped, heads above people secured, PAT certificates to hand.
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
- A generator, a cherry picker or extra power, if the location needs it
- Travel from outside Edinburgh, mileage, and a parking dispensation or suspended bay for the van, at cost
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in Edinburgh.
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 Edinburgh shoot, or have us take the production on, permits and parking 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
Interviews and B-roll on an office floor on St Andrew Square, inside the Low Emission Zone, with windows on two sides and the van on a yellow line round the corner. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:00 Van in A van that meets the Low Emission Zone, on a £16 parking dispensation booked a day ahead with its registration; the kit up in the goods lift.
- 07:30 Power The floor’s circuits checked with the building manager, cable runs planned so nothing crosses a fire door.
- 08:00 The plan A walk round with the DOP: the window as the key, a soft fill, ND on the glass so the street outside holds.
- 09:00 Rigged and focused Lamps up, flags set, reflections in the glass flagged off.
- 13:00 Lunch The afternoon set-up pre-rigged in the boardroom next door.
- 15:30 The light changes The sun drops behind the block opposite; the key brought up to hold the look.
- 18:30 Wrap Everything struck and down the goods lift, the floor as it was.
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 Edinburgh it also depends on whether anything goes on the street, and whether the trams run past it.
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. A move from a New Town office to a close off the Royal Mile is where a spark earns the day. See sparks in Edinburgh.
Best for multi-set-up days, company moves and bigger lamps.
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. Edinburgh’s kit houses include Lights Camera Scotland, out towards the airport, and Live Systems on North Leith Sands; the biggest lamps come from Glasgow or London.
Best for adverts, drama, night exteriors and stage days.
Lighting desk Programmable lights and effects Quoted on the brief
A desk operator for colour-changing LEDs, practical effects and lighting cues, on a stage or a music video.
Best for music videos, events and studio shoots with effects.
Generator Power where there is none Quoted on the brief
A silent generator and an operator, for locations without enough power. Film Edinburgh’s Code of Practice wants generators as far from homes and businesses as reasonably practicable, baffled or built into the vehicle, and green ones wherever possible.
Best for night exteriors and big lamps on location.
What it’s for
What people book a gaffer for in Edinburgh
Interviews in offices
St Andrew Square, George Street and the New Town’s Georgian offices, lit so the tall windows don’t win.
Conferences and events
Stage sets and interview corners at the EICC, in the Pentland Auditorium or one of its 24 event rooms.
Studio days
The stages at FirstStage Studios in Leith, up to 25 metres high, and smaller studios hired by the day for interviews and product.
Brand films in real places
Old Town closes, stone warehouses on the Shore at Leith and New Town drawing rooms, lit to look like the room, not a set.
Night exteriors
The Royal Mile, the closes and Calton Hill lit for camera, with Film Edinburgh’s say-so, and anything between 23:00 and 07:00 in a residential street agreed in advance.
Recent work
Lighting on our jobs, and how we crew Edinburgh
Crew hire · Woolwich, London · January 2025
A gaffer, a van and a company move
A day-in-the-life film for a sportswear brand, crewed for a Los Angeles production company: an interview in the talent’s own third-floor studio in Woolwich, then B-roll on Woolwich Church Street after a 15:30 move. The gaffer walked both locations at the recce, without kit, and brought their own van and lights on the day, priced as one line. With the move in the schedule, they asked for a spark, and got one.
How we crew it · Edinburgh
A gaffer and a van, cleared for the city centre
We start with gaffers who live in or near Edinburgh. When the brief or the date needs someone else, a gaffer and their van come from elsewhere in Scotland, the north of England or London, with the travel on the quote before anything is booked. Either way, the van has to meet the Low Emission Zone before it comes into the centre. Anything going up on the street is agreed through Film Edinburgh first: a cherry picker is £63 a day per location, and lighting towers and cranes want four weeks’ notice. Within ten metres of the tram line, Edinburgh Trams may need to issue an Authority to Work as well, applied for 21 days ahead (all checked October 2026).
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 city
- Inside the Low Emission Zone, a van below Euro 6 diesel or Euro 4 petrol is sent a £60 penalty. There’s no daily charge to pay instead, so we only book vans that meet it (checked October 2026).
- Tell us the address when you book: the loading bay, the goods lift and the parking come first.
- Lamps on a pavement or a road are agreed with the council through Film Edinburgh before the day, and stands on a footway are attended or weighted and secured.
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.
- 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.
- Film Edinburgh asks for at least £10m public liability on every application, with a risk assessment where the shoot needs one (checked October 2026).
£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 Edinburgh.
Tell us the date, the address, the look, and where the van can stop. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on 07412 543822.
Check availability
The whole crew
Every role in Edinburgh, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our day rates in Edinburgh, 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 Edinburgh. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in Edinburgh.
Production support
Everything around the crew
A gaffer needs power, a place for the van and sometimes a generator or a cherry picker. Here’s how each works in Edinburgh, from kit hire to the permits behind them.
01
Kit rental
Kit houses in Leith and out towards the airport, the crew’s own kit, and what comes from Glasgow or London.
02
Locations and permits
Film Edinburgh, Historic Environment Scotland, Waverley, the kirkyards, the trams and the drone rules.
03
Studios and set builds
FirstStage in Leith, smaller studios for interviews and product, and set builds.
Questions
Hiring a gaffer in Edinburgh: questions
How much does a gaffer cost in Edinburgh?
Our gaffers are £550 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, paid to the gaffer in full (APA/Bectu card: Up to £585). On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance: £616 + VAT for the gaffer’s day. 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 Edinburgh?
We’re a crew agency with 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, so we can scale from one gaffer and a van for a morning to a full lighting crew for a week. We book gaffers who live in or near Edinburgh first. When the brief or the date needs someone else, they come from elsewhere in Scotland, the north of England or London, usually with their van, and the travel is on the quote before anything is booked. Our base is in London, at 124 City Road, with bases in Manchester, Bristol and Cornwall.
Do your gaffers bring their own van?
Many do: LED panels, stands, flags and cable, priced on its own line. Bigger lamps come from a kit house. Edinburgh’s include Lights Camera Scotland, between the city centre and the airport, with 24-hour collection, and Live Systems on North Leith Sands, which hires lighting and rigging; Wex Rental hands over booked kit at its store on Haddington Place. The biggest packages come from Glasgow or London.
What does the Low Emission Zone mean for the lighting van?
Edinburgh’s Low Emission Zone covers the city centre, inside a boundary that runs from Tollcross to Palmerston Place, along Queen Street to Picardy Place, round by Abbeyhill and the Pleasance and back along the Meadows. It runs around the clock and there’s no charge to pay your way in: petrol vans must meet Euro 4 and diesels Euro 6, and one that doesn’t is sent a £60 penalty, then £120, £240 and £480 for repeats within 90 days (checked October 2026). Leith, FirstStage Studios included, is outside it. We check the gaffer’s van before we book it.
What if the location doesn’t have enough power?
The gaffer checks at the recce. If the house power won’t do, we add a silent generator and an operator to the quote. On an Edinburgh street, Film Edinburgh’s Code of Practice wants the generator’s position agreed in advance, as far from homes and businesses as reasonably practicable, baffled or built into the vehicle, and green wherever possible (checked October 2026).
Can we light an Edinburgh street, or put up a cherry picker?
Yes, through Film Edinburgh. Lighting stands on the carriageway or the footway are agreed with the council first, stands on the footway are attended or weighted and secured, and the lights mustn’t dazzle drivers or shine into homes or businesses without permission. A cherry picker on the road needs a council permit, £63 a day per location, and lighting towers and cranes want four weeks’ notice. Cable is flown 2.6 metres over a footway and 5.7 metres over a road, or matted where it crosses the pavement. If the street lights need switching off, the council can arrange it, subject to negotiation, with at least a week’s notice, and its street lighting electrician is £90.28 for the first hour. Within ten metres of the tram line you may need Edinburgh Trams’ Authority to Work as well, applied for 21 days ahead (all checked October 2026).
How far ahead should I book a gaffer in Edinburgh?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. The notice that sets the date is usually the location’s. Film Edinburgh’s Code of Practice asks for a week for a small, low-impact shoot and four weeks for a large one; lighting towers, scaffolds and cranes want four weeks, a road closure of under five days two weeks, and a night shoot in a residential street three weeks, for the letters to the neighbours (checked October 2026).