Film crew hire/Edinburgh/Producer
Hire a producer in Edinburgh. One person to call all day, from the security desk to the last drive.
Freelance producers for shoots across Edinburgh and the Lothians. They know what Film Edinburgh wants for a street, a park or a kirkyard, when Historic Environment Scotland has to be asked about the Castle or Holyrood Park, what Waverley charges a crew, and which vans the Low Emission Zone will fine. From £450 a day, paid to the producer in full.
- 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: Nevels Media, Here Now Films, Nathan Dumlao, Asso Myron and Lex Brogan
The role
What a producer does on your shoot
A producer turns a plan into a day that runs. Before the shoot they build the schedule, book the crew, the kit and the location, sort the permissions, releases and building passes, and send the call sheet. On the day they run the clock, look after your client and your contributors, and make the calls nobody behind the camera has time for.
After wrap, they check the rushes are safe and on their way to you or your edit. In Edinburgh a good part of the job is knowing who has to say yes, and in what order: the building, Film Edinburgh for a street, a park or a kirkyard, Historic Environment Scotland for the Castle or Holyrood Park, Network Rail for Waverley. And the crew: we’re a crew agency with 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, so the producer can scale it from one person for a morning to a full unit for a week, with people 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, with the travel on the quote.
- One person to call. Your client, your contributors and the crew all go through the producer.
- The schedule holds. They build it, run it, and tell you early when a set-up is running long.
- Every yes in writing. Building passes, Film Edinburgh’s Notice of No Objection, Historic Environment Scotland and the releases, sorted before the day.
- No surprises on the invoice. Overtime, parking and permit fees agreed with you before they happen, and only vans that meet the Low Emission Zone.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- The schedule and call sheet for the day
- Running the set: timings, crew, contributors and your client
- Contributor release forms, signed and filed
- A risk assessment for the location
- A rushes check at wrap, and the handover
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Prep days before the shoot, if it needs them
- Permit fees, from Film Edinburgh to Historic Environment Scotland and Network Rail, at cost
- Travel from outside Edinburgh, mileage and parking where the day needs them, 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 producer to run your day as part of your production, 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 producer, call to wrap
An interview day for a corporate film in an office on George Street. Times are an example; your producer’s call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:00 Before call On site first: the van, which meets the Low Emission Zone, onto a yellow line under a £16 parking dispensation booked at least 24 hours ahead (checked October 2026). Kit into the lift, then the room, the power and where contributors wait.
- 08:00 Crew call Passes collected from security, a safety briefing, the order of the day, and who’s who on the client side. The sound recordist is off an early train from Glasgow.
- 08:30 Set-up Camera, lights and sound go in. The producer walks your client through the plan and checks the questions.
- 10:00 First contributor Met at reception, settled, mic’d up, release signed. The producer watches the time and listens to the answers.
- 13:00 Lunch An hour, as the card sets it. Ordered the day before and delivered to the floor.
- 14:00 Street b-roll Five of the crew out on George Street, under Film Edinburgh’s Notice of No Objection for a crew under ten, £56 plus VAT (checked October 2026). Pavements kept clear, crossings and junctions avoided.
- 18:30 Wrap Kit down the goods lift, the room put back, passes handed in, rushes checked and on their way. Out by 19:00.
Which producer
Which producer do you need?
“Producer” covers a few different jobs. Here’s how we match one to a brief.
Shoot producer Runs your shoot days From £450 a day
The booking most clients mean. The film’s already planned; you need someone to run the days: crew, timings, contributors and your client.
Best for interview days, events, and agency shoots where your own producer is on another job.
Production manager Logistics and bookings £504–627 a day
Books the crew, kit, vans, parking and hotels, and keeps the paperwork straight, working to your producer. See production managers in Edinburgh.
Best on multi-day or multi-location shoots, where the logistics are a job on their own.
Producer-director Plans the film and directs it Quoted on the brief
Plans the story, runs the interviews and directs the shoot, sometimes with a camera in hand. See directors in Edinburgh.
Best for documentary interviews and small crews.
Local producer, or service company For teams from outside the UK Production quote
Runs the ground for a production landing at Edinburgh Airport or arriving at Waverley: crew, permits, kit, vans and hotels, on one UK contract. That makes us the producer of record, so it’s a production quote: 15% plus 5% for insurance and contingency.
Best for teams from the US and Europe. Here’s how a UK production service company works.
Production assistant An extra pair of hands £400 a day
Releases, runs, kit, parking and the call sheet, working to the producer. See production assistants in Edinburgh.
Best alongside a producer on busy days with lots of contributors.
What it’s for
What people book a producer for in Edinburgh
Interview and testimonial days
Customer stories and leadership films in the New Town’s offices, from St Andrew Square to George Street, with every crew name at security the day before.
Conferences and events
Multi-camera days at the EICC in the Exchange district, where the run of show changes by the hour.
Agency shoots, white-label
Your producer is on another job, or in London; ours runs the Edinburgh day as part of your team.
Shoots with talent
Executives, athletes and presenters with a fixed window, from a boardroom to Murrayfield, where the schedule has no slack.
Teams flying in
US and European productions landing at Edinburgh Airport that need a producer on the ground and a UK company to contract.
Recent work
Producers on our jobs, in New York and Cheshire
Our work · London and New York · January 2024 to July 2026
A producer on the ground in New York, for AlTi
Six productions for AlTi Tiedemann Global, from a brand film to a fireside chat on AI. For every New York shoot our director and producer flew out from London and booked the crew locally, with locations chosen to match the London footage; the edit, grade, mix and animation were done in London. It’s how an Edinburgh shoot runs: our producer on the ground, the crew booked where the shoot is.
Crew hire · Alderley Edge, Cheshire · 2025 and 2026
A pilot for The Athletic, and the shoot after it
A producer, two camera operators and a sound recordist for the pilot of Truth or Padel, The Athletic’s interview series, in a back garden in Alderley Edge in April 2025. The series came back to the same garden on 14 April 2026: our head of production ran the day, and asked for an hour and a half to set the court before the guest arrived. We planned the cameras, crewed and produced the shoots, and handed over the rushes; The Athletic edits the series itself.
Before that second shoot, our producer’s questions to the client were the job in miniature: how long do we get with the talent, seated or walk-and-talk, is there still time for the challenge between the two interviews, the same spot as the pilot, and will any of it be cut for social?
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 days before the shoot are quoted separately.
Permissions and certificates
- Streets, parks and kirkyards go through Film Edinburgh, which also covers East Lothian, Midlothian and the Scottish Borders. Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Park need Historic Environment Scotland.
- Film Edinburgh asks for at least £10m public liability on every application, with a risk assessment where the shoot needs one.
- Network Rail asks for up to £10m at Waverley (checked October 2026). On a crew hire, those certificates are yours. On a full production, our policy covers them.
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the producer.
- 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 producer 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 £450 a day
APA/Bectu card benchmark: £961 a day.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £450 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £45 |
| Insurance, 2% | £9 |
| One day, before travel | £504 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the producer we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the producer.
- 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 producer in Edinburgh.
Tell us the dates, the locations and who’s in front of the camera. 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 This page 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
Your producer can book any of these, from Film Edinburgh’s Notice of No Objection to a parking dispensation, each on its own line of the quote, or you can sort them yourself.
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 producer in Edinburgh: questions
How much does a producer cost in Edinburgh?
Our producers start at £450 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and the producer is paid all of it. The APA/Bectu card benchmark for a producer is £961. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so one day comes to £504 + VAT, before any travel from outside Edinburgh. If you want us to take on the whole production as producer of record, it’s quoted as a production instead: everything at cost, plus 15% and 5% for insurance and contingency, 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 I need a producer or a production assistant?
If someone has to make decisions on the day, book a producer. A production assistant, at £400 a day, works to them on releases, runs, kit and the call sheet. Busy contributor days often have both.
Can your producer run an Edinburgh shoot for a production from outside the UK?
Yes. We become the producer of record in the UK: your contract is with us, a UK company, and our producer runs the ground, from crew and permits to vans and hotels, on one invoice, quoted as a production at cost plus 15% and 5%. From Edinburgh Airport the tram reaches the city centre in under 35 minutes (checked October 2026). See shooting in Edinburgh from abroad.
Can a producer sort permits and locations in Edinburgh?
Yes. Filming on council land in Edinburgh goes through Film Edinburgh, the City of Edinburgh Council’s film office, which also covers East Lothian, Midlothian and the Scottish Borders. Its Notice of No Objection is £56 plus VAT for a crew under ten, a council park wants at least 48 hours’ notice, and the city-centre kirkyards, Greyfriars among them, go through Film Edinburgh too (checked October 2026). Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Park need Historic Environment Scotland, and Waverley needs Network Rail, each on top. Every Film Edinburgh application needs at least £10m public liability. See filming permits in Edinburgh.
Are your producers from Edinburgh?
Our own producers come up from London, where our base is, at 124 City Road; we have bases in Manchester, Bristol and Cornwall too. Waverley is about four hours ten from King’s Cross on LNER’s fastest trains and about three hours ten from Manchester Piccadilly (checked October 2026). For a freelance producer, and the rest of the crew, we start with people who live in or near Edinburgh. We’re a crew agency with 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, so we can scale a crew from one person for a morning to a full unit for a week. When the brief or the date needs someone else, they come from elsewhere in Scotland (Glasgow is about 45 minutes away by train), the north of England or London, with the travel on the quote before anything is booked.
How far ahead should I book a producer in Edinburgh?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. If the producer is also booking locations or permits, give them time. A parking dispensation wants at least 24 hours, a council park 48 hours and a suspended pay bay three working days; a road closure of under five days wants two weeks and £675 plus VAT, and one of five days or more ten weeks. At Waverley, less than five working days’ notice adds £500 (checked October 2026). In August, allow more: the festivals fill the Old Town.