Film crew hire/Edinburgh/Production assistant
Hire a production assistant in Edinburgh. The extra pair of hands that keeps the day on time.
Production assistants for shoots across Edinburgh and the Lothians. They meet your contributors at reception, deal with security and the passes, get the releases signed, collect booked kit from a kit house in Leith or on Haddington Place, and mind the kit, working to your producer or director. £400 a day, paid to the PA 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: Here Now Films, Erwi, dix sept and Adam Wilson
The role
What a production assistant does on your shoot
A production assistant (PA) works to the producer or director and takes the small jobs off them, so they can concentrate on the shoot: meeting contributors at reception, getting release forms signed, running to the shop, minding kit, keeping the room tidy and the call sheet up to date.
On a busy interview day, a good PA is the difference between a producer who watches the interviews and one who spends them in the corridor, or at the security desk explaining who the sound recordist is. We’re a crew agency with 2,800+ freelance crew on our books across the UK, and we book PAs 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.
- Contributors looked after. Met at reception, briefed, given a drink and ready when the producer calls.
- Releases signed. Every person on camera, before they leave the building.
- Kit minded. Nothing left in a corridor, a lift lobby or an open van on a single yellow line.
- The producer freed up. The small jobs done without being asked twice.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Contributors met, briefed and looked after
- Release forms signed and filed
- Runs: the shop, lunch, a forgotten cable
- Help loading in and out
- The call sheet and contact list kept current
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Mileage, if they drive their own car for the shoot
- Parking and parking dispensations, at cost
- Travel from outside Edinburgh, 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 PA for your own 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 production assistant, call to wrap
A conference at the EICC in the Exchange district: vox pops in the foyer between sessions, then four sit-down interviews with speakers. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:45 Arrive Signed in with the event team, passes collected, the van’s unloading slot checked.
- 08:00 Load in Kit in through the service entrance, the green room set up with water and a list of who’s coming.
- 09:30 Vox pops Delegates brought to the camera between sessions, told what it’s for, release signed before they say a word.
- 11:00 A run Round the corner to Haymarket to meet the afternoon’s second camera operator off the Glasgow train, and back before the next session ends.
- 13:00 Lunch Ordered at eleven so it arrives on time, and cleared away after.
- 14:00 Interviews Four speakers, one late, one early: the PA keeps the order straight and walks each one from the stage to the chair.
- 18:30 Wrap Releases checked against the list, the room put back, passes handed in, kit down to the van.
Which kind
PA, runner or something else?
The junior production jobs overlap. Here’s how they differ.
Production assistant Contributors, releases and runs £400 a day
Works to the producer: people, paperwork and the jobs nobody else has time for.
Best on interview days, events and anything with contributors.
Runner Errands, kit and the unit base £245 a day
The entry-level job: fetching, carrying, tea and parking. See runners in Edinburgh.
Best as an extra pair of hands on a bigger crew.
Production coordinator The office and the bookings Quoted on the brief
Works to the production manager on bookings, travel, passes and call sheets. See production managers in Edinburgh.
Best on long shoots and series.
Driver People and kit, on time Quoted on the brief
Drives the crew van or the talent, with the right licence, in a van that meets the Low Emission Zone: there’s no charge to pay, only a penalty for one that doesn’t. See parking and the Low Emission Zone in Edinburgh.
Best when the crew and kit move between locations.
Producer Runs the day From £450 a day
If the day needs someone to make decisions, book a producer in Edinburgh.
Best when there’s a client or contributors to manage.
What it’s for
What people book a production assistant for in Edinburgh
Interview days
Contributors met, settled and signed off, one after another, in offices from St Andrew Square to the Exchange district.
Conferences and events
Vox pops at the EICC, or on the Royal Mile in August, with a release for every face.
Campus films
Students and staff at the universities, from George Square to Heriot-Watt’s campus at Riccarton, each with a release.
Shoots with talent
Someone to look after the presenter or the executive between takes, and walk them to the car.
Overseas productions
An extra pair of hands for a US team’s producer, from Edinburgh Airport to the first set-up.
Recent work
PAs on our jobs, and how we crew an Edinburgh conference day
Production service company · Portsmouth, London and Oxford · November 2023
Three cities in three days for Swanson Studios
Swanson Studios flew in from Oregon to photograph and interview surgeons and the people around them for a surgical robotics client: a hospital in Portsmouth, a hospital in London, then the client’s office in Oxford, one city a day. They brought the cameras. We brought everything else, a production assistant and driver among them, with two vans, the hotels and the pick-ups from Heathrow. On days like those the PA’s job is the contributors: senior clinicians in slots of ten to twenty minutes, back to back, met at the front desk and walked to the room.
How we crew it · Edinburgh
Vox pops at the EICC, or on the Royal Mile
On a conference day the PA brings people to the camera, explains what’s happening and gets the release signed, so the operator can keep rolling and nobody ends up in the film without saying yes. Edinburgh’s conference centre, the EICC, is in the Exchange district, a short walk from Haymarket: its Pentland Auditorium revolves and seats 600 to 1,200, and the Lennox Suite holds 2,000 (checked October 2026). Indoors the PA works to the venue’s rules, agreed before the day. Out on the street it’s Film Edinburgh: even a crew under ten tells it first, so it can let local officers and Police Scotland know, and its Notice of No Objection is £56 plus VAT (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.
Getting around Edinburgh
- Tell us if the PA needs to drive: mileage and parking go on the quote, and we check the car against the Low Emission Zone first.
- Inside the Low Emission Zone, which covers the city centre around the clock, a petrol car below Euro 4 or a diesel below Euro 6 is sent a £60 penalty (checked October 2026).
- From Edinburgh Airport the tram reaches the city centre in under 35 minutes, and runs on through Haymarket and Princes Street to Leith (checked October 2026).
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the PA.
- 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 PA 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.
£400 a day
APA/Bectu card: £350–441 a day for a production assistant.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £400 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £40 |
| Insurance, 2% | £8 |
| One day, before travel | £448 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the PA we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the PA.
- 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 production assistant in Edinburgh.
Tell us the date, the place and what the PA should look after. 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 This page £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 PA helps with everything around the shoot, from building passes to parking dispensations, and each item can go on the quote if you want us to book it.
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 production assistant in Edinburgh: questions
How much does a production assistant cost in Edinburgh?
Our production assistants are £400 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, paid to the PA in full; the APA/Bectu card sets £350–441. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance: £448 + VAT for the day, before any travel from outside Edinburgh.
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.
What’s the difference between a PA and a runner?
A runner fetches, carries and keeps the unit base going. A PA works more closely with the producer, on contributors, releases and the call sheet. On a small crew one person often does both.
Do I need a PA or a producer?
If someone has to make decisions on the day, book a producer. A PA helps the producer. Busy days with lots of contributors often have both.
Can a PA handle releases and vox pops in Edinburgh?
Yes. Send us your release, or use ours, and the PA gets one signed by everyone on camera before they leave. On the street, vox pops are street filming, so they go through Film Edinburgh: a Notice of No Objection is £56 plus VAT for a crew under ten, and even a small crew with nothing closed off tells Film Edinburgh first (checked October 2026). At the EICC or a hotel, the venue’s own rules apply, so we ask before the day.
Can we film vox pops at Waverley?
Only with Network Rail’s permission. Edinburgh Waverley is a Network Rail managed station: corporate and commercial filming is £750 an hour for up to ten crew, two hours minimum, plus VAT, with up to £10m public liability, and less than five working days’ notice adds £500 (checked October 2026). More than ten crew usually need a staff escort, charged on top, and while the platforms are being expanded some areas may be off limits.
Can a PA drive in Edinburgh?
Yes, if they have a car and business insurance; tell us when you book. Mileage and parking go on the quote at cost. Edinburgh’s Low Emission Zone covers the city centre around the clock, and there’s no charge to pay your way in: petrol cars 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). So we check the PA’s car before we book it.
How far ahead should I book a PA in Edinburgh?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. If the PA is sorting building passes, send us the contributor list early. Vox pops on the street go to Film Edinburgh first, and Waverley wants five working days’ notice or adds £500 (checked October 2026). In August the festivals fill the Old Town, so allow more.
Are your production assistants from Edinburgh?
We book PAs who live in or near Edinburgh first. 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, and 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. Our base is London, at 124 City Road, with bases in Manchester, Bristol and Cornwall.