Film crew hire/Edinburgh/Video playback
Hire a video playback operator in Edinburgh. The agency sees every take. So does head office.
Video playback operators for adverts, drama, brand films, conferences and customer stories across Edinburgh and the Lothians, from the stages at FirstStage Studios in Leith to a conference at the EICC. They send the picture to every monitor that needs it, record and replay the takes on QTake, and stream the shoot to a client in the next room or in another country. From £334 a day, paid to the operator 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, Gordon Cowie, Tri Vo, Christian Harb and Stuart Hay
The role
What a video playback operator does on your shoot
A video playback operator, or VTR, runs the pictures off the camera: wireless video to the director, the client, the agency and the focus puller, a recording of every take, and instant replay so anyone can see what was just shot. On bigger shoots they use QTake, which logs, replays and streams every take, with the look applied.
It keeps people away from the camera. The client watches in comfort at video village, the director can compare takes side by side, and the crew can get on with the next set-up.
In Edinburgh that might mean an agency watching an advert on a stage at FirstStage Studios, or a brand’s team in a side room at the EICC watching the stage interviews as they happen. Playback lets them all see the same take without crowding the camera.
- Instant replay. Any take back on the monitor in seconds, logged with scene and take.
- Everyone on the same picture. Director, client, agency and focus puller, each on their own monitor.
- Watch from anywhere. A secure stream for a client who can’t be on set, with only a few seconds’ delay.
- Comps and mix on set. Overlays, split-screens and green-screen checks before the crew move on.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Wireless video from every camera to every monitor that needs it
- Recording and logging every take
- Instant replay on request
- Setting up and running video village
- A remote stream, if the kit allows
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- The playback kit: QTake system, monitors and transmitters, at a day rate
- A second operator or an assistant, on big multi-camera days
- Travel from outside Edinburgh, mileage, and a parking dispensation or suspended bay where the day needs one, 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 playback for your own Edinburgh shoot, or have us take the production on, video village and all.
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 playback operator, call to wrap
An advert shot against green screen on a stage at FirstStage Studios in Leith, with the agency and the client on set and the brand’s head office in New York, five hours behind, watching in the afternoon. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:00 Rig video village Monitors, chairs and a table for the agency and the client, off the studio floor but close enough to talk to the director.
- 08:00 Cameras in Transmitters on both cameras, receivers paired, the look applied to the feed.
- 09:00 Rolling Every take recorded and logged by scene and take; the director’s choice marked.
- 11:00 Replay The client asks to see take 4 against take 7, side by side. Thirty seconds later, they can.
- 13:30 Stream check Link sent to head office; picture and sound checked with them half an hour before they join.
- 14:00 Head office on The brand team joins at the start of their working day, for the set-ups they asked to see live.
- 16:00 Green screen A rough key over the background plate, so everyone knows the shot works before moving on.
- 19:00 Wrap The playback log and selected takes handed to the producer and the editor.
Which kind
Which playback do you need?
From one monitor and a transmitter to a full QTake set-up with viewers in another country.
Wireless monitoring A transmitter and a monitor or two Quoted on the brief
Wireless video from the camera to a director’s monitor, set up by the camera team.
Best for small crews where only the director needs to watch.
Video playback operator Monitors, recording and replay Card £334–518
A dedicated operator with monitors, recording and instant replay for everyone at video village.
Best for adverts and brand films with an agency or client on set.
QTake Logging, replay, comps and streaming Quoted with the kit
The industry’s playback software: every take logged and replayable, looks applied, rough comps, and a secure stream for remote viewers. The operator usually brings the system, on its own line.
Best for commercials, drama and anything with VFX, such as a green-screen day on a stage in Leith.
Remote viewing only Watch from somewhere else Quoted on the brief
A secure stream of the camera feed to people who can’t be on set, a few seconds behind it.
Best for overseas clients and head offices that can’t send anyone to Edinburgh.
What it’s for
What people book video playback for in Edinburgh
Adverts with an agency on set
Video village for the agency and the client, on the stages at FirstStage Studios in Leith or in a smaller studio hired by the day.
Green screen and VFX
A rough comp on set, wherever the green screen is: a cove in a smaller studio, or a screen rigged on a stage in Leith.
Conferences and live events
The stage on the client’s monitors in a side room at the EICC, from the revolving Pentland Auditorium to the Lennox Suite, which holds 2,000.
Clients watching from abroad
A stream to a head office in another country, timed for their working day.
Music videos
Takes compared side by side against the track, in the Old Town’s closes or on the Shore at Leith, with the playback on the street agreed through Film Edinburgh first.
Recent work
Playback on our crews, and how we crew Edinburgh
Crew hire · City of London and Uxbridge · September 2025
Playback on all four days, added late
Customer stories for a chip maker, shot by a US production company that flew in four of its own crew: two days at a law firm’s offices on Cannon Street, then two at an office in Uxbridge. We crewed the rest of the unit. Playback was added late in prep: an operator with a playback package, a Teradek and a livestream licence, on all four shoot days. In the City the kit went in through the underground car park and up in the lift.
How we crew it · Edinburgh
Watching from London, or from New York
Waverley is about four hours ten from London King’s Cross on the fastest trains (checked October 2026), so on many Edinburgh shoots the people signing off aren’t on set: an agency in London, a head office in New York. A playback operator streams the feed to them a few seconds behind the take, tested with them before they join, and logs the selects for anything they miss. We book an operator who lives in or near Edinburgh first; when the brief or the date needs a particular system or operator, they come from elsewhere in Scotland, the north of England or London, with the kit and the travel on the quote before anything is booked.
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.
- Video village is rigged before crew call, so it’s ready when the cameras are.
Kit and the stream
- The playback kit is on its own line: QTake, monitors and transmitters.
- For remote viewing the location needs a solid connection: in a venue or an office block we ask for a wired line before the day, and test it.
On an Edinburgh street
- Playing a track or any sound out loud on the street, or using a megaphone, has to be discussed with the council through Film Edinburgh first, under its Code of Practice (checked October 2026).
- A small crew filming on the street with nothing closed off still tells Film Edinburgh first, so it can let local officers and Police Scotland know. Its Notice of No Objection is £56 plus VAT for a crew under ten (checked October 2026).
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the operator.
- 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 operator 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).
£334 a day
APA/Bectu card: £334–518 a day, video operator to senior video operator.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £334 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £33.40 |
| Insurance, 2% | £6.68 |
| One day, before kit and travel | £374.08 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the operator we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the operator.
- 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 video playback operator in Edinburgh.
Tell us how many cameras and monitors, who needs to watch, and from which city. 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 This page £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
Playback needs power, room for video village and, for remote viewers, a connection the building will give you. Here’s how the rest of an Edinburgh shoot works, each item its own line on the quote.
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 video playback operator in Edinburgh: questions
How much does a video playback operator cost in Edinburgh?
The APA/Bectu card puts a video operator at £334–518 for an 11-hour day, from video operator to senior video operator, and we pay that in full. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so a day starts at £374.08 + VAT. The playback kit is 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.
What is QTake?
Playback software used on most commercials and dramas. It records and logs every take, replays them instantly, applies the look, does rough comps, and streams the picture to remote viewers. The operator usually brings it, priced with the rest of the playback kit.
Can our team abroad watch the Edinburgh shoot live?
Yes, with a secure stream from the playback system, a few seconds behind the set. We agree which set-ups they need live and time them for their working day, test the link with them before they join, and log the selects for anything they miss.
Do I need a playback operator?
If only the director needs to watch, a transmitter and a monitor from the camera team is enough. If an agency or a client is on set, or watching from another office or another country, book an operator.
Can playback run at the EICC or a hotel venue?
Yes. Video village needs power, a room or a corner off the floor, and a way in for the kit. We send the venue the crew names and the kit list early, agree power and the room with its event team, and ask for a wired connection if anyone’s watching remotely.
Can we play music out loud on an Edinburgh street?
With permission. Film Edinburgh’s Code of Practice says audio playback and megaphones have to be discussed with the council through Film Edinburgh, so a music video with the track playing in an Old Town close goes in the application, alongside the Notice of No Objection: £56 plus VAT for a crew under ten (checked October 2026). For a night shoot in a street where people live, the council’s advice is to get anything louder than conversation done before 22:00.
How far ahead should I book playback in Edinburgh?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. The date is usually set by the rest of the shoot: the studio, the agency’s diary and the location’s permission. Film Edinburgh’s Code of Practice asks for a week for a small, low-impact shoot and four weeks for a large one; a council park wants at least 48 hours, 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). For QTake and remote viewing, leave time before the day to test the kit and the stream with the people watching.
Are your playback operators 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 monitor for a morning to a full QTake village for a week. We book playback operators who live in or near Edinburgh first. When the brief or the date needs a particular system or operator, they come from elsewhere in Scotland, the north of England or London, and the kit and the travel are on the quote before anything is booked. Our base is in London, at 124 City Road, with bases in Manchester, Bristol and Cornwall.