Film crew hire/London/Fixer
Fixer · London
Fixer in London. Your eyes on the ground.
A fixer is one producer who knows the city and gets things sorted: permission from the right office, the location, the crew and kit, the van and the parking, and whatever goes sideways at 7am. The ground-level work of a service company, without the overheads of one.
From £450
a day, paid to your fixer in full
2 hrs
for our team to read your brief, in working hours
1,400+
crew living in and around London
54
five-star Google reviews
What a fixer is
One person who gets it sorted
A fixer is a local producer you book by the day to make a shoot possible in a city you don’t know. In London, that’s one of ours. They find and recce the locations, get permission from whoever gives it, book the crew and kit, sort the vans, parking and hotels, then stand beside your director on the day and deal with whatever comes up.
You stay in charge of the film. Your fixer makes sure London says yes to it.
The word gets stretched. Some people mean a runner with a phone; some mean a company that takes the whole production on. We mean what most producers mean: one experienced person on the ground, working to you, from our office on City Road.
What your fixer sorts
Everything between the brief and the first shot
Six jobs, one person. Each links to our London guide, if you’d like to see how it works first.
01 Permission
About ten offices that can say yes
London isn’t one permit. FilmFixer handles six boroughs, including Camden and Southwark; Westminster, the City, Hackney and Lambeth run their own. The Royal Parks, TfL, Network Rail and estates like Canary Wharf each give their own yes on top. Your fixer knows which ones your shoot needs, and how much notice each wants.
02 Locations
Found, recced, signed
A shortlist that fits the brief, recces in person or on a video call, and the owner’s permission in writing with the usage agreed.
03 Crew
From 1,400+ crew in London
Every role on the call sheet, each paid their full day rate. Bring your own DOP and we crew around them.
04 Kit
Your kit list, matched here
From Panavision in Greenford, ARRI Rental in Uxbridge, VMI in Acton or One Stop Films in Park Royal, or the crew’s own. Bring yours in on an ATA Carnet and we’ll fill the gaps.
05 Getting around
Vans, bays and the Congestion Charge
Vans that meet ULEZ, the £18 Congestion Charge paid, parking bays suspended, and arrivals planned: the Heathrow Express reaches Paddington in 15 minutes.
06 On the day
The problem, before it’s yours
The call sheet, the security desk, the loading bay, lunch, and the thing nobody saw coming. At wrap, the rushes are copied and on their way.
Fixer or service company?
A fixer, or a production service company?
They overlap, and people use the words loosely. The real difference is who’s the producer of record: the company responsible for the shoot, its permissions and its public liability.
Option one
A fixer
One of our producers, working to you.
Producer of record
You
Who runs the day
Your director or producer, with your fixer beside them
Permits
Your fixer prepares and chases them, in your production’s name
Public liability
Yours. London’s boroughs and the Royal Parks ask for £5m; TfL and Canary Wharf £10m
How it’s priced
The day rate, plus 10% booking fee and 2% insurance
Best when
Your director or producer is flying in and wants someone who knows London
Option two
A production service company
Our team takes your UK production on.
Producer of record
Us
Who runs the day
Our producer, with your director making the creative calls
Permits
In our name
Public liability
Ours: £10m, across the whole shoot
How it’s priced
Everything at cost, plus 15% production fee and 5% insurance and contingency
Best when
Your team is flying in without a UK company, a UK producer or UK insurance
Not sure? Start with a fixer. If the job grows into a production, the same producer stays on it and we quote it as one, so there’s nobody new to brief.
What it’s for
What a London fixer is good for
Six kinds of shoot we’re booked for, each with a job off our books.
01
A location that falls through
Plan B needs someone who already knows who to call.
On our books
Magnet Media, New York · Canary Wharf · October 2024
The original space fell through, so the shoot moved to Level 48 of One Canada Square. Sixteen days from the first email to a 6am call at the loading bay.
02
Several days, several places
The more moving parts, the more it helps to have one person holding them.
On our books
A US production company · Cannon Street and Uxbridge · September 2025
Four days of customer stories, with four of their team flying in. A Tube strike shut the Underground, so the crew drove. It came in £498 under budget.
03
A director flying in with a small team
They bring the vision and maybe a DOP. Your fixer brings everyone and everything else.
On our books
Valentine Global, for Nike · Woolwich · January 2025
A visiting director, a day in an artist’s studio in Woolwich, and the London crew built around them.
04
An agency abroad, shooting interviews
A client’s London office, the building’s rules, the crew, the kit, and someone to run the room.
On our books
WordAppeal, Paris · Wimbledon · February and June 2025
Two shoots at a client’s London office. On the second, our producer Meg Amos asked the questions.
05
A visiting crew’s day-to-day
Lunch to the right floor, vans to the right bay, everyone where they should be at call time.
On our books
A US production · Marylebone · May 2025
We were the fixer: two days at a workspace with a DP, AC, sound, gaffer, DIT, hair and make-up and a PA, and our producer on lunch deliveries, transport and parking.
06
A director who wants the same team back
Once your fixer knows how you work, the second shoot starts halfway done.
On our books
Matt Dunstan, US director · London, February 2024 and July 2025
His first shoot with us was in London in February 2024. He was back in July 2025 for a week of shoots in London and Manchester.
“Here Now Films is always my first call when filming internationally in the UK.” Matt Dunstan, director
When it’s bigger than a fixer: for Swanson Studios, from Oregon, we were the production service company across Portsmouth, London and Oxford, with the gaffer, sound, hair and make-up, DIT, lighting, two vans and the hotels on us.
From the other side
We’ve been the visitors too
In March 2026 we ran a shoot in Barcelona for The Athletic. Our producer flew out from London, recced the day before, and worked with a local camera and sound crew. In Norway and Portugal, for Cohere’s AI for Empowerment, we worked with local service companies.
So we know what you want from a fixer, because we’ve needed one: someone who picks up the phone, knows which door the kit goes through, and tells you the bad news early.
How it works
Brief to wrap, in four steps
01
Send the brief
Dates, places, who’s flying in and what you’re bringing. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours.
02
Get a plan and a price
Your fixer lists what needs permission, who gives it and how much notice they want, with every cost on its own line before anything is booked.
03
Prep and recce
Locations recced, permissions in, crew and kit booked, the call sheet out. Prep and recce days are at the same day rate.
04
Shoot
Your fixer meets you at call time and runs the ground all day. The rushes leave with you, or go wherever you need them.
50% by card when you book, 50% on receipt of the final rushes.
What it costs
What a fixer costs in London
One day rate, paid to your fixer in full. Everything else is on its own line of the quote, before anything is booked.
From £450 a day
Your fixer is one of our producers. That’s their rate for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and they’re paid all of it.
| Your fixer’s day rate, 11 hours | £450 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £45 |
| Insurance, 2% | £9 |
| One day | £504 + VAT |
Recce and prep days at the same rate. Overtime at card rates, agreed with you before it happens.
Or call us on 07412 543822.
On top, at cost, each on its own line
- Permit and location fees: a borough film office, the Royal Parks, a private estate, or TfL, which charges £900 an hour for up to 10 crew on the Underground (checked October 2026)
- Parking bays, the Congestion Charge and ULEZ
- Travel and hotels
- Crew and kit your fixer books for you, at the same 10% + 2%
What the 2% covers
- Employers’ liability for every crew member we book, and insurance on the kit we hire in for you
- Nothing else on the shoot. Public liability stays with you as producer of record, and the venue will want your certificate
- A large kit rental may need extra insurance, as its own line on the quote
Want us as producer of record?
- Then it’s a production quote: everything at cost, plus 15% production fee and 5% insurance and contingency
- Our insurance covers the whole shoot, £10m public liability included
- More on working with a UK production service company
On the ground for
Who’s booked us to run the ground
New York · Canary Wharf
Paris · Wimbledon
For Nike · Woolwich
Oregon · Portsmouth, London and Oxford
The New York Times · Hertfordshire, Cheshire and Manchester
Matt Dunstan
US director · London and Manchester
54 five-star Google reviews. More in our crew hire case studies.
Questions
Fixers in London: questions
What does a fixer do in London?
A fixer makes a shoot possible in a city you don’t know. Ours finds and recces locations, gets permission from the right borough film office, the Royal Parks, TfL or a private estate, books crew and kit, sorts vans, parking and hotels, and runs the ground on the day, working to your director or producer.
How much does a fixer cost in London?
Our fixers are producers, from £450 for an 11-hour day, paid to them in full. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so one day is £504 + VAT. Recce and prep days are at the same rate. Permit fees, parking, travel and anything your fixer books for you go on the quote at cost, each on its own line.
Do I need a fixer or a production service company?
If your own director or producer will run the shoot, a fixer. If you need a UK company to take the production on, with the permits and public liability in its name, a production service company. The difference is who’s the producer of record. We do both, and a fixer booking can become a production if it grows.
Can a fixer get filming permits in London?
Yes. Your fixer works out which offices your shoot needs, prepares the applications and chases them. FilmFixer handles six boroughs; Westminster, the City, Hackney and Lambeth run their own; the Royal Parks, TfL and estates like Canary Wharf give their own permission on top. On a fixer booking, the permission is your production’s, on your public liability certificate.
Is a fixer the same as FilmFixer?
No. FilmFixer is the film office six London boroughs use for permits, including Camden, Islington and Southwark. A fixer is a person. If your shoot is in one of those boroughs, your fixer makes the application through FilmFixer.
Do I need a UK company to hire a fixer in London?
No. Your booking is with us, a UK company, and you get one invoice for your fixer and anything they book. You will need public liability cover: the boroughs and the Royal Parks ask for £5m, TfL and Canary Wharf for £10m. If you don’t have it, we can be your producer of record instead.
How far ahead should I book a fixer in London?
As soon as you have dates, because London’s notice periods set the pace. Film London’s guide is at least three days for a small crew and 10 for a large or complex one. The Royal Parks want five working days for 10 crew or fewer, TfL three weeks for the Underground, and Canary Wharf 10 to 12 working days. A drone over the City or Hyde Park needs at least 21 days through NATS (checked October 2026). Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours.
Can our London fixer work outside London?
Yes. We have bases in Manchester, Bristol and Cornwall as well as our office on City Road, and our producers travel: one ran a shoot in Barcelona for The Athletic in March 2026. For shoots up north, here’s our fixer in Manchester.
Tell us where you’re shooting.
Dates, places, and who’s flying in. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on 07412 543822.