Film crew hire/London/Gaffer
Hire a gaffer in London. The DOP’s lighting plan, rigged, powered and safe, van and all.
Gaffers for brand films, adverts, interviews and studio days across London, booked from our office on City Road. They turn the DOP’s lighting plan into lamps, stands, cable and power, get the van past the loading bay and the building’s rules, 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
- 1,400+ of our freelance crew live in and around London
Photos: Here Now Films, Jametlene Reskp, Eli Cooper and Gordon Cowie
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.
Most of the London gaffers we book own a van of LED lighting, stands, flags and cable, so one booking covers the person and the kit. In London the van is half the job: where it unloads, where it parks, and the Congestion Charge and ULEZ it pays to drive in.
- 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, from £600 a day, on its own line
- A generator or extra power, if the location needs it
- The Congestion Charge, ULEZ and parking for the van, at cost
- Travel outside Greater London, at cost
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in London.
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 London 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 in the City, glass on two sides and a loading bay round the back. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:00 Van in Booked into the loading bay with its registration; the kit up in the goods lift, then the van out to a car park.
- 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 towers outside hold.
- 09:00 Rigged and focused Lamps up, flags set, reflections in the glass walls 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 tower 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 London it also depends on where the van can stop.
Gaffer with a van One person, a full LED kit £550 + van from £600
A gaffer with their own van of LEDs, stands, flags and cable. On our London jobs it’s the usual booking, and 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 company move across town is where a spark earns the day. See sparks in London.
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, with big HMIs from a kit house out west.
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. London suppliers include Panalux and Location Lighting London in Winchmore Hill, whose Stage V generators can run on HVO. See kit rental in London.
Best for night exteriors and big lamps on location.
What it’s for
What people book a gaffer for in London
Interviews in City offices
Glass towers in the Square Mile and at Canary Wharf, lit so the windows don’t win.
Overseas productions
US and European teams who land at Heathrow with a director and a DP, and need the lighting crew and the van here.
Studio days
Coves and stages in Park Royal and Acton, where Black Island’s and Dukes Island’s stages are drive-in.
Lofts and houses
Brand films and interviews in Hackney and Shoreditch lofts, lit to look like the room, not a set.
Night exteriors
Streets lit for camera, with the borough’s permission and, in Westminster, a long run-up.
Recent work
Lighting on our jobs, in London
Crew hire · Woolwich, SE18 · 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.
Fireside chat · Battersea, SW8 · March 2026
A gaffer and a spark for AlTi Tiedemann Global
When AlTi Tiedemann Global’s fireside chat moved from a podcast studio in Kennington to Many Rooms in Battersea, the crew moved with it: a DOP, sound, a gaffer with their van, and a spark. The lighting went on its own line of an itemised cost sheet.
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.
Vans and charges
- The Congestion Charge (£18 a day) and ULEZ (£12.50 a day for a van that isn’t compliant) go on the quote at cost. Both checked October 2026.
- Tell us the address when you book: the loading bay, the goods lift and the parking come first.
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.
- London asks for public liability before it says yes: £5m for the boroughs and the Royal Parks, £10m for TfL and Canary Wharf. On a crew hire that certificate is yours; on a full production, ours covers it.
£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.
- 1,400+ crew living in and around London
- 50% by card at booking, 50% on the final rushes
- Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours
Or call us on 07412 543822.
Reviews
What clients say about our crews
Straight from our Google Business Profile.
Book a gaffer in London.
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 London, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our day rates in London, 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 London. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in London.
Production support
Everything around the crew
A gaffer needs power, a place for the van and sometimes a generator. Each gets its own line on the quote, or use the guides to sort them yourself.
02
Locations and permits
Borough film services, the Royal Parks, TfL, the private estates and the drone zones.
Questions
Hiring a gaffer in London: questions
How much does a gaffer cost in London?
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, from £600 a day, 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.
Do London gaffers bring their own van?
Most of the gaffers we book do: LED panels, stands, flags and cable, from £600 a day on its own line. Bigger lamps come from a kit house. London lighting houses include Panalux in Hayes, ARRI Rental in Uxbridge and Sunbelt Rentals Film & TV in Wembley.
What do the Congestion Charge and ULEZ mean for the lighting van?
A van in the zone pays the Congestion Charge: £18 a day, 07:00–18:00 on weekdays and 12:00–18:00 at weekends (checked October 2026). ULEZ covers all of London around the clock, and a diesel van that isn’t Euro 6 pays £12.50 a day as well. Both go on the quote at cost.
Where does the lighting van park in central London?
At the loading bay first: City and Canary Wharf towers usually want the van booked in by registration, unloaded and moved on. Then a suspended bay or a car park: Westminster from £51 a bay with 10 working days’ notice, Camden £100.35 a bay on day one (checked October 2026). Watch the height: on one of our Canary Wharf jobs, a 2.02m van was too tall for the underground car park.
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. One place it can’t go: TfL doesn’t allow petrol or diesel generators at Underground, Overground or DLR stations, and outside its exclusive areas, such as Aldwych, it doesn’t allow extra lighting at all.
How far ahead should I book a gaffer in London?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. The notice that sets the date is usually the location’s: Westminster wants 10 working days to suspend parking bays, and 30–40 working days for night filming.