Film crew hire/London/2nd AD
Hire a 2nd AD in London. The cast on time, the call sheet right, the street still moving.
Second assistant directors for adverts, drama, music videos and brand films across London, booked through our office on City Road. They write the call sheet, move the cast through make-up and costume, run the background, and keep a London pavement workable around the unit. From £355 a day, paid to the 2nd AD 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
- 1,400+ of our freelance crew live in and around London
Photos: Here Now Films, Jakob Owens, Tri Vo and Huong Do
The role
What a 2nd AD does on your shoot
The 2nd AD (second assistant director) works to the 1st AD, who runs the set and the schedule. The 2nd looks after everything that feeds the set: the call sheet, the cast’s movements through hair, make-up and costume, the background artists and the paperwork. When the 1st calls for the next actor, the 2nd already has them ready.
On a small brand film there’s often no AD team at all: the producer runs the floor. Book one when there’s a cast, background artists, a tight schedule, or a street full of people who didn’t ask to be in an advert.
- The call sheet, right. Call times, locations, contacts, the nearest station and the nearest A&E, out the night before.
- Cast where they should be. Through make-up and costume and onto set, on time, in the right order.
- Background managed. Extras signed in, checked, briefed and placed.
- The street kept moving. Pavements clear, residents told in advance, passers-by asked politely to wait.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- The call sheet and the next day’s schedule
- The cast’s day: pick-ups, make-up, costume, set
- Signing in and placing background artists
- Releases and the progress report
- Running the unit base on the radio
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Prep days for scheduling and call sheets
- A 3rd AD or floor runners, for a big cast or a busy street
- 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 an AD for your own 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 2nd AD, call to wrap
An advert on a street in Bermondsey with six cast and 20 background artists, on Southwark’s film permit. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 05:30 Cast arrive Signed in and sent to hair, make-up and costume in the order of their first scenes.
- 07:00 Crew call Changes to the call sheet briefed; radios out; the unit base open. The residents’ letter went through every door on the street last week.
- 07:45 Background Twenty background artists signed in, costume checked, briefed and held off the pavement, not on it.
- 08:30 First set-up Cast walked to set as the 1st AD calls them, the next actor already in the chair, the pavement kept open for people walking through.
- 12:30 Lunch Called on time, and cast and crew fed in turn so the afternoon starts on time.
- 14:00 The afternoon Progress tracked against the schedule and the permit’s hours; the 1st warned early if anything is running long.
- 19:00 Wrap Cast and background signed out, times logged, the street handed back, tomorrow’s call sheet out by nine.
The AD team
Which AD do you need?
The assistant directors work as a team. Here’s who does what, and when each is worth booking.
1st AD Runs the set and the schedule Quoted on the brief
Breaks down the script, builds the schedule and runs the floor on the day: when to turn over, when to move on.
Best on drama, adverts and anything with a cast and a tight day.
2nd AD The call sheet, the cast and the base Card £355–448
Feeds the set: call sheets, cast, background and paperwork, from the unit base.
Best alongside a 1st AD on any shoot with a cast.
3rd AD On the floor with the 1st Quoted on the brief
Places background, holds the public and relays the 1st AD’s calls on the floor.
Best on big units and busy London locations: the South Bank, Soho, a market on a Saturday.
Floor runner An extra pair of hands for the ADs £245 a day
Runs messages, people and kit for the AD team. See runners in London.
Best on any shoot with background artists.
A producer on the floor Small crews, no cast From £450 a day
On an interview or a corporate shoot, the producer runs the floor. See producers in London.
Best when there’s no cast to move.
What it’s for
What people book a 2nd AD for in London
Adverts with a cast
Actors through make-up and costume and on set when they’re called, on a stage in Park Royal or Bow.
Music videos
Background artists, playback and a long day in a Hackney Wick warehouse or a Peckham street.
Drama and short films
A schedule, a cast and a call sheet for every day, and night shoots that Westminster wants 30 to 40 working days’ notice for.
Brand films on the street
Soho, Shoreditch or the South Bank, where passers-by outnumber the unit.
Shoots with children
A child performance licence takes 21 days, and the AD team keeps the chaperones and the hours on track.
Recent work
AD teams on our jobs
Full production · Cornwall · June 2026
An AD on the Cornish cliffs
Our 35mm shoot for AI for Empowerment ran with a 1st AD: a unit spread along cliff paths, a runner in the shot, and days of more than 12 hours on APA overtime.
How we crew it · London
An AD team sized to the cast, and the street
A cast of two needs a producer on the floor; a cast of six with background needs a 1st and a 2nd AD; a crowd needs a 3rd and floor runners. London adds the pavement. In the FilmFixer boroughs a crew of five or fewer can usually film with a tripod if 1.5m stays clear; Westminster allows five or fewer, handheld only, with 2m clear (checked October 2026). Above that it’s a permit, and someone has to keep the pavement open and the public moving while the unit works. That’s the AD team’s job, which is why we size it to the call sheet and the street, not the other way round.
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 for scheduling are quoted separately.
Cast, background and the street
- Background artists come through an agency or your own casting; the 2nd AD runs them on the day.
- Releases for everyone on camera, signed before they leave. Vox pops aren’t allowed in the Royal Parks.
- A police uniform or a replica weapon in the script: the Met Police Film Unit is told before the shoot.
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the 2nd AD.
- 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 2nd AD 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 £355 a day
APA/Bectu card: £355–448 a day for a 2nd AD.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £355 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £35.50 |
| Insurance, 2% | £7.10 |
| One day, before travel | £397.60 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the 2nd AD we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the 2nd AD.
- 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 2nd AD in London.
Tell us the date, the cast, any background artists and where you’re filming. 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 This page £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
An AD team in London needs a unit base, suspended bays and the borough’s permit. 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 2nd AD in London: questions
How much does a 2nd AD cost in London?
The APA/Bectu card puts a 2nd AD at £355–448 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and they’re paid that in full. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so a day starts at £397.60 + VAT.
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 1st AD and a 2nd AD?
The 1st AD runs the set and the schedule on the floor. The 2nd AD works behind them, at the unit base, making sure the next actor, the next background and tomorrow’s call sheet are ready.
Do I need an AD team for a corporate shoot?
Usually not. An interview or a corporate film with a few contributors runs fine with a producer on the floor. Book ADs when there’s a cast, background artists or a schedule with no slack.
Do we need a permit for a cast on a London street?
Almost always. The small-crew exemptions cover five people or fewer: in the FilmFixer boroughs with a tripod and 1.5m of pavement clear, in Westminster handheld only, with 2m clear. A cast, background and an AD team take you past that, so it’s the borough’s film service. Westminster wants 15 working days for a unit over ten, and the City keeps units over ten outside 07:00 to 19:00 on weekdays (checked October 2026). See London’s borough film services.
Can we film with children or police uniforms in London?
Both, with notice. A child performance licence needs 21 days, as Film London’s code of practice sets out. Prop police uniforms, liveried vehicles and replica weapons are notified to the Met Police Film Unit first, and a replica gun needs a film weapon reference number from the unit before it’s on set. In the Square Mile, it’s the City of London Police instead.
How far ahead should I book a 2nd AD in London?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. For a cast shoot, book the ADs early: they need prep days to schedule it, and the permit that governs the date may want 15 working days in Westminster, or 30 to 40 for a night shoot there (checked October 2026).