Hire a DOP in Manchester. The look of the film, and the light that makes it.
Directors of photography for brand films, documentaries, interviews and adverts across Greater Manchester and the North, booked from our office in Ancoats. They choose the camera and lenses, light every set-up and shoot it, or run the camera team that does. From £850 a day, paid to the DOP in full.
- 54 five-star Google reviews
- 48 hrs from enquiry to confirmed crew, on most Manchester bookings
- £10m employers’ liability on every crew member we book
- 2,800+ freelance crew on our books
Photos: Here Now Films, Sam McGhee, Jakob Owens and Cemrecan Yurtman
The role
What a DOP does on your shoot
A DOP (director of photography, or DP) turns the brief into pictures. Before the shoot they agree the look with you or your director, choose the camera, lenses and lights, and check the location for light and power. On the day they light every set-up, frame the shots and run the camera, lighting and grip crew.
On a small crew the DOP often operates the camera and lights it too. On a bigger one they direct a gaffer, a focus puller and an operator, and watch every take on the monitor.
- A look agreed before the day. Reference frames, a lens choice and a lighting plan, signed off with you or your director.
- Lit for the room you have. Daylight, practicals and LEDs balanced so faces read well and the room looks like itself.
- The right camera for the brief. A Sony FX6 for an interview day; an ARRI Alexa, a RED or 35mm film when the picture is the point.
- A crew that keeps moving. They brief the gaffer, focus puller and grip early, so set-ups change in minutes.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Lighting and framing every set-up
- The camera, lens and lighting plan, agreed with you before the day
- Running the camera, lighting and grip crew, if you book one
- A camera test and white balance at call
- A rushes check at wrap, before the cards leave set
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Camera, lens and lighting kit: theirs or a kit house’s, each on its own line
- Recce and prep days, if the shoot needs them
- Travel outside Greater Manchester, at cost
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in Manchester.
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 DOP for your own production, or have us take the whole film 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 DOP, call to wrap
A brand film in a converted mill in Ancoats: two interviews, then B-roll. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:30 Read the light A walk round with the gaffer: where the sun will be at eleven, where the power is, which windows to flag.
- 08:00 Crew call Camera built, lenses checked, and the plan for the first set-up shared with the crew.
- 08:45 First set-up lit Key, fill and a backlight on the chair, and the room behind lit so it reads. The look checked on the monitor with the director.
- 09:30 Interviews Two cameras, a wide and a tight. The DOP watches exposure, focus and the daylight moving across the room.
- 13:00 Lunch An hour. The gaffer turns the room round for the afternoon.
- 14:00 B-roll Handheld and slider shots of the people and the place, in whatever light the afternoon gives.
- 18:30 Wrap Lights down, cards checked and copied, kit packed. The rushes leave with the producer or the DIT.
Which DOP
Which DOP do you need?
Every DOP lights and shoots. What changes is the camera, the crew around them and the kind of film. Here’s how we match one to a brief.
Interview and corporate DOP Lit interviews on two cameras From £850 a day
Two-camera interviews lit to look like the room on a good day, plus B-roll of the people and the place. Usually Sony FX6 or FX9 in 4K, often with the DOP’s own kit and an LED lighting package.
Best for customer stories, leadership films, recruitment films and conference interviews.
Documentary DOP Observational, handheld, available light From £850 a day
Reads a room, finds the shot and keeps rolling without stopping the action. Shoulder rig, a zoom or a few fast primes, and long days.
Best for branded documentaries and micro-docs, where people can’t be asked to do it again.
Commercial DOP Adverts and brand films Card £935–1,561
A designed look on an ARRI Alexa 35, Alexa Mini LF or RED V-Raptor with cine primes, a lighting plan, and a camera team of focus puller, loader and grip.
Best for adverts and brand campaigns. Commercials are where the APA/Bectu card applies.
Film DOP 16mm and 35mm Quoted on the brief
Shoots on film: a Panavision or ARRI 35mm package, or Super 16, with a clapper loader, stock, processing and the scan on the quote.
Best when the texture of film is the point. We shot AI for Empowerment on 35mm in four countries.
Lighting camera operator Lights it and shoots it, alone From £529 a day
One person with their own camera and a small LED kit, who lights and operates. Cheaper than a DOP and a crew, and fine for a simple interview.
Best for one-camera talking heads and event interviews. More on camera operators in Manchester.
Studio and product DOP Coves, tabletop and packshots Quoted on the brief
Products on a cove or a tabletop: macro lenses, controlled light, sometimes a motion-control rig, and every reflection accounted for.
Best for product films and e-commerce. Manchester has cove studios in Ancoats, Salford and Trafford Park: see film studios in Manchester.
What it’s for
What people book a DOP for in Manchester
Brand films in mills and warehouses
Ancoats, Castlefield and the Northern Quarter, where the building is half the picture and the light changes by the hour.
Customer stories and leadership films
Offices from Spinningfields to MediaCityUK, lit so a boardroom doesn’t look like one.
Documentary days across the North
The Peak District, the Lakes and the coast, on long days with a small crew and available light.
Adverts and product on a cove
Studio days in Ancoats, Salford and Trafford Park, with a full camera and lighting team.
Teams flying in
Productions from the US and Europe that bring a director and need a UK DOP who knows the kit houses.
Recent work
DOPs on our jobs, near Manchester and further afield
Crew hire · Penrith, Cumbria · 2025
A customer story, lit by our Manchester DOP
Our DOP drove up from Manchester to light and shoot a customer testimonial in Penrith for a software company and the police force that uses it, with our producer running the day.
Full production · Cornwall, Oslo, Canada, Portugal
AI for Empowerment, on 35mm in four countries
A campaign we produced on 35mm film. Our DOP worked with a Panavision package, a focus puller and a loader, a tracking vehicle on the Cornish cliffs and a cherry picker of tungsten light in Oslo.
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.
- Recce and prep days are quoted separately.
Kit
- Their own camera kit, or a kit house’s: either way it’s on the quote, line by line.
- In Manchester we hire from Media Dog, Direct Digital, ProVision and Panavision at Space Studios, and from Wex.
- Film stock, processing and scans are quoted at cost.
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the DOP.
- 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 DOP 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 £850 a day
APA/Bectu card benchmark: £935–1,561 a day.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £850 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £85 |
| Insurance, 2% | £17 |
| One day, before kit and travel | £952 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the DOP we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the DOP.
- Most Manchester bookings confirmed within 48 hours
- 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 DOP in Manchester.
Tell us the date, the place, the look and the camera you have in mind. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on 07412 543822.
Check availability
The whole crew
Every role in Manchester, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our day rates in Manchester, paid to the crew member in full:
Production 05
- Producer From £450
- Production manager £504–627
- 2nd AD £355–448
- Production assistant £400
- Runner £245
Camera 07
- DOP This page 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 Manchester. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in Manchester.
Production support
Everything around the crew
A DOP rarely works alone. Kit, a studio, a location with power: each gets its own line on the quote, or use the guides to sort them yourself.
Questions
Hiring a DOP in Manchester: questions
How much does a DOP cost in Manchester?
Our DOPs start at £850 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and the DOP is paid all of it. The APA/Bectu card for commercials puts a DOP at £935–1,561. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so one day comes to £952 + VAT, before kit and any travel outside Greater Manchester. Camera and lighting kit goes on the same quote, line by 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’s the difference between a DOP and a camera operator?
The DOP is responsible for the look: the lighting, the lenses, the framing and the camera crew. A camera operator runs a camera to the DOP’s or the director’s plan. On a small interview day one person often does both, as a lighting camera operator. On a brand film or an advert, book a DOP.
Do your DOPs bring their own camera?
Many do. Most of our Manchester DOPs own a Sony FX6 or FX9 kit with lenses and lights, and it goes on the quote at a day rate. For an ARRI Alexa, a RED or film, we hire from a Manchester kit house such as Media Dog, Direct Digital or Panavision at Space Studios, at the same 10% + 2%.
Which camera should we shoot on?
For interviews and corporate films, a Sony FX6 or FX9 in 4K does the job. For adverts and brand films, an ARRI Alexa 35 or Mini LF gives more room in the grade and better skin tones. Film costs more in stock, processing and scanning, and gives a texture nothing else does. Your DOP will tell you which the brief needs.
Can the DOP recce the location first?
Yes, and on anything lit it pays for itself: they check the light at the time you’ll shoot, the power and the access. A recce day is quoted separately. On council land in Manchester, Screen Manchester wants 5–7 days’ notice for a shoot with lights, so the recce is a good time to sort it. Our guide to filming locations and permits in Manchester has the rest.
How far ahead should I book a DOP in Manchester?
Most Manchester bookings are confirmed within 48 hours. If the shoot needs a kit house package, a recce or a permit, give it a week.