Film crew hire/Manchester/Focus puller
Hire a focus puller in Manchester. Sharp on the eyes, on a moving shot, wide open.
Focus pullers (1st ACs) for brand films, adverts and drama across Greater Manchester and the North, booked from our office in Ancoats. They keep the shot sharp, build and look after the camera, and run the camera department so the DOP can light. From £461 a day, paid to the focus puller 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: ShareGrid, Here Now Films, Voice + Video and Johannes Blenke
The role
What a focus puller does on your shoot
A focus puller, or 1st AC (first assistant camera), keeps the picture sharp while the camera, the actors or both are moving. They measure distances, mark the floor at rehearsal and pull focus live with a wireless follow-focus, often from beside the camera or at a monitor. They also build the camera, swap lenses and keep it running all day.
A large sensor and a fast lens make focus very shallow: on a close-up at T1.5 it can be a few centimetres. That’s why a brand film or an advert needs one, and a two-camera interview usually doesn’t.
- Sharp where it matters. Eyes, hands and product, held through every move and every take.
- A camera that works. Built, tested and checked at call; lenses cleaned, swapped and logged.
- Fewer takes lost. Marks at rehearsal, and a quiet word if a move won’t hold focus.
- The DOP’s right hand. Runs the camera team, so the DOP can watch the light.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch
- Pulling focus on every take, live
- Building, testing and maintaining the camera
- Lens changes, cleaning and the lens log
- Marks and measurements at rehearsal
- Running the camera team: loader, DIT and video
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- A prep day at the kit house, if the package needs one
- Their own focus kit, if it’s not in the camera package
- 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 focus puller for your own camera team, 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 focus puller, call to wrap
A brand film on an ARRI Alexa with cine primes, on a street in the Northern Quarter. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:00 Camera build Camera out of the cases, lenses checked, follow-focus calibrated, monitors and video sender paired.
- 08:00 Rehearsal The actor walks the move. Marks on the pavement, distances measured, focus points set on the hand unit.
- 08:30 Turnover Pulling focus live as the actor walks towards a long lens. A note to the DOP if a take was soft.
- 10:30 Lens change A 35mm to a 75mm for the close-up: swapped, cleaned and logged in under two minutes.
- 13:00 Lunch Camera on charge, filters cleaned, and a look at the afternoon’s set-ups.
- 14:00 Car rig Camera mounted on the car with the grip, focus pulled from the tracking vehicle by wireless.
- 18:30 Wrap Camera broken down and packed, lens log and camera report handed to the loader.
Which kind
Which camera assistant do you need?
The camera department in order of seniority, and when each is worth booking.
Focus puller, 1st AC Focus, the camera and the lenses Card £461–575
Pulls focus, builds and runs the camera, and leads the camera team.
Best for brand films, adverts and drama on large-sensor cameras with cine lenses.
Remote focus puller From a monitor, off the camera Card £461–575
Pulls focus by wireless from a monitor, when the camera is on a crane, a car, a Steadicam or a gimbal.
Best for moving shots where nobody can stand beside the camera.
Clapper loader, 2nd AC Slate, cards, mags and reports Card £355–448
Slates every take, changes cards or film magazines, and keeps the camera report. See clapper loaders in Manchester.
Best alongside a focus puller on any shoot with more than one camera or on film.
Camera trainee Learning the department Quoted on the brief
An extra pair of hands for the camera team: carrying, charging and learning.
Best on long or multi-camera shoots, and a good way to bring new crew on.
Do you need one at all? Interviews and simple shoots Often not
A two-camera interview on Sony FX6s with autofocus or a deep stop often doesn’t need a focus puller.
Book one when the lens is fast, the shot moves, or the picture is the point.
What it’s for
What people book a focus puller for in Manchester
Adverts and brand films
Large-sensor cameras, fast primes and moves where a soft take is a lost take.
Drama and short films
Rehearsed moves, marks on the floor and a camera that’s always ready.
Car and tracking shots
Focus pulled by wireless while the camera is on a car rig or a tracking vehicle.
Studio days
Product and food on macro lenses, where focus is millimetres.
Film shoots
16mm and 35mm, with a loader beside them.
Recent work
Focus pullers on our jobs, on film and on the move
Full production · Cornwall · June 2026
35mm on the Cornish cliffs
A 1st and a 2nd AC came down from London with a Panavision 35mm package for AI for Empowerment: runners on cliff paths, a tracking vehicle, and days of more than 12 hours on APA overtime.
How we crew it · Manchester
Focus for a car rig or a crane
When the camera is on a car, a crane or a gimbal, the focus puller works from a monitor with a wireless follow-focus. We book them with the grip who builds the rig, so the two plan the shot together.
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.
- A prep day at the kit house is quoted separately.
Kit
- The camera package comes from a kit house or the DOP; the focus puller checks it out.
- Wireless follow-focus and monitors are usually in the package. If not, theirs goes on the quote.
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the focus puller.
- 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 focus puller 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 £461 a day
APA/Bectu card: £461–575 a day for a focus puller.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £461 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £46.10 |
| Insurance, 2% | £9.22 |
| One day, before travel | £516.32 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the focus puller we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the focus puller.
- 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 focus puller in Manchester.
Tell us the date, the place, the camera and lenses, and what moves. 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 From £850
- Camera operator £529–656
- Focus puller This page £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 focus puller works inside a camera package. Kit, a studio, a location: each gets its own line on the quote, or use the guides to sort them yourself.
Questions
Hiring a focus puller in Manchester: questions
How much does a focus puller cost in Manchester?
The APA/Bectu card puts a focus puller at £461–575 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch, and we pay that to the focus puller in full. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, so a day starts at £516.32 + VAT. A prep day at the kit house is quoted separately.
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.
Is a focus puller the same as a 1st AC?
Yes. In the UK the first assistant camera is usually called the focus puller. The second assistant camera is the clapper loader.
Do I need a focus puller for an interview?
Usually not. A two-camera interview at a sensible stop, with the subject sitting still, holds focus on its own. Book one for fast lenses, moving shots, a large-sensor cinema camera, or anything you can’t shoot twice.
Can a focus puller work remotely?
Yes. With a wireless follow-focus they can pull from a monitor, which is how it works on cars, cranes, gimbals and Steadicam.
How far ahead should I book a focus puller in Manchester?
Most Manchester bookings are confirmed within 48 hours. If the camera package needs a prep day at a kit house, give it a week.