Film crew hire/Manchester/Set builders
Hire set builders in Manchester. Walls, floors and fronts, built, painted, shot, and gone by morning.
Set builders, carpenters and scenic painters for adverts, music videos, brand films and drama across Greater Manchester and the North, booked from our office in Ancoats. They build to the art director’s drawings in a workshop or on the stage, paint it, and strike it at wrap. From £341 a day per builder, paid 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: Ali Mkumbwa, Ryno Marais and Callum Hill
The role
What set builders do on your shoot
Set builders make the parts of the world the location can’t give you: walls with windows in the right place, a shop counter, a stage, a room that comes apart so the camera can get in. Carpenters build it, scenic painters age and finish it, and the same team takes it down and clears the stage.
A set build runs in four stages: design, construction, dressing and strike. The art director designs it, the builders make it, the dressers fill it, and everyone helps clear it.
- Built to drawings. Dimensions, finishes and camera positions agreed with the art director first.
- Made to move. Wild walls and flying pieces, so the camera and the lights can get in.
- Finished for camera. Paint, ageing and textures that hold up at 4K.
- Struck and gone. The stage or location cleared, and waste taken away.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
Per builder, per day
- An 11-hour day per builder, including an hour for lunch
- Building to the art director’s drawings
- Painting and finishing
- Wild walls and flying pieces where needed
- A standby carpenter on the shoot day, if booked
- The strike, and the space cleared
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Materials, at cost
- Workshop space, transport and waste disposal
- Cove or stage repaint, if the studio charges for it
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 builders 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 set build, from drawings to strike
A kitchen set for an advert, built on a stage at Space Studios. Days are an example; the schedule sets the real ones.
- Week 1 Drawings The art director’s plans agreed: the room, the window, the walls that come out for the camera.
- Day 1 Workshop Flats and units built in the workshop next to the stage, the window frame made to size.
- Day 2 Load in Pieces moved onto the stage, stood up, braced and fixed.
- Day 3 Paint The scenic painter’s base coats, then the ageing: a kitchen that has been lived in.
- Day 4 Dress The dressers fill it; the builders hang the doors and fix what the camera finds.
- Shoot Standby A standby carpenter on set to pull a wall, fix a hinge or make a quick change.
- Strike Clear Everything down and out, materials recycled where they can be, the stage handed back.
Which kind
Which construction crew do you need?
The team grows with the build. Card rates are per person, per 11-hour day.
Carpenter Builds the set Card £341–512
Builds flats, platforms, units and pieces, from the workshop to the stage.
Best for any set build, from a single wall to a room.
Master carpenter Leads the build Quoted on the brief
Runs the carpenters, solves the tricky pieces and signs off what’s safe.
Best on builds of more than a couple of days.
Scenic painter Paint, ageing and finishes Quoted on the brief
Paints and ages the set: wood, plaster, metal and dirt, all convincing on camera.
Best when the set has to look old, used or expensive.
Standby carpenter On set on the day From £341 a day
Stays with the set during the shoot to move walls, fix things and make changes.
Best on any built set.
Construction manager Big builds Quoted on the brief
Plans and runs the construction department, the budget and the workshop on large builds.
Best for drama and big adverts.
What it’s for
What people book set builders for in Manchester
Adverts
A kitchen, a shop or a living room built on a stage, with walls that come out.
Music videos
A look built in a warehouse or on a cove.
Product films
Plinths, platforms and backgrounds for a product on a cove.
Events and launches
Stages and backdrops built for the cameras.
Locations that need help
A false wall, a fake window, or a shop front over a real one.
Recent work
How we crew a build in Manchester
How we crew it · West Gorton
Workshops beside the stage
Space Studios in West Gorton rents construction workshops next to its stages, so a set can be built and loaded in without a truck. DESIGN 108 on the same site prints the graphics.
How we crew it · Manchester
CNC, props and dressing nearby
Studio MQ has a CNC workshop for builds and props, with four weeks’ notice, and Stockyard North in Trafford Park hires the furniture and dressing. See set builds in Manchester.
Before you book
Things to know
Planning
- A build needs drawings and a schedule: tell us the shoot date and work back.
- Most coves charge to repaint after a build that marks the floor.
The money
- Builders by the day, materials at cost, workshop and waste on their own lines.
- Overtime at card rates, agreed before it happens.
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the builders.
- 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 builders 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 £341 a day
APA/Bectu card: £341–512 a day, carpenter to master carpenter.
| Per builder, 11 hours | £341 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £34.10 |
| Insurance, 2% | £6.82 |
| One builder, one day, before materials | £381.92 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the builders we book, and cover on kit we hire in. What it covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the build.
- 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 set builders in Manchester.
Tell us what needs building, where, and when it has to be ready. 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 £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 This page £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 build needs a stage, materials and a way to clear it. Each gets its own line on the quote, or use the guides to sort them yourself.
Questions
Set builders in Manchester: questions
How much does a set build cost in Manchester?
It depends on the build. Builders are priced per person per day, at £341–512 on the APA/Bectu card from carpenter to master carpenter, paid in full; materials, workshop and waste are at cost. Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance go on top. A simple wall can be a day for two; a room set, a week for a team.
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 I need an art director as well?
Yes, for anything more than a simple piece: the art director designs it and draws it, the builders build it.
Where can we build a set in Manchester?
Space Studios in West Gorton rents stages and construction workshops; The Sharp Project and the coves in Ancoats, Salford and Trafford Park take smaller builds. See film studios in Manchester.
Can you build on location?
Yes, with the owner’s permission: false walls, shop fronts and pieces that fix without damage, and come out cleanly at wrap.
How far ahead should I book a set build?
As early as you can: a small build needs a week from drawings to shoot, a room set two or three. CNC work at Studio MQ wants four weeks’ notice.