Film crew hire/New York/Gaffer
Hire a gaffer in New York. The DP’s lighting plan, rigged, powered and safe.
Gaffers for brand films, adverts, interviews and studio days across New York, from Midtown towers to daylight lofts in Chelsea and Brooklyn. They turn the DP’s plan into lamps, cable and power, get the kit past building security and up the freight elevator, and run the electrics who rig it. From $750 a day, paid to the gaffer in full.
- 54 five-star Google reviews
- 2 hrs for our team to read your brief, in working hours
- 10 hrs a New York crew day, plus a meal break
- 500+ productions, filmed in sixteen countries
Photos: Here Now Films, Jametlene Reskp and Eli Cooper
The role
What a gaffer does on your shoot
The gaffer, or chief lighting technician, runs the electric department. They work out with the DP how each set-up will be lit, choose the lamps, plan the power, and run the best boy and the electrics who rig and focus the lights. On location they find the power, or bring a generator, and make sure nothing trips, overheats or falls over.
In New York the lighting crew splits the way US sets do. Electrics handle anything with a cable; grips handle the stands, flags, frames and rigging that cut and soften the light. So the gaffer works hand in glove with the key grip, and on a small job a single grip and electric swing covers both. If your DP is used to UK crews, it’s worth knowing before the recce.
Many of the gaffers we book own a lighting package, or bring one in from a rental house in Manhattan, Brooklyn or Long Island City. On our New York jobs over the past year, lighting packages ran $1,000–$1,500 a day (checked October 2026), always on their own line of the quote.
- The plan, lit. The DP describes the look; the gaffer chooses and places the lamps that make it.
- Power that holds. House power checked with the building engineer, distribution or a generator planned at the recce.
- Quick turnarounds. The next set-up pre-rigged by the electrics while the current one shoots.
- Safe rigging. Cable taped and clear of fire exits, heads above people secured, the building’s rules followed.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- A 10-hour day, plus a meal break
- Planning the lighting with the DP
- Rigging, focusing and adjusting every lamp
- Power: finding it, distributing it and keeping it safe
- Running the best boy and electrics, if you book them
- Striking the lights and leaving the location as found
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee, on the whole quote
- Payroll and insurance for the job, at cost
- The lighting package, theirs or a rental house’s, on its own line
- A generator and its operator, if the location needs one
- The cargo van or grip and electric truck, and its parking under a permit
- Travel outside the five boroughs, and any cars or vans, at cost
How our rates work, and the two ways to book: crew rates in New York.
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 New York shoot, or have us take the production on, permits and parking with it.
Crew hire
You run the shoot.
10% booking fee, on everything we book for you: crew, kit and travel. Payroll and insurance at cost, on their own line.
We do
- Find, book and brief the New York crew
- Every crew member employed for the job: payroll, workers’ compensation and COIs
- Book kit, vans and travel too, if you want them
- Send the full price, in dollars, before anything is booked
- One person to call all day
You do
- Run the shoot, or your producer does
- The plan, the schedule and the call sheet
- The location, its COI and any Mayor’s Office permit
- Responsibility for the production: you’re the producer of record
Payroll and insurance are their own line on the quote, at cost: payroll for each crew member, the insurance they need for the job, New York workers’ compensation included, and the certificates of insurance your location asks for.
Full production
We’re the producer of record.
From $20,000 for a New York production; most land between that and $75,000. One quote, in dollars, every line shown.
We do
- Our producer plans it with you and runs the job
- Locations, permits, kit, studio and travel, booked in the production’s name
- The production’s insurance, the COIs and the Mayor’s Office permit
- One quote and one contract with us, wherever you’re based
You do
- The creative calls
- Signing off the plan and the budget
The production’s insurance, the crew’s payroll and any permits are lines in the quote, so you see each one before you sign.
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 upper floor of a Midtown office tower, glass on two sides and a loading dock on the side street. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 07:00 Load in The van at the loading dock in its booked slot, the kit up the freight elevator with a building escort, the COI already with the managing agent.
- 07:30 Power Circuits on the floor checked with the building engineer; cable runs planned so nothing crosses a fire door.
- 08:00 The plan A walk round with the DP and the key grip: 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 by the grips, reflections in the glass walls dealt with.
- 12:30 Meal break The afternoon set-up pre-rigged in the conference room next door.
- 15:00 The light changes The sun drops behind the tower across the avenue; the key comes up to hold the look.
- 17:30 Wrap Everything struck and down the freight elevator before the building’s cut-off, the floor as it was.
Which kind
Which lighting crew do you need?
How big the electric department gets depends on the look, the space and how fast the day moves. In New York it also depends on the building, and on whether the job is union.
Gaffer with a package One person, an LED kit From $750 a day
A gaffer with their own LEDs, stands and cable, or a package from a rental house, priced on its own line. Often all an interview or a small brand film needs.
Best for interviews, corporate films and one-location days.
Gaffer and electric Two people, faster turnarounds Per person
The gaffer runs the plan; the electric rigs, runs cable and pre-rigs the next set-up. See electrics in New York.
Best for multi-set-up days and moves between locations.
Full electric department Gaffer, best boy and electrics Quoted on the brief
A best boy electric to run the crew and the kit, as many electrics as the plan needs, and a key grip with grips alongside for the flags and rigging.
Best for adverts, night exteriors and stage days.
Union lighting crew Local 52, on a signatory job Local 52 scale, on request
Gaffers, best boys and electrics in New York are covered by IATSE Local 52, whose new AICP commercial agreement took effect on 22 March 2026. Its rates aren’t published, so we quote them on request.
Best for union commercials and signatory productions.
Generator Power where there is none Quoted on the brief
A silent generator and an operator, for locations without enough power. On a New York street, a generator is equipment beyond a hand-held camera, so it means a Mayor’s Office permit.
Best for night exteriors and big lamps on location.
What it’s for
What people book a gaffer for in New York
Interviews in Midtown towers
Glass on two sides and a skyline that wants to win, lit so the faces hold against it.
Overseas productions
UK and European teams who land at JFK or Newark with a director and DP, and need the electric department here.
Daylight lofts
Brand films and fireside chats in Chelsea, Brooklyn and Long Island City lofts, where the windows change the light all day.
Studio days
Stages and cyc walls in Long Island City and Brooklyn, lit for product and presenters.
Night exteriors
Streets lit for camera under a Mayor’s Office permit, with the trucks listed and parked.
Recent work
Lighting on our New York jobs, Chelsea to the Upper East Side
Our work · Upper East Side, New York · September 2026
Nevis × Focus, an announcement film
One afternoon in a panelled library on the Upper East Side, for Nevis and Focus Financial Partners: three half-hour interviews with Mark Swan, Adam Birenbaum and Justin Ferri, then the room reset for a three-way conversation on five cameras. The library came empty, so everything on screen was brought in. A New York crew shot it twelve days after the first email, and our own team cut it, five cuts in eight days, then graded and mixed it.
Crew hire · New York · October 2025
A gaffer for an agency’s one-day shoot
An agency’s one-day shoot in New York, with a director and DP flown in by the client. We booked everyone else locally: a producer, an assistant producer, a camera operator, a sound recordist, a gaffer, hair and make-up and a stills photographer. For a DP working in a city that isn’t theirs, the gaffer is the person they lean on most, from the power to the rental house to the building’s rules.
Our work · Chelsea, New York · April 2026
Controlled light in a daylight loft
The Future of AI in Wealth Management, for AlTi Tiedemann Global and Nevis, was a multi-camera fireside chat filmed on 16 April 2026 in a daylight loft on West 24th Street, booked for the day. Nancy Curtin of AlTi hosted Phil Dundas, AlTi’s CTO, and Mark Swan, CEO of Nevis. A loft full of windows looks different at noon than at ten, so the light was controlled to keep three people in armchairs consistent on every camera for the whole conversation. New York crew; edit, grade and sound by our own post team.
Before you book
Things to know
The day
- 10 hours, plus a meal break.
- Any overtime is agreed with you before it happens.
Kit, vans and buildings
- The lighting package goes on its own line: on our New York jobs, $1,000–$1,500 a day (checked October 2026).
- Tell us the address when you book: the loading dock, the freight elevator hours and the building’s COI requirements come first.
- Production vehicles only get parking privileges with a Mayor’s Office permit, and personal cars, minivans, SUVs and pick-ups don’t qualify.
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the gaffer.
- 50% when you book, 50% on receipt of the final rushes.
- Every line on the quote: day rate, booking fee, payroll and insurance, kit, travel.
- Cancellation terms are on every quote.
Employment and insurance
- Every gaffer we book is employed for the job, on payroll, with New York workers’ compensation.
- Certificates of insurance (COIs) for your location or permit, naming whoever needs naming, on request.
- On a crew hire the location, its COI, the permit and your own general liability stay with you. When we’re the producer of record, the production carries them.
- In New York, Here Now Films books its crews through established New York production companies, so every crew member is employed, on payroll and fully insured for the job.
$750 a day
Local 52 scale for union jobs, quoted on request: its rates aren’t published.
| Day rate, 10 hours | $750 |
| Booking fee, 10% | $75 |
| One day, before payroll, kit and travel | $825 |
Every gaffer we book in New York is employed and insured for the job. Payroll and insurance are their own line on the quote. What that covers
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the gaffer.
- Every crew member employed and insured for the job
- 50% at booking, 50% on the final rushes
- Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours
Or call us on +44 7412 543822.
Reviews
What clients say about our crews
Straight from our Google Business Profile.
Book a gaffer in New York.
Tell us the date, the address, the look, and what the building allows. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on +44 7412 543822.
Check availability
The whole crew
Every role in New York, booked the same way
One brief, one quote in dollars, every role on its own line. Our day rates in New York, paid to the crew member in full:
Production 06
- Director From $1,500
- Producer From $750
- Production manager $650
- 2nd AD $600
- Production assistant $250
- Runner $250
Camera 07
- DP From $1,200
- Camera operator $750
- 1st AC $700
- 2nd AC $550
- Steadicam operator From $1,500
- Gimbal operator $750
- Drone operator From $1,000
Data and playback 02
- DIT $750
- Video playback $650
Sound 01
- Sound mixer $850
Hair, make-up and costume 02
- Hair and make-up $650
- Costume $700
Art department 02
- Art director $750
- Set builders $550
Post-production 01
- Editor From $600
How our rates work: crew rates in New York. Or start from a set-up: interview crews and units in New York.
Questions
Hiring a gaffer in New York: questions
How much does a gaffer cost in New York?
Our gaffers in New York start at $750 for a 10-hour day, and the gaffer is paid all of it. On a union job, Local 52 scale applies; its rates aren’t published, so we quote them on request. On top go our 10% booking fee, so one day comes to $825, before payroll and insurance (at cost, on the quote), kit and travel. The lighting package has its own line: on our New York jobs it ran $1,000–$1,500 a day (checked October 2026).
Who employs the crew, and are they insured?
Every crew member we book in New York is employed for the job and fully insured: payroll, New York workers’ compensation, and certificates of insurance for your location or permit. Payroll and insurance show as their own line on the quote, at cost. On a crew hire, the location, its COI and the permit stay with you, because you’re the producer of record. If you’d rather we were, it’s quoted as a full production.
Are your New York crews union or non-union?
Non-union by default, on corporate, branded and documentary work. If your production is signatory to a union agreement, or you need union crew for a commercial, we quote at scale: the IATSE/AICP commercial agreement for camera and make-up, Local 52 for grip, electric and sound, USA 829 for the art department, and the DGA for directors and ADs. Scale is wages only: fringes and payroll go on top.
Do we need a film permit in New York?
Not if the crew is hand-held or on a tripod, takes no exclusive use of a street or park, and parks no production vehicles. Equipment beyond that, parked production vehicles or exclusive use need a permit from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment: $500 for each 14-day period, with at least $1,000,000 of general liability naming the City of New York (checked October 2026). The Film Office processes most permits 48 to 72 business hours before the shoot. More in filming permits in New York.
Do New York gaffers bring their own lights?
Many do: an LED package, stands and cable, priced by the day on its own line. Bigger lamps and generators come from rental houses in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island City, which the gaffer orders and checks out. On our New York jobs over the past year, lighting packages ran $1,000–$1,500 a day (checked October 2026). The kit moves by cargo van or a grip and lighting truck, and parks legally only under a Mayor’s Office permit.
What’s the difference between a gaffer and a key grip in New York?
The gaffer runs the electrics: lamps, cable and power. The key grip runs the grips, who in New York handle everything on set without a plug: C-stands, flags, frames, overheads and rigging, as well as the dolly and the camera support. On a UK set the sparks set their own flags; here the grips do. Book the gaffer and the key grip together, and on a small job one grip and electric swing can cover both.
How far ahead should I book a gaffer in New York?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. The gaffer is rarely what sets the date. The building usually does: its COI, the freight elevator and the loading dock. For lights on the street, add a Mayor’s Office permit, which the Film Office processes 48 to 72 business hours before the shoot (checked October 2026).