Film crew hire/Runner
Hire a runner, anywhere in the UK. First in, last out, and on whatever the shoot needs next.
Runners for brand films, adverts, studio days and big crews across the UK, booked from as close to the shoot as we can find them. They run the errands, carry and mind the kit, hold the parking and keep the unit base going, so everyone else can do their job. £245 a day, the full APA/Bectu card rate, paid to the runner 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
- 2,800+ freelance crew on our books, across the UK
Photos: Here Now Films, patsanannnn, Omotayo Kofoworola and Jakob Owens
The role
What a runner does on a UK shoot
A runner does whatever the shoot needs next: a run to the kit house for a forgotten cable, the kit carried up the stairs, the parking held for the vans, the tea made, the doors held. It’s the first job on a crew, and a good one makes the whole day calmer.
Production runners work to the producer or the production manager; floor runners work to the ADs on set. On a small shoot one runner does both.
- Errands done fast. The shop, the kit house, the courier, and back before anyone notices.
- Kit carried and minded. Up the stairs, along the cliff path, and never left alone on a pavement.
- The base running. Tea, water, snacks and the bins, all day.
- Paid properly. The full APA/Bectu card rate for a runner, £245 a day, every time.
What’s included
What the day rate covers
In the day rate
- An 11-hour day: ten working hours and an hour for lunch
- Runs to shops, kit houses and couriers
- Loading in and out
- The unit base: water, tea and snacks
- Holding the parking and meeting the vans
- Keeping the pavement clear, with the AD or producer
On top, each on its own line
- Our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance, on the whole quote
- Mileage, if they use their own car
- Parking and clean air zone charges, at cost
- Travel, mileage and hotels when the shoot is away from the crew member’s home city, at cost
How our rates work, overtime and the APA/Bectu card: film crew rates in the UK.
Two ways to book
Crew hire or full production: who’s the producer of record?
Book a runner for your own shoot, or have us run the whole production, runners included.
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 runner, call to wrap
A brand film on a beach in Cornwall, where the foreshore belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall and the car park above it, the unit base, to the council. Times are an example; the call sheet sets the real ones.
- 06:30 Before call The unit base checked in the car park, booked through Cornwall Council’s parking team, the vans met and parked, the urn on (checked October 2026).
- 07:30 Load in Kit down the path to the beach in relays, cases stacked above the tide line where the crew want them.
- 09:00 On set The public kept politely out of shot, the next set-up’s kit staged. The lifeguards and the coastguard were told about the shoot before the day, as Screen Cornwall advises (checked October 2026).
- 11:00 A run Batteries and gaffer tape from the nearest town, by car, with the mileage logged.
- 13:00 Lunch Collected, laid out and cleared, in the car park, not on the sand.
- 15:00 The move Kit carried back up to the vans for the afternoon’s second location.
- 17:30 Wrap Last out: the base cleared, the rubbish gone, the car park handed back as it was found.
Which kind
Which runner do you need?
Runners do different jobs on different crews.
Production runner Errands and the unit base £245 a day
Works to the producer or PM: runs, deliveries, catering, the base and the parking.
Best on any shoot with a unit base or lots of kit.
Floor runner On set with the ADs £245 a day
Moves people and messages for the AD team. See 2nd AD hire in the UK.
Best on shoots with a cast or background artists.
Runner with a car Collections and deliveries £245 a day + mileage
Collects kit, props and people in their own car, on business insurance, checked against any clean air zone on the route.
Best when the kit house is on one side of a city and the location on the other.
Production assistant Contributors and releases £400 a day
More responsibility: contributors, releases and the call sheet. See production assistant hire in the UK.
Best when the producer needs someone to share the load.
What it’s for
What people book a runner for across the UK
Brand films and adverts
A unit base, lots of kit, parking to hold and a set that needs minding.
Busy public locations
City-centre streets, stations and beaches in summer, where someone has to manage passers-by.
Studio days
Deliveries, catering and runs between the stage and the kit houses.
Shoots with a cast
Floor runners for the ADs, moving cast and background to set.
Remote locations
Cliff paths, moorland and forest tracks, where every case is carried in and out by hand.
How we crew it
How we crew a runner across the UK
How we crew it · UK
Local where we can, on the full card rate
A runner is the role where travel makes least sense, so we book them from as close to the shoot as we can, and pay every one the full APA/Bectu card rate, £245 a day. They come to us the same way as the rest of our crew: a phone call first, then references and past work. How we select our crew.
How we crew it · UK
Parking held, and handed back
On a location shoot the vans need somewhere to stop. Parking suspensions are always the council’s call: Bristol’s go through its Parking Services team, a unit base on Cornwall Council land through the council’s parking team, and London’s through each borough (checked October 2026). The runner is there before the vans to keep the space clear, meets each one in, and hands the space back as it was found. Suspension fees go on the quote at cost, on their own line.
Before you book
Things to know
The day
- 11 hours, including an hour for lunch: ten working hours.
- Overtime by the hour at the APA card’s rate for the role, agreed with you before it happens.
- At least 11 hours between wrap and the next day’s call.
Cars, vans and charges
- Tell us if the runner needs a car: mileage, parking and any clean air zone charge go on the quote at cost.
- Runners drive only on business insurance.
- England’s charging clean air zones run around the clock; Scotland’s low emission zones fine instead, from £60 (checked October 2026).
Paying and changes
- Nothing to pay until you confirm the runner.
- 50% by card when you book, 50% on receipt of the final rushes.
- Every line on the quote: day rate, booking fee, kit, travel.
- Moving the date? Tell us as soon as you know.
- Cancellation terms are on every quote.
What our insurance covers
- Employers’ liability for the runner 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.
£245 a day
We pay the full APA/Bectu card rate for a runner: Up to £245 a day.
| Day rate, 11 hours | £245 |
| Booking fee, 10% | £24.50 |
| Insurance, 2% | £4.90 |
| One day, before mileage | £274.40 + VAT |
The 2% is employers’ liability for the runner we book, and cover on kit we hire in. Insurance for a UK shoot
You won’t pay anything until you confirm the runner.
- 50% by card at booking, 50% on the final rushes
- Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours
- Every line on the quote before anything is booked
Or call us on 07412 543822.
Reviews
What clients say about our crews
Straight from our Google Business Profile.
Book a runner, anywhere in the UK.
Tell us the date, the place, and whether the runner needs a car. Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. Or call us on 07412 543822.
Check availability
The whole crew
Every role across the UK, booked the same way
One brief, one quote, every role on its own line. Our UK day rates, paid to the crew member in full:
Production 06
- Director From £500
- Producer From £450
- Production manager £504–627
- 2nd AD £355–448
- Production assistant £400
- Runner This page £245
Camera 09
- DOP From £850
- Camera operator £529–656
- Lighting camera operator £529–656
- Videographer £529–656
- Focus puller (1st AC) £461–575
- Clapper loader (2nd AC) £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 across the UK. In one city? London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cornwall have their own role pages.
Production support
Everything around the crew
Runners keep everything around the crew moving, from the parking to the kit runs. Here are the UK guides, each item its own line on the quote if you want us to book it.
01
Crew rates in the UK
Day rates for every role, the APA/Bectu card, overtime and what a day covers.
02
Kit and equipment hire
Rental houses across the UK, wet hire and dry hire, and the crew’s own kit.
03
Insurance for a UK shoot
Employers’ liability, public liability, kit cover, and what can leave you uninsured.
Questions
Hiring a runner in the UK: questions
How much does a runner cost in the UK?
Our runners are £245 for an 11-hour day, including an hour for lunch: the full APA/Bectu card rate, paid to the runner. On top go our 10% booking fee and 2% insurance: £274.40 + VAT for the day, plus mileage and parking if they drive.
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.
How long is a runner’s day, and what about overtime?
A day is 11 hours, ten of them working and one for lunch. After that, overtime is paid by the hour at the APA card’s rate for the role: 1.5×, 1.25× or single time on an hourly rate of a tenth of the day rate, graded by day rate, and we agree it with you before it happens. Between wrap and the next call there are at least 11 hours. Film crew rates in the UK
What’s the difference between a runner and a PA?
A runner fetches, carries and keeps the unit base going. A production assistant works closer to the producer, on contributors and paperwork.
Can your runners drive?
Some can, with their own car and business insurance; tell us when you book. Mileage and parking go on the quote at cost, and any clean air zone charge if the car misses the standard: Bristol’s zone charges a car or van £9 a day, the zones in Bath, Bradford, Sheffield and Tyneside charge vans but not cars, and central London adds the £18 Congestion Charge (checked October 2026). See travel, hotels and vans for a UK shoot.
Can a runner take kit on the train or the Tube?
Small kit, yes. GWR allows no more than three pieces of luggage, and only two large items of up to 23kg each. TfL lets you take what you can carry yourself, but nothing over 2m long, and no tripods or camera supports without permission (checked October 2026). Anything bigger goes by car.
Is a runner employed or self-employed?
HMRC’s list of behind-the-camera roles it normally treats as self-employed doesn’t include runners, and HMRC says that doesn’t make them employees: their status follows its general rules, and it recommends its CEST tool to check (checked October 2026). We check each runner when we contract them, and anyone who doesn’t qualify as self-employed is paid through our payroll, with tax and National Insurance taken off.
Why pay a runner the full card rate?
Because it’s the rate. Runners work the same 11-hour day as everyone else, and the people who start as runners are the crew of the next ten years.
How far ahead should I book a runner?
Our team reads every brief within 2 working hours. If the runner is holding parking, it’s the parking that needs the notice, and each council sets its own. City detail is in the London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cornwall logistics guides, and for one city, see runners in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Cornwall.