Hire crew for your shoot
Camera operators, gaffers, sound recordists, DITs, drone pilots — across the UK. Two ways to hire one, depending on when you need them.
Are you crew? Get listed and take work near you
A request goes to the closest crew member first and then the next closest, so it depends on who is in range and online — post with time to spare rather than an hour before the call. Nothing is charged unless someone accepts.
Crew on Picturental
Tap a card to see the full profile — showreel, selected work and rate.
Roles people ask for
You describe the role in your own words when you post, so this is a starting point rather than a menu.
Camera
Lighting & grip
How it works
- 1
Post the role
What you need, where the shoot is, the dates and the rate you are offering.
- 2
The nearest is asked first
Not a free-for-all: the closest crew member gets it alone, and it widens to the next nearest every 60 seconds until someone accepts.
- 3
First to accept takes it
The job locks to them, you both get each other's details, and you rate each other afterwards.
Need kit as well as people? Browse gear to hire or read how Instant Match works.
Questions
- Can I hire crew through Picturental?
- Yes. Crew is one of the categories in Instant Match, the on-demand side of Picturental. You post the role, your postcode and your budget, and the nearest crew member is asked first — within 19 miles, or further for anyone who has told us they travel. If they do not take it, it moves to the next nearest.
- Which roles can I ask for?
- Anything on a normal call sheet — camera operator, focus puller, DIT, gaffer, spark, grip, sound recordist, boom operator, drone operator, 1st AD, script supervisor, colourist, hair and make-up. You describe the role in your own words, so you are not limited to a fixed list.
- What if nobody accepts?
- Nothing is charged — your card is only authorised at the moment someone accepts. A request goes to the closest crew member first and then the next closest, within 19 miles or further for anyone whose profile says they travel, so whether it is taken depends on who is in range and online at that moment. Post as early as you can rather than an hour before the call time, and a request nobody has accepted can be cancelled at no cost.
- What does it cost to hire crew?
- You set the rate when you post the request, so you are not bidding blind. Picturental adds its fee on top of that rate at checkout rather than taking it out of what the crew member is paid.
- Where in the UK does it work?
- Anywhere, but it is proximity-based: a request reaches crew within 19 miles of the postcode you give, and further for crew whose profile says they travel further. That works best in and around the cities where members are concentrated — London, Manchester, Bristol, Brighton, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
- I'm crew — how do I get work here?
- Sign up, complete the ID check, and go online from your dashboard. You will be pinged when someone nearby posts a role you could take. It costs nothing to be listed, and you can go offline whenever you are on a job.