CREW BIRMINGHAM is a free site aimed at Film and Television employers and employees. It is a public facing database full of Crew and Facilities that are all based in and around the Greater Birmingham area. All members have to meet our membership criteria before being listed. Once verified and listed our members are then invited to join one of our private dedicated Facebook groups. This is where we post and share local paid Film/TV jobs, and news and events. Where our members can network, collaborate, and offer peer support and advice.

We want a strong, sustainable, and thriving Film and TV Industry in our region. An industry where local professionals can work, develop, and sleep in their home town at the end of each day.  To support this we offer platforms that bring our community together, to benefit members personally and collectively – this public facing website for our member listings and closed exclusive Facebook groups for job posts, news, and peer support.

Our ultimate goal is to help generate more sector employment opportunities within the region, attracting inward production investment through the development and retention of a skilled regional film and television workforce.

Email us at [email protected]

Our ‘Crew’ members are experienced Film and TV crew that are located within a one-hour driving commute of Birmingham City Centre. All of our ‘Crew’ have at least 2+ years experience and 4+ broadcast credits for Film/TV work.  Those who live in the qualifying area but are new to the industry (with 0-2 years paid experience and less than 4 broadcast credits) can be listed as ‘New Talent’.  All of our members have to meet our membership criteria and are carefully vetted by our team. They can only join our Facebook groups if they have added a listing to our website.  This is to maintain the professional, and trusted, standards of the community.

Local businesses/companies, that offer a supporting role and function that is relevant to the Film/TV sector in our region. Local Facilities can have a free basic listing on our site, or they can choose to upgrade to a feature rich listing to promote their services. Our ‘Facilities Pro’ membership is a paid annual subscription for a nominal fee, this membership also allows a Facility to add their business Page to our main CREW BIRMINGHAM Facebook group.

Local Film/TV crew and facilities use our website to list and sell themselves publicly. They then join our private Facebook Groups to share and post jobs/opportunities, news, network, collaborate, and offer peer support and advice.

Local, National, and International Film and TV production companies, TV broadcasters, advertising agencies, facility companies,  Line Producers, and many more access our website to view and contact our members. They are often looking at the viability of filming in our area, or they may be looking to offer particular jobs, or are seeking services or local expertise/knowledge.  If they want to target all of our membership quickly they can contact our CREW BIRMINGHAM Team who can post on our private Facebook Groups on their behalf or contact members directly.

Since our inception in 2015 over 3000 jobs have been posted on our Facebooks groups and our membership continue to be targeted through our web listings.

Over 300 productions / Production companies have utilised our platforms including:

BBC

Screenskills

Endemol

Full Fat TV

Wonder

Naked Television

Warner Bros

Media Dog Productions

First Look TV

North One Television

Maverick Television

Wall to Wall

Curve Media

Optomen 

Vermillion

Koala TV

IWC Media

Lloyds Bank

Top Banana Film

Nine Lives Media

Twenty Twenty Television

Spindle Productions

Happy Hour Productions

HTF Media

DRPG Group

Film Birmingham

If you are already a member, and part of our Facebook groups you can post your own jobs, or share local opportunities that you are aware of, direct to our membership. If you are listed on our website but not on our Facebook groups then you can contact us at [email protected] and we can post the jobs on your behalf.

If you are not a member but you are looking for local professional crew, or want to post jobs, opportunities, or events on our CREW BIRMINGHAM Facebook Groups then:

1. You can visit www.crewbirmingham.co.uk/jobs-events-and-training/ and submit information for us to share.

2. You can email us at [email protected] and we can post to the relevant group/s on your behalf.

3. You can search our website and view pages of crew and facilities, then contact them directly via the information they have provided.

Our only stipulation is that our members are offered fully paid jobs.

If Crew are contacted and offered below minimum wage jobs they should contact us immediately with the individuals / company’s details. If this happens, and this rule is broken, the company offering the work will be named and shamed for all members to see and to be warned about.

No – all of our members regardless of experience require payment for their efforts/expertise. We will remove any job posts on Facebook groups that target our membership for unpaid work.

If Crew are contacted and offered below minimum wage jobs they should contact us immediately with the individuals / company’s details. If this happens, and this rule is broken, the company offering the work will be named and shamed for all members to see and to be warned about.

For Local Crew/Facilities:

You can become a CREW BIRMINGHAM Member for free. For ‘Crew’ you’ll get a free Basic Web Listing and be invited to join the relevant Facebook group/s.  If you want to have a more feature rich listing then you can upgrade your listing for a nominal annual paid subscription.

For those outside our membership:

All non members can view our web listings for free, and contact members with the details they have provided on their listings.  If non members want to target our entire membership quickly they can contact the CREW BIRMINGHAM Team and we can post any suitable opportunities on our private Facebook groups, on your behalf.  We will do this for free.

By adding a listing to our website:

1. A dedicated purpose built website page to sell yourself.  You don’t have to build your own costly website to attract and sell yourself. 
2. The website allows you to present yourself professionally in the context of your role and region.
3. We have local, national, and international production companies who can see your listing on the website, they can search and find you direct. Your listing can easily be referenced, shared, and recommended.
4. You have your own account and listing that you can manage and amend anytime, anywhere, 24/7.
5. Your listing gives you the ability to share your web link to third parties, or set your web link in your email signature. It also houses links to any other sites, memberships, or social media memberships you may have.

By joining our private Facebook groups:

You become part of a local trusted community of like minded professionals with exclusive closed access.  It is where we and you can post and share local paid Film/TV jobs, and news and events. Where our members can network, collaborate, and offer peer support and advice. A place where you can find or provide opportunities/jobs, a place to help you develop and grow.

You’re contributing to the Film/TV industry in your region.

By joining our membership you are playing an important role in your regional community. Contributing to the strength and depth of your regional Film/TV workforce, and supporting our ethos –   to help generate more sector employment opportunities within the region, attracting inward production investment through the development and retention of a skilled regional film and television workforce.

For ‘Crew’

1. You must live within a one-hour driving commute of Birmingham City Centre.
2. Have at least 2 Years Paid Experience within the Film/TV Industry.
3. Have 4+ Broadcast Credits.

If you meet this criteria you can be listed as ‘Crew’ on our website and you’ll be invited to join our main Crew Birmingham Facebook Group. You can do all of this for free here: crewbirmingham.co.uk/add-listing

For ‘New Talent’

1. You must live within a one-hour driving commute of Birmingham City Centre.
2. Have at least 0-2 Years Paid Experience within the Film/TV Industry.
3. Have less than 4 Broadcast Credits

If you meet this criteria you can be listed as ‘New Talent’ on our website and you’ll be invited to join our main Crew Birmingham Facebook Group. You can do all of this for free here: crewbirmingham.co.uk/add-listing

For ‘Faciliites’

1. You must be located within a one-hour driving commute of Birmingham City Centre.
2. Your Facility must be relevant to the Film/TV industry.

If you meet this criteria you can be listed under ‘Facilities’ on our website.

To create a brand new listing you must first meet our membership criteria, and then follow the instructions here: www.crewbirmingham.co.uk/add-listing/

To be a member of CREW BIRMINGHAM you need to live within a one-hour driving commute of Birmingham City Centre (the measurement is actually made from New Street Train Station) and meet the relevant experience criteria.

The catchment area is quite wide. We also treat each application on merit if it’s a borderline 1 hour driving commute. You can be a member if you live within the following areas and in-between. This includes both crew and facilities of:

Birmingham, Walsall, Cannock, Stafford, Stoke on Trent, Wolverhampton, Telford, Shrewsbury, Stourbridge, Kidderminster, Bromsgrove, Worcester, Solihull, Stratford Upon Avon, Coventry, Rugby, Nuneaton, Leicester, Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Burton Upon Trent, Derby, Nottingham

Obviously this means that CREW BIRMINGHAM doesn’t just represent Birmingham. 

The reason we are called CREW BIRMINGHAM is down to business branding and awareness.  As the UK’s second city Birmingham has a large diverse population and is geographically at the centre of the country. It is a well known location, covers the greater population, and is accessible. To business and outsiders, including outside the UK, it spikes awareness.

A production company/broadcaster that has paid you the national minimum wage or above, for your time, energy, or expertise.

A credit from a production that you have worked on that has had a terrestrial, cinema, on-demand, or streaming broadcast. This does not include shorts.

Around 90% of our membership fall under our membership criteria. We review all members on merit. Some of our members have had single roles for a large period of their career, or have made a significant contribution to our region and sector but don’t have 4 broadcast credits. It’s important for us all to maintain the professional standards of the group and for our members to buy in to our ethos.  The membership criteria we set catches most of what we are after but we judge carefully members who fall outside of this, and if they are suitable they’ll be allowed to join.

Yes – if you’d prefer to just have a web listing, then you can. We recognise that not all of our members have a Facebook account or wish to use their platform. Be mindful that we utilise our Facebook Groups to post and share local paid Film/TV jobs, and news and events. Where our members can network, collaborate, and offer peer support and advice. A place where you can find or provide opportunities/jobs, a place to help you develop and grow.

No – we want all of our members to have one listing only. This is so the website doesn’t get swamped and disjointed. It also allows us to manage our listings better.  We want people to see your skills in one place.

No – we want you to be in the correct group so we can target you accordingly. If you are borderline we will give you the option that you feel most comfortable with.

Yes – you can have a personal listing that promotes you and a separate facility listing that promotes your business. They are different listing types and like all listings we review them before publishing, to make sure they are suitable.

As a general rule we invite members with ‘Crew’ and ‘Facility’ listings to our Crew Birmingham Facebook group. Members with ‘New Talent’ listings get invited to our Crew Birmingham ‘New Talent’ Facebook group. We target each group slightly differently, especially when jobs are specific to experience.  

If you are a local job provider (production manager/co-ord, etc.), a trainer, tutor, mentor, or lecturer, that we feel could help and support our ‘New Talent’ Members you will be invited to join both Facebook groups.

To access our Facebook groups you have to agree to our membership criteria and add a listing to our website. Our website is the public face of our community, our Facebook Groups are our closed exclusive platform for our local members. Our Website is at the heart of our membership and is a big part of our ethos. It is a key element in supporting the sustainable service we provide. Our website allows us to maintain our managed service and professional standards, providing the opportunities and benefits we bring to our members and region.

No – You have to agree to our membership criteria and add a listing to our website. Our website is the public face of our community, our Facebook Groups are our closed exclusive groups for our local members. Our Website and Facebook Groups are at the heart of our community and support our membership ethos.

Like our website we manage our Facebook groups day to day and speedily add opportunities and news daily.  We are often working behind the scenes, networking, and communicating with various third parties to bring our members news and opportunities.  It’s part of the dedicated service we offer and it’s a full time job to maintain the standards and trust in our platforms.

No. Our catchment area is in place is to protect the integrity of our local membership and ethos. If you don’t live within the qualifying area you may qualify for membership on one of our other CREW UK sites and associated Facebook groups – crewmanchester.co.uk or crewbristol.co.uk

CREW UK is the umbrella of our regional sites. It connects TV and film production companies with professional local crew and facilities around the UK.  We help film & TV crew find local, paid jobs so they can work in their cities and sleep in their own beds.

No – All memberships allow you to have a a primary listing on your home website. If you have one of our upgraded membership subscriptions you are then allowed a second listing, which is fixed at a Basic Free Listing, on a second CREW UK site of your choosing.

No – you will only be allowed in the Facebook group/s of your primary membership. This is to target our memberships accordingly, protect the local work force, and support our local ethos.

We reviewed different payment types but Stripe was a better fit for our membership model as it easily allows our members to upgrade/downgrade between our packages. It’s also easy to use.

CREW BIRMINGHAM is not VAT registered so we do not charge VAT. You have not paid any VAT for your membership subscription.

A standard invoice is sent automatically on paid membership subscriptions via email, reflecting no VAT was charged. Please check your junk mail if you can’t see it in your inbox.  We can resend invoices upon request.

Yes – if you are Crew and you are available to that region. We currently have three Crew UK memberships that focus on the regional workforce available to each area. These are Crew Birmingham, Crew Manchester, and Crew Bristol. Members of each respective location have met our membership criteria for each region and make up the native workforce. We do however recognise that some of our members are mobile and can add to the depth of another locations talent. This is particularly useful for specialist roles or for plugging talent gaps.

For Crew/New Talent only:

If you are ‘Crew’ and have one of our ‘Essential’ or ‘Pro’ membership packages, or if you are listed as ‘New Talent’ and have an ‘Exposure’ package, you’ll be permitted to have a free basic listing (only) on a second site.  You will not be able to upgrade this second listing.  Before submitting this second listing  for approval you will need to declare you are available to work, and have a base available, in this second location. You will then have the option to link to your feature rich primary listing from this second site. 

For example your home location is Manchester, and you are a Crew Manchester member with Crew Essentials Membership, you are happy to work and have an available base in Birmingham, so you add a basic free listing to the Crew Birmingham Website.

No – if you are a single entity within the CREW MANCHESTER catchment area you can only be listed on that regions website. If you have different branches within our CREW UK network you will have to take out separate memberships for each site.  In this case each regional branch would have the ability to have an active and focused input into their listing and community. This would also include individual branches being invited to their respective Facebook groups.

Email us at [email protected] and we can delete your account/listing and remove you from our Facebook groups.

Yes – email us at [email protected] we can discuss your options and remove your account and listing from Crew Birmingham.

The website relaunch is part of our membership review. We now want all of our Facebook members listed on our website, and to buy into our renewed community ethos. We are giving all of our current Facebook members with no listings, 2 months to create a listing once we relaunch. If no listing has been created after this period then the member will be removed from our Facebook group/s.  As long as they meet the membership criteria they’ll be able to rejoin in the future for free. We will continue to remind our current Facebook members that this is a requirement up to this deadline.

Yes – there will always be free options to list on our website.  We are aiming to relaunch in April 2021 – as part of this we are introducing different listing options for our members.  We will still have a free option but this will be for Basic Listings only. We will then have further paid (annual subscription) options for members who wish to upgrade to a more feature rich listing. All current listings will default to Basic Free Listings upon relaunch.

Yes – it will revert to a Basic Free Listing on relaunch. If you want a more feature rich listing then you’ll need to upgrade your membership when the new website is here.

Partners are companies and bodies who sponsor us –  publicly supporting our ethos, operation, and the services we provide. They are listed in our partnerships section. If you’d like to support us and become a partner then please contact us at [email protected] and we can discuss the partnership packages we have. We welcome support for our services.

We no longer offer a Fixer service but provide platforms that allow you to target our membership.

No – we bring our talented community together so they can easily be targeted by employers.  We offer our website as a public place where employers can directly find local talent/facilities. Our Facebook closed groups are platforms to target our entire membership quickly, either through our members posts, or through our CREW BIRMINGHAM Team, who can post on an employers behalf.

Please feel free to send us your feedback or make any suggestions for improvement of the site. [email protected]