In much of the video production world, a lot of the success of both companies and contractors is who you know. Whether that’s a friend of a friend who’s a marketing executive of a big company. Or a local grip house that has a roster of talented gaffers. Being courteous and networking with other talented individuals can go a long way! We have built up a solid network over the years, but you never know when you’ll need additional help! In this article, we’ll discuss where to find San Francisco video production crew.

Networking events

The first area we’d recommend to find San Francisco video crew is at networking events. However, since the pandemic began, these events have not had the same value. No longer were you able to meet and greet. Instead, you were able to watch the presentation via zoom and ask any questions. As people begin to start meeting in person again, we’d recommend checking out the Bapva group. This group focuses on the Bay area and has monthly meetings to inspire and engage the larger film community.

We’ve found that a lot of the people at this group are owners of small businesses but there are always willing people to lend a hand or come crew on your job!

FB Groups

The next area where we’d recommend to find San Francisco video production crew would be Facebook groups. Some of our favorites are “I hella wanna be on set” or “Crew up“. These groups focus solely on finding crew members for your job. They recommend that you follow a standard format to keep things concise. There are often talented people on here who will refer others and you can usually see with the number of likes or comments how well known they are. There are also other groups like the Commercial videographers group. You can post what crew you are looking for and likely you’ll find exactly what you’d need. Maybe you are looking for a Director of photography or an Assistant camera? Whatever the case, you’ll likely find that bay area crew in this group.

On-set introductions

As we get back to work on set, I’d say the best way to find San Francisco video production crew is on-set introductions. This can work a few different ways. Depending on what your role on the production is, you may be able to network with other people. For example, if you are a grip and meet a 1st Assistant director, you can likely network with them. However, in our opinion, even though it’s networking, it’s also about making new friends in the industry. After all, in the freelance film world, these watering hole conversations are sometimes all that we have!

Grip Houses

The next place to find SF video production crew would be through grip houses. These places are often chock-full of talent. And while they primarily focus on lighting and electric, it’s obvious that they know other departments as well. At these grip houses, you’ll likely be able to source your lights and a grip truck but also likely a full grip and electric team. From a gaffer, best boy, Key grip, electric and more. They most likely have a big list for you to look through. In the San Francisco bay area that would likely be Little Giant, Bolt, DTC or Rebel Sun.

The cool thing about these places is that if you are trying to run an out of town production, often times they’ll have a gaffer or Key grip that can drive the truck to set for you. This means that your logistical challenges will be easier and you can focus on other problems. to be solved! However, just keep in mind that often times they will want their hours to be “portal to portal”, such that their 10 hour day(in bay times) start and ends when they leave this grip house and come to set. Not a big deal if it is relatively close, but if it’s an hour drive both ways, then likely you’ve just shortened your day significantly.

Camera Rental houses

After you’ve locked down your Grip and electric team, you may also need a crew in the camera department. We’d recommend checking out Chater Camera’s crew list. You might also consider Element camera. Whether you need a 1st AC, 2nd AC, camera PA or even a Director of photography, they’ve got a chalk full list of the crew for you to pick from. One thing to keep in mind with your crew is likely that the department heads will be able to help you source people to work under them. This means that your Director of photography likely already has a list of 1st assistant cameras to help them or even other support they may need. You’ve got to tread a fine line between being overbearing with your crew and letting them have free reign. It’s you who are likely paying them, but it’s them who are actually doing the work.

At a minimum, we’d recommend having a conversation with each crew member just to discuss rates and expectations for the job. Especially if you are not going to have them sign a deal memo. We recommend at a minimum putting the day rate and the terms in a text message such that you both have a copy of it. Since most of the local productions in the San Francisco bay area are nonunion, it makes sense that there really isn’t a perfect standard. Other than lunch needs to be before 6 hours and the days are usually 10 hour workdays. There are also other subtleties such as if you give a thirty-minute or an hour lunch or if that adds on to the end of the day.

Production Services locations

The last place we’d recommend finding a San Francisco video production crew would be at production services locations. The biggest one in the SF bay area would be Ranahan production services. And while they are primarily known for their rentals, they also have an extensive crew list. This crew list is likely in the production support sector, such as a production assistant or a production coordinator. They’ll help you get the production rentals you need and find a talented support team to make it happen! You might be asking, what is edutainment?

We hope this article gave you some insight on where to find San Francisco video production crew. Likely you’ll need to source many crew for your bay area production and it may just be easier to hire a local production company to handle it all. If you are looking for a talented a San Francisco Video production crew? We’ve got a large list of talent to help out. Contact us today!