Useful links

We're always on hand to answer your questions, on the daily helpdesk or WhatsApp groups, but you can find out a lot about Filmbase on these pages:

About Filmbase https://www.filmbase.uk/About-us

FAQs page https://www.filmbase.uk/faq

Get in touch help@filmbase.uk

Members' sections and WhatsApp group links

These Hub sections of the website have valuable advice about each department, what individual roles in each department do and lots more.

Art Dept Hub https://www.filmbase.uk/Members-section-Art

Set Dec Hub https://www.filmbase.uk/Members-Section-SetDec

Props Hub https://www.filmbase.uk/Members-Section-Props

Rates info and Bectu ratecards

Our Rate Calculator will help you in negotiations for jobs. We update it as per each of the Bectu ratecards, which you can also see here. The ratecards are put together by volunteer crew, who send out a survey asking people to submit the highest and lowest rates they've been paid over the last year in their particular role. If you're ever sent the survey, it's well worth filling it in - the more representative the ratecards, the more powerful they are for all crew.

Art Dept Rate Calculator https://www.filmbase.uk/ArtDept-Rates

Set Dec Rate Calculator https://www.filmbase.uk/Rates-SetDec

Props Rate Calculator https://www.filmbase.uk/Rates-Props

Job Alerts

Job Alerts are emailed to your inbox - that's the only way you can apply for a job advertised through Filmbase. You'll receive Job Alert emails according to the experience and roles you've ticked on your Filmbase Profile. However, so everyone can keep track of what's going on out there, we list the Job Alerts on these pages too:

Most recent Job Alerts https://www.filmbase.uk/Job-Alerts/ (reminder - you can’t apply via this page, it’s just so you can see what’s going on out there!)

Filmbase Instagram also has all our Job Alerts and other news https://www.instagram.com/filmbase.uk/?hl=en

Info pages on Filmbase

Our info and news pages are updated regularly with industry developments that may affect crew, plus particular info to support you as you start your career.

Industry update 2026 and what productions are starting up https://www.filmbase.uk/industry-update-2026

How you can find out what productions are starting up and what to do then https://www.filmbase.uk/page-18708

What programs to learn for the Art Dept https://www.filmbase.uk/News-24-02-09/

What can you show in your portfolio? https://www.filmbase.uk/News-24-03-23/

Finance tips

The UK Government's Making Tax Digital scheme comes in this April, affecting Sole Traders. You can read more about it on this page by David Thomas Media: https://davidthomasmedia.com/freestuff/making-tax-digital/

Finance tips for freelance crew https://davidthomasmedia.com/freestuff/

Don't miss our webinar coming up with David Thomas in March!

IMDB tips

Getting your credits listed can be less than straightforward at times, but it's 100% worth it, as most HODs will check out your IMDB right away if you get in touch.

How to get your credits listed and more https://www.filmbase.uk/faq (scroll down for IMDB section) or on IMDB's help pages here

Q&A - some of the questions that came up in the webinar

Which Job Alerts go to ‘New to the Industry’ members?

The Job Alerts with the graduate motarboard symbol go to our New to the Industry (NTI) members. The ones with the two-star symbol go to Accredited members. The hirer always chooses either NTI or Accredited, or both, depending on the level of experience they’re looking for. On the Job Alert pictured above, you can see both NTI and Accredited symbols. 

Do Dailies count as credits?

Dailies can mean you did one day helping out, in which case it wouldn’t count as a credit. Dailies can also last for several weeks or months - the longer your stint and the more substantial your work, the more likely it’ll be counted. If you spent three weeks folding maps, it might not count. If you did several weeks’ draughting or worked as a full Assistant for a month, that’s more likely to be a full credit. The person to ask about this is your HOD and the Line Producer. If it’s a Dailies credit, then that’s normally specified on IMDB against your name.

What else can you do to help yourself get noticed on Filmbase?

Some HODs prefer to browse our Crew Directory (you can browse the Art Dept Directory here) instead of putting out a Job Alert. So keeping your Filmbase Profile up to date with any training courses you’ve done, and all your credits, is vital. You can log into your Profile via the homepage. Contact us if you need any assistance with your Profile, or if we can offer any advice.

Where to network?

Filmbase puts on networking evenings, introducing seniors to junior, and we’ll have one this spring. Keep an eye on our WhatsApp groups, as well as UK crew Facebook groups, for other networking opportunities around the country. The Film and TV Charity sometimes has networking events, as do Film London. 

The latest episode has not yet aired yet, so I can't get my credit listed on IMDB. What to do?

You can’t get a listing until the right episode is there. You can ask the Line Producer when it might appear, if you have their contact still. Otherwise it’s very unusual for IMDB to not list productions and/or episodes as they come out or are about to come out. You can list many productions as ‘Upcoming’ on IMDB if it’s in post-production.

Why are word-of-mouth job referrals so commonplace - and more jobs aren’t advertised?

That’s how hiring in TV and film has always been done and still is to a large degree. Filmbase was set up in 2020 to move away from this old-school approach. We’re persuading more and more HODs to use Filmbase all the time, but many jobs still go via word-of-mouth and nowadays WhatsApp group recommendations are often used. As you move on in your career, you’ll get more and more jobs via your own contacts, but the Filmbase Job Alerts system is an easy and relatively low-cost way to keep tabs on opportunities you don’t hear of through your own circles.

Can you do work experience on productions?

NDAs mean this is difficult and often not offered. The same goes for film and TV suppliers, who are often working on confidential material for forthcoming productions - their staff must sign NDAs in order to work there.

Does unscripted work count as a credit?

We support crew in scripted drama and HODs in this world will be looking for very specific experience in scripted drama. The particular skillset required for each role is often so niche that they’ll only accept scripted drama credits. However, if you can get in front of an HOD and explain that what you did on, say, The Apprentice, was in fact relevant to working in an Art Dept on Bridgerton, then go for it! You should list those unscripted credits just the same as your drama ones.

Why I am ‘New to the Industry’ when I’ve got years of experience in another department?

The term really means ‘new to the department’. For the same reason as the answer above, most of the time we have to classify people as ‘new’ if they’re moving departments, just because the skills are so different from department to department. In this case, the best thing you can do is utilise your own contacts. Otherwise we always recommend spending time doing a couple of junior roles so you can demonstrate experience in your new department, before moving up the ladder. You can add info to your Filmbase Profile to show your previous experience.

Is there a difference between roles labelled ‘junior’?

Not necessarily in day-to-day tasks - so don’t get hung up on whether you’re a Trainee, Assistant or Runner. To begin with, it's best to just go for any of those jobs that you see! Once you’re on the job, you can end up doing anything, although an Assistant will generally be expected to be a more skilled professional than the other two (and some Assistants are very skilled, doing Draughting as well). There is, however, a difference in rate between the junior roles. You can see what each role should be paid on our Rate Calculator pages in the Hub sections.

Does a traineeship counts as credit?

If you’ve worked as, for instance, an Art Dept Trainee, then sure, that’s a credit. But a traineeship at ScreenSkills or another organisation does not count - although if it’s a well-regarded traineeship, then it may well count towards you getting a job.

Is it common for industry people to use IMDB Pro to contact each other?

It’s not common and as a crew member you don’t necessarily need a Pro account. You can have all your credits listed and visible without a Pro account.

And finally always please send us an email if you have any questions - we're here to help!