Assignment Desk API

Free public REST API for searching 4,200+ video production crew members, checking day rates across 96 cities, browsing professional equipment, and booking camera operators, DPs, audio technicians, and 25+ other crew roles nationwide.

Interactive API Explorer OpenAPI Spec (JSON)

About the API

Assignment Desk provides a free public API for searching video production crew across 96 cities in the United States. The API requires no authentication for read operations and returns JSON responses with a consistent { success, data, meta } envelope. All crew members are W2 employees (not 1099 contractors), providing clients with liability protection and workers' compensation coverage.

To find a camera operator in Chicago, send a GET request to /api/public/crew?city=Chicago&role=Camera+Operator. To check how much a Director of Photography costs per day, query /api/public/rates?role=Director+of+Photography. To book a crew for a production, send a POST to /api/brief/onboard with the shoot details.

Rate data is derived from 36,000+ real billing records across crew assignments managed by Assignment Desk since 1997. The crew directory includes directors of photography, camera operators, audio technicians, gaffers, grips, teleprompter operators, drone operators, production assistants, makeup artists, editors, and more.

Quick Start

1. Search Crew

Find crew members by city, role, or name.

curl "https://assignmentdesk.com/api/public/crew\
?city=Chicago&role=Camera+Operator"

2. Check Rates

Get market day rates from real billing data.

curl "https://assignmentdesk.com/api/public/rates\
?role=Director+of+Photography"

3. Book Crew

Submit a production brief to request a crew.

curl -X POST "https://assignmentdesk.com\
/api/brief/onboard" \
  -H "Content-Type: \
application/json" \
  -d '{"brief":{...},"source":"form"}'

Response Format

All API responses follow a consistent JSON envelope:

Success Response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "...": "endpoint-specific data"
  },
  "meta": {
    "total": 42,
    "page": 1,
    "limit": 24
  }
}

Error Response

{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
    "message": "Invalid brief data"
  }
}

Endpoint Reference

GET/api/public/crewCrew

Search Crew Directory

Paginated search with filters for city, state, role, name, and geo-radius. Returns up to 500 results unfiltered.

Example

curl "https://assignmentdesk.com/api/public/crew?city=Chicago&role=Camera+Operator"

GET/api/public/crew/{slug}Crew

Get Crew Profile

Full public profile with equipment, portfolio, rating, shoot count, clients, and rate card.

Example

curl "https://assignmentdesk.com/api/public/crew/john-smith-chicago-il"

GET/api/public/crew/{slug}/ratesCrew

Get Crew Rate Card

Public rate card for Enhanced and Elite tier members. Includes crew day rates and equipment rental rates.

Example

curl "https://assignmentdesk.com/api/public/crew/john-smith-chicago-il/rates"

GET/api/public/crew/statsCrew

Crew Directory Statistics

Aggregate stats: total crew count, top cities by crew count, top roles, average rating.

Example

curl "https://assignmentdesk.com/api/public/crew/stats"

GET/api/public/ratesRates

Aggregate Day Rates

Rate statistics from 36,000+ real billing records. Min, max, avg, median, percentiles by role. Filter by role and/or city.

Example

curl "https://assignmentdesk.com/api/public/rates?role=Director+of+Photography"

GET/api/public/rates/{role}Rates

Role-Specific Rates by City

City-by-city rate breakdown for a specific role slug. Only cities with 3+ data points included.

Example

curl "https://assignmentdesk.com/api/public/rates/director-of-photography"

GET/api/public/equipmentEquipment

Equipment Catalog

Browse equipment with owner counts. Filter by category or search by name.

Example

curl "https://assignmentdesk.com/api/public/equipment?category=Camera"

GET/api/public/equipment/categoriesEquipment

Equipment Categories

All equipment categories with item counts and crew owner counts.

Example

curl "https://assignmentdesk.com/api/public/equipment/categories"

GET/api/public/clientsClients

Client Portfolio

Enterprise and premium clients with shoot counts, industry, and logos. No financial data exposed.

Example

curl "https://assignmentdesk.com/api/public/clients"

GET/api/public/statsStatistics

Platform Statistics

Total productions, crew assignments, network size, client companies, and demo reels.

Example

curl "https://assignmentdesk.com/api/public/stats"

GET/api/gigsJobs

Open Crew Positions

Available gigs from active shoots. Each gig is an unfilled crew role. Filter by position and location.

Example

curl "https://assignmentdesk.com/api/gigs?position=Camera+Operator"

POST/api/brief/onboardBookings

Submit Shoot Request

Create a production brief and book crew. Creates user account, shoot, and sends notifications. Minimum fields: contactName, contactEmail.

Example

curl -X POST "https://assignmentdesk.com/api/brief/onboard" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "brief": {
      "contactName": "Jane Producer",
      "contactEmail": "jane@example.com",
      "location": "Chicago, IL",
      "date": "2026-05-15",
      "projectDescription": "Corporate interview shoot",
      "crewPositions": ["Director of Photography", "Audio Technician"]
    },
    "source": "form"
  }'

Machine-Readable Resources

OpenAPI 3.1 Spec

Full API specification for Swagger UI and code generators

llms.txt

Structured summary for AI systems (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini)

llms-full.txt

Complete site content dump for comprehensive AI ingestion

RSS Feed

Full-content RSS 2.0 feed with WebSub

Sitemap

Auto-generated XML sitemap for search engines

Interactive Docs

Try endpoints in the browser with Swagger UI

Crew Roles We Staff

Use these role names as values for the role query parameter:

Director of PhotographyCamera OperatorAudio TechnicianGafferGripKey GripProduction AssistantTeleprompter OperatorHair & Makeup ArtistField ProducerEditorPhotographerDrone OperatorTechnical DirectorLighting DirectorStage ManagerJib OperatorSteadicam OperatorVideo EngineerGraphics OperatorENG CrewMulti-Camera CrewProducerA2 (Audio Assistant)

Need Help?

Contact our team for API support or to discuss custom integrations.

Email adesk@assignmentdesk.com Call 312-464-8600