BUDGETING

​

All films, no matter what their size, need a budget. The producing team will have to create a budget plan, so it is wise to decide what sort of film you are making, for example some platforms require that certain cameras are used. Here is a guide from Netflix on their requirements:

​

https://partnerhelp.netflixstudios.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000579527-Cameras-and-Image-Capture

​

Start by reading the script!

​

Tips:

​

• a feature film aims to shoot one page of script per day, most productions average 5 pages per day

• not all scenes are to be budgeted for equally. A scene with stunts will take longer to film than a scene with dialogue

• group your scenes by location so that they are shot together. This may not flow in the order of the script but will save money

• group shots by actors, so they can shoot scenes together

• swap night for day, this lessens lighting costs

• factor in a few prep days and pickup days. If the scenes are dance-heavy for example the cast will need to rehearse more

• a working day can be 12 hours long, account for that in crew and cast payment

• prepare to be flexible!

​

​

Costs

​

Pre-Production

• office space

• print and paper

• internet

• recce and preparation costs

• rehearsal days

• prop locating and buying

​

Production

• crew

• cast

• CGI involves heavy costs

• insurance

• equipment hire

• location hire

• costume

• production design

• hair and makeup

• transport

• accommodation

• catering

​

Post-Production

• editor 

• editing equipment hire

• assistants - foley artist, colour grader, visual effects

• hard drives and storage

• musicians, composers, music copyrights, sound design

​

Distribution

• film festivals

• going to festivals

• hiring a cinema

• holding screenings

• encoding

• foreign dubbing and subtitles

• duplication e.g. DVD copies

​

​

​

Preparation

• create a business plan so that you can approach investors

• put together your sales estimates

• build a great synopsis and collect high-quality photos

• write press releases

• look at film markets

• research film festivals for your genre

• learn how sales agents work

• set out your legal contracts for cast and crew

• look at tax and tax relief

​

​

​

PremiumBeat compare film budgets $10K vs 100K vs 500K here:

 

https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/feature-film-budgets-compared/

​

The Numbers has a list of film budgets on their database here:

​

https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/budgets/all

​
 

Before you start: Read and go through the script. 

 

Use colour codes and highlighters to mark out what is needed, for example:

Costume

Makeup

Set dressing

Special Equipment

Props

Special Effects

Music

Sound

Security

Additional labour

Cast

Extras

Vehicles

Catering

​

You can then group together costs and research prices.

 

​

​

The costs

 

You can create a rough budget by getting an idea of what things cost well in advance. Hire cost for vehicles, animal trainers if animals are involved, numbers for catering etc

 

​

Contacting the right people

 

It is never too early to enquire about film elements. Gain quotes by talking to people. Use your negotiation skills to try and gain better deals, rad up on the locality to enhance your local knowledge to help with negotiations. 

 

​

The flow of money

 

The budget needs to go to different departments, and this is a fine balance between who needs it the most and who can do without. This is where the managing side of being a producer comes in, the one pot of money needs to be sent wisely where needed, budgets for each department need to be tweaked more often than not, which means some gain and some loss sadly, but the main goal from that one pot always remains the same. Don’t forget to budget for post production! As it is the process near the end it can be forgotten about, especially colour grading, music and sound, but along with other parts of the filmmaking process it needs funds like the rest.

 

​

Anything is possible

 

You may not have a lot to spend, but if it is in the story and you need it, there will be ways to do a version of it to keep the story flowing. It may lack in quality but if it gives the idea then go with it. 

 

​

Compromise and create a balance

 

Every person on the film crew is important and every department is equal, without one element the film does not get made. Everyone helps each other, it is a balance that requires compromise.

 

​

Size of film crew

 

A film crew can have one person or hundreds of people. Some examples;

 

One man crew Bob Kirst:

https://www.desktop-documentaries.com/gear-kit-for-a-one-man-documentary-film-crew.html

 

Iron Man 3 had 3,310 members.

 

The average crew number is 558.

 

More data can be found from Stephen Follows as he breaks down crew numbers into departments:

https://stephenfollows.com/how-many-people-work-on-a-hollywood-film/

 

Film Producer Jason Blum talks to Code Media about how his Blumhouse Productions make blockbusters from low budget and low risk films like Paranormal Activities:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp3BRbdArxw

 

Crowdfunding

​

Use Crowdfunding to sell your film proposal and gain an idea of its popularity.

 

Show an idea of your film, make it interesting, sell your idea, and crowdfund for help.  

Here are the main two avenues that are explored Kickstarter and Indigogo (note that these platforms take a share).

https://www.kickstarter.com/

https://www.indiegogo.com/

​

 

The top film to be crowdfunded on Kickstarter was The Veronica Mars Movie Project (2013) which gained $5.7 million through funding, with Storm Troopers 2 getting $4.6 million from fan funding on Indiegogo.

 

This guide from the Money Service Advice is all things crowdfunding; including types, risks and tax 

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/crowdfunding--what-you-need-to-know

​

​

​

Film Festivals

​

Budget for film festivals so that you can apply for at least 30 entry fees. Split them into 3 tiers; upper (international), middle (national) and lower (regional). The lower tiers are great for reviews, make friends with programmers who will push your work on social media and travel to them and get tips from filmmakers. Budget more for festival travel and accommodation.

 

​

Involve your crew more

​

Offer the option for your crew to buy in or have some shares on the final product, most definitely if they are working for free. This also makes them more vested in the project's success.

Create good contracts so that the friendships that will inevitably be tested in the stressful shooting environment are not further tested. Have someone check these over or get someone to make these for you. As you will no doubt call upon a lot of friends and family for help (catering, extras for example) you need to look after them!

​

​

Push your creativity

 

“Creativity can only exist when limitations abound”

- Jack White of The White Stripes ‘Under The Great Northern Lights’ (2009 documentary)

 

Don’t see limitations; see hurdles to get over creatively.

 

​

Number of shoot days

​

For a feature in one location, 17 production days is a good number to plan for. Don’t try and undercut this as pickups cost time and money. A script under 100 pages will result in 4-6 pages per day.

​

Have your 1st AD plan the shooting schedule around your shot list.

 

​

​

Here is the budget breakdown form available to fill in and save online or download to print off from the Download menu: 

​

​

​

​