A Waste Of The Budget

Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC

Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC

Anyone ever feel that part of their budget really got thrown away and could have been put to better use?

In the previous production to my current one, I really felt I wasted money on a Jib Arm because we never used it.

Also, I bought a generator that only worked for 8 minutes and never worked again that was supposed to be brand new.

In my current production, I feel I spent too much money on video game seats we used for the spaceship interiors for a one day shoot. Although, they do help to make the ship interiors look good. I would have loved to put a good portion of that money back into the food budget. The cast was really good and understanding about it, however. Some didn't like all the barbacues we had for them, even though some actors helped with the shopping of the food for the barbacues and I gave them the money for the stuff they brought with them. I provided what I could.

Also, I believe I threw money away on a stunt coordinator I had to fire because every actress in the production hated his abusive mouth. And, he was clueless in coming up with fights for cyborgs because he refused to read the character sheets I gave him on the characters and refused to follow the script.

Anyonr else have stories they want to share?
 
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I hate spending money on gasoline to get to and from set. I wish I could spend that $50 gas-fill-up on something else for the film! Every time I get to the pump... I'm like... ahhh what could have been.

But you are right.. those specialty items that you cannot rent (so you have to buy) are a major bummer sometimes.
 
True.

I know Hollywood has a big waste percentage. A friend showed me an article where a guy in California makes a living renting props he pulls out of the garbage of Hollywood sets.

I'm saving all of our laser gun props for the future and asked the cyborgs and Amazons to save their costumes for the future.

I let the cast keep the video game seats. Only 2 went in the garbage.

As I've said, I have a topnotch stunt coordinator / actor lined up for IC3 with over 20 years of experience working in studio productions to fix the problem with stunt coordinators. The one in this last production is the third one I had to fire for making the cast life miserable and they can't follow scripts.

Anyone else have stories of waste in their productions?
 
Mine is very minor, but because of my low budgets any money that gets "wasted" is unfortunate. In my case, while looking for lighting, I found 3 table lamps which I found I could use for various lighting situations-the problem (I didn't think it at the time) was they were the ones with the "glass/ceramic" type bodies.

Due to my own dumbness in less than a week I busted all three of them....it wasn't an entire waste thankfully-I found the crunching glass made for a good sound effect.

The lamps techinically still work, but now all that is left is thin tubes which hold the lamps up, not very sturdy-feel like I wasted money when I could have (and have since) bought more durable lamps.
 
The biggest "waste" I've spent was on cheap gear. You get what you pay for. Now I still look for deals, but I save up and get the legit stuff because you end up having to replace cheap parts anyway, why pay twice.
 
Deciding how to use your budget is just as tough as gaining it in the first place. There's so many "hidden costs" that all have to be discussed.

It's always best to get your crew weeks/months before production to ldicuss together, what they need in their area. You always miss something, and it's ALWAYS best to get a second opinion.

We've all been there.

You can never move on, if you're still holding on. Onwards and upwards.
 
Space ships AND cyborg brawls?!

Not a filmmaker, but that sounds awesome. Sorry the budget hasn't gone as planned.

Is it too tacky to use things and then return them to the store? Not sure if that's ethical, but my older sister used to be a model, and she would often buy dresses and return them at the end of the day (I don't think we were poor, but we didn't have a lot of money).

I have one of those gaming chairs you're talking about - are you talking about The Rocker?

EDIT - my chair was aroung $90... not cheap, and a few of those would add up pretty quickly...

:I
 
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My biggest waste was spending nearly 100 buckd to remake fishing vests into swat tactic vests... We ended up using only 15 secs on the shot and showed just a shoulder strap... Never doing that again... But over tall I just bum stuff around lol
 
Yes, the rocker variety.

My DP has the spaceship models.

Many sleepless nights editing.

Back on track, the breakaway axes would not have been used if the stunt coordinator stayed on.

I have 3 left. They got shattered over the vambraces of the cyborgs as they blocked the axe attacks of the silver demon hunters. The stunt coordinator who got fired wanted them to duck from the axes. The cyborgs shrug off missile axes with missiles exploding over their chest. So, why duck from axes when the axes will only break over them? I took out set insurance to shoot the axes break on the vambraces and I made damn sure I got the shots.
 
Again, although I'm not a filmmaker, I have a close relationship with the guy who directed this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnZTVqhYrL0


There's a funny story behind this video and this entire band that I would love to share some time.

But, on topic, the director of this music video (against his better judgement; the singer of the band somehow convinced him) spent, nay, pissed away tens of thousands of dollars on a scene that didn't even get used.

You see all those cuts where the band is on a football field? Well, originally, in the middle of the field, they were on a stage, surrounded by screaming fans.

There was an expectation of A LOT of screaming fans. The thing was catered, multiple insurances were bought, porta-toilets were rented, permits were bought, private security was rented, and so on and so forth.

In the end, there were not a whole lot of people, and the footage of them was pretty lame...

A lot of wasted money, and I don't know how I feel about the band either... :lol:
 
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I don't think about the waste, it would piss me off.

But, how come people didn't like the barbeques? That's a treat. Most people don't get to barbeque all the time.
 
I wasted money buying a cheap Smith-Victor light kit. While we use the mess outta them, I'm starting to gradually replace them with ARRI heads. Also bought a super-cheap boom arm. Serious waste of money since it will barely even handle a small ARRI 150. Plus, the handle already broke due to the use of PLASTIC SCREWS. You get what you pay for!

I thought buying a 14ft jib was a waste, but we are starting to use it more. I don't want to throw in crane shots just because I can, so I use it sparingly. It's going to help get a cool shot for the short we're filming next month.
 
voodoogmr said:
I wasted money buying a cheap Smith-Victor light kit. While we use the mess outta them, I'm starting to gradually replace them with ARRI heads. Also bought a super-cheap boom arm. Serious waste of money since it will barely even handle a small ARRI 150. Plus, the handle already broke due to the use of PLASTIC SCREWS. You get what you pay for!

I thought buying a 14ft jib was a waste, but we are starting to use it more. I don't want to throw in crane shots just because I can, so I use it sparingly. It's going to help get a cool shot for the short we're filming next month.
Click to expand...

I've done that too.
 
benUndine said:
Space ships AND cyborg brawls?!

Not a filmmaker, but that sounds awesome. Sorry the budget hasn't gone as planned.

Is it too tacky to use things and then return them to the store? Not sure if that's ethical, but my older sister used to be a model, and she would often buy dresses and return them at the end of the day (I don't think we were poor, but we didn't have a lot of money).

I have one of those gaming chairs you're talking about - are you talking about The Rocker?

EDIT - my chair was aroung $90... not cheap, and a few of those would add up pretty quickly...

:I
Click to expand...

More about it here:

http://www.cvkproductions.com/ICreator2Promo.html

Rough Cut to the intro here:

http://vimeo.com/26823357

Password is membersonly

Nick and John gave some great input to help it along.

PromoPhoto.jpg
 
Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC said:
Some of my actors are very picky about food.
Click to expand...

Oh, okay. Yeah, I always ask in advance if anyone has a preference. With most I try to stress "You like pizza right?" But, I usually end up taking them to nice places.

Nearing the end of Us Sinners, we'd had Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Mexican and everything else you can think of. I asked what does everyone want? They all wanted Burger King. Go figure.
 
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