How exactly do you determine a budget? I'm not quite sure I understand it all. What things do/don't you count when figuring out how much your movie costs. AlterEGOconema said in his post that his film had a budget of 4 dollars. How does that work? I don't get what I should count when making my first short, which I'm working on right now.
Budgets
- Thread starter Mr. Blonde
- Start date
I would say count whatever you want...
It depends on your estimate of what you think you'll need to spend in each phase of pre-production, production and post-production. You might set aside a certain amount for costumes, then a certain amount for food, then for paying the actors, equipment, stages and props, editing software, etc. The budget is the total amount of all these.
Count whatever you want to count. Unless you're taking your budget to some money men to get financing then it really doesn't matter.
And even if you are, count whatever you want to count. Let's say you own a camera, but will 'rent' it to the production, you can do that, thereby increasing your needed budget.
And even if you are, count whatever you want to count. Let's say you own a camera, but will 'rent' it to the production, you can do that, thereby increasing your needed budget.
If you are inexperienced, you may be able to find a budget template (or ask someone to look at a detailed budget), and that way, you can look at the list of costs you will encounter. Find out how much each will cost you, and enter that number. If you will not encounter that cost, put 0. Do this for pre, pro, and post. Always pad the budget for unexpected costs!
indietalk said:Always pad the budget for unexpected costs!
Haha, seriously. Better to have too much money than too little, especially if you can get some outside funding along the way. Of course, make sure to keep good records of how your spend your money; all that extra cash can get to your head.
There is a really good book on film budgeting called "Low Budget Hollywood," sorry I don't have anymore details than that, as I gave my last copy away to another film maker as a present.
A budget is really just a slightly more complicated shopping list, you write down everything that you need to make the film, actors, tape stock, costume, lights, locations, catering, insurance, props, editing, soundtrack, contracts(legal) etc and then you find out how much each of them will cost.
If your actors are working for free, then you put a zero next to actors on your list. However, free might mean you have to feed them and provide transport, so you have to put an estimated figure against those costs.
When you've done all your research, you add up the figure and then add another 15% on top. That's your contingency budget, the budget you go to when your free lighting kit breaks down and you have to hire one in.
The trick with budgets is to make sure that you get every, single, potential cost nailed down and that means having more than one person do the script breakdown with you, to make sure that you haven't overlooked anything.
For me, on a lo/no budget film, the key expenditure is always catering, petrol and insurance, pretty much everything else you can hussle for free.
A well fed crew will be more committed to the project and won't bail half way through the shoot. Having proper insurance means never having to hand your house over to the court.
A budget is really just a slightly more complicated shopping list, you write down everything that you need to make the film, actors, tape stock, costume, lights, locations, catering, insurance, props, editing, soundtrack, contracts(legal) etc and then you find out how much each of them will cost.
If your actors are working for free, then you put a zero next to actors on your list. However, free might mean you have to feed them and provide transport, so you have to put an estimated figure against those costs.
When you've done all your research, you add up the figure and then add another 15% on top. That's your contingency budget, the budget you go to when your free lighting kit breaks down and you have to hire one in.
The trick with budgets is to make sure that you get every, single, potential cost nailed down and that means having more than one person do the script breakdown with you, to make sure that you haven't overlooked anything.
For me, on a lo/no budget film, the key expenditure is always catering, petrol and insurance, pretty much everything else you can hussle for free.
A well fed crew will be more committed to the project and won't bail half way through the shoot. Having proper insurance means never having to hand your house over to the court.
When I first started doing budgets, I was always optimistic and under budgeted. The first feature I did, we went 20% over budget because of this. Always build in at least a 10% contingency.
A good book is: Independent Feature Film Production
by Gregory Goodell. It was my bible when I first started and cleaned up my budgets. Also Michael Wiese books are good.
Scott
A good book is: Independent Feature Film Production
by Gregory Goodell. It was my bible when I first started and cleaned up my budgets. Also Michael Wiese books are good.
Scott