"This film budgeting template was made in Google Drive to make it easier to edit and share.". On larger film sets it is the, For instance, perhaps you are hoping to make a, As such, your desired outcome for your film can help determine what range of budget you need when you fill out your, Some questions you need to consider are - How are you hoping to fund your film? It’s likely there will be several re-drafts of your budget during the making of your film. The most expensive costs are likely going to be your cast and crew wages. Professional Film Budgeting for Finance & Production, Consulting. You can find our more detailed advice for breaking down a script here. This guide is here to show you the important elements that you need to consider when estimating your film's budget. The editing process will likely take several months even for a low-budget - you will have to discuss the turn over with your editor to have a more clear idea of how long this process will take. You are missing half the cost of making movies. Effects-heavy sequences are not. Budget Domestic Gross Worldwide Gross; 1: Apr 23, 2019: Avengers: Endgame: $400,000,000: $858,373,000: $2,797,800,564: 2: May 20, 2011: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: $379,000,000: $241,063,875: $1,045,663,875: 3: Apr 22, 2015: Avengers: Age of Ultron: $365,000,000: $459,005,868: $1,396,099,202: 4: Dec 16, 2015: Star Wars Ep. Depending on the project, story rights may also need to be obtained (for example, if you are making a film based on an adaption of a book, video game, or play). © 2020 NONETWORK, LLC. Your crew breakdown will typically include directors, producers, camera team, sound team, gaffing and electric, art department, craft services, hair and makeup, wardrobe, transportation, location management, property management, etc. Costume – Every actor appearing in your film will need costumes bought or made for them. There are also some extra costs that might arise during pre-production. much easier. It's easy to spot on our script breakdown template. As a composer, would like know more about how music gets budgeted. Always overestimate the cost, so that you don’t get caught out later, additionally have some cash leftover for petty cash expenses during filming. A film budget breakdown should fit your movie like a glove. Production costs (cameras/equipment, actor salaries, crew, location) will probably be the most substantial, 50 percent or more. Major Hollywood films typically shoot about one page per day. Have a look at costs for camera hire, check out the cost of a local catering service. Music Composer/Music Rights/Sound Design – Even if your film is low-budget you will need to have permission for all music used. However, if you are an independent producer (or don’t have a software budget), you can do this for free. You may also be required to pay for several rehearsal/prep days. Then there is self-distribution, you may wish to organize your own cinema screenings or DVD sales. Determine how many pages you will be shooting each day, and create a basic shooting schedule. You will need to reimburse make-up artists for the cost of any specialist make-up (such as fake blood). Typically, the distribution costs of a film are not included in the budget breakdown. The budget. Also, keep in mind the larger the crew, the slower the shooting days can become. Locations – Obtaining and gaining permission for locations can be expensive. –  You will likely need to purchase several hard drives for your film. SWIT's New Pocket Battery is Light Enough for Drones and Gimbals, Yet Still Packs Punch, How Quarantine Actually Helped Us Get a Theatrical Release, How to Nail Your Festival Premiere in the Time of COVID, You're Going to Have to Pay More to Watch 'The Office' Past Season 2, 100 different ways to get your film funded. You may have several scenes in the same location that can be shot on the same day. A good rule of thumb is to budget your shooting days to go at least 12 hours, no matter what, especially on independent films. Are there any notable props in your film that need to be created or bought. Because actors won’t likely work full days in front of the camera for every day they work, multiply this number by a correction factor of 1.5 or even 2. If a particular location must be used to tell the story, a particular cast member becomes essential to the financing, or a special effect defines the story, then that element should be identified and its costs determined. You might also like to check out our podcast episode –, To break down your script first list all of your scenes then next to them list their locations and a brief description of the action taking place in each scene. Producer – The producer can be the highest paid crew member, they are typically the first person to get hired and the last to leave a project. On larger sets hire a professional catering service. For example, a musical feature will have a longer prep time for actors to learn songs and dance sequences. If using fake guns and weapons in a public space you will need to inform the local police before you shoot. Film crew members might have their own daily working rates and guidelines can be found on union websites. For example, a low budget film can hold it’s production department in a crew member's house. It’s likely there will be several re-drafts of your budget during the making of your film. On top of that 12 hours you budget for, factor in about 10% contingency in case you go over that. Their films and music have won numerous festival awards and have been featured by such outlets as TIME, USAToday, SPIN, Curve, Starburst, Famous Monsters, Sci-Fi, and Fangoria. That’s great, perhaps you are a producer or maybe an independent filmmaker. If the sequence requires many effects or very complex blocking or movement, quadruple the page length in each scene breakdown. Having an idea of how many production days you need will help a great deal with your film budget breakdown. Film budgeting, of course, is one of the most crucial aspects of the film process. This list is a list of key crew members you should consider -, Camera Department – Camera assistants, Key Grip, Grip assistants, Continuity, Lighting Department – Gaffer, Lighting assistants, Sound Department - Sound Mixer, Sound assistants, Art Department - Production Designer, Art Director, Art Department assistants, Assistant Directors – 1st AD,  2nd AD, on set Runners, Production Department – Line Producer, Production Manager, Production assistants, Makeup Department – Make-Up Artist, Makeup assistants, Costume Department – Costume Designer, Costume assistants, Additional – special effects supervisors, stunts coordinators, transport, drivers. What is Shutter Speed and Its Role in the Exposure Triangle? On low-budget films, you can ask actors to bring their own clothes, but it would be ideal to have copies for lead roles. How would I value that? During the early stages of pre-production, your budget breakdown is an estimate, you can re-draft later with the help of your crew and production staff. You mention VFX but there is no post-production budget. This brings us back to the last section, you need to decide what type of film you are hoping to make, and what type of filming experience you want to have. Low and micro-budget films may shoot eight or more pages per day. There’s so much in a film budget (in the production side especially) that isn’t relevant for animated movies. To figure out how much all of these elements cost you will need to do some research. So, there you have it. And how much time are you willing to spend acquiring that funding? Michael J. Epstein is a Los-Angeles-based filmmaker, musician, and writer. You also now have an estimate of how many days of filming you need for each actor. The Finance Plan of a Film — A Breakdown. – Your director is the creative force and vision behind your film. Lena Dunham’s breakout film Tiny Furniture (2010) had a budget of $50,000, while Tangerine, the 2015 Sundance hit, had a budget of $100,000. Download your FREE ​Film Budget Template below.Just enter your email address and we'll instantly send it to you! They will do this by using software such as Movie Magic Budgeting, StudioBinder, Celtx or Gorilla Budgeting. Catering – How many heads are you feeding? Best Spaghetti Western Movies of All-Time (Ranked), Arri Alexa Mini — The Camera of Choice for Hollywood DPs, Rules of Shot Composition in Film: A Definitive Guide, What is a DIT in Film — Definition, Job Description, and Salary. Film Production Budget Template Best Practices. The SAG Low Budget Agreement applies to films with budgets between $700,000 and $2,500,000, making this the SAG pay scale of most independent films. Film budgeting refers to the process by which a line producer, unit production manager, or production accountant prepares a budget for a film production. Import scripts. Check out our basic guidelines to help make sure you don't run afoul of your team on this. – Your editor's wage will likely be the largest cost during post-production. I think it is fundamental that we embrace other models, like Nollywood and South Korea. Director of Photography – The DOP is traditionally put below-the-line, however, they are an integral part of the production. Paying Everybody Fairly Look for the marks on your scene breakdown for vehicles and animals. Accommodation might need to be paid for several cast and crew. Typically screenwriters get 2% of the film's production budget, their payment will need to be negotiated before you start work on the film. Depending on the project, story rights may also need to be obtained (for example, if you are making a film based on an adaption of a book, video game, or play). You might also like to check out our podcast episode – 100 different ways to get your film funded. – Obtaining and gaining permission for locations can be expensive. – The DOP is traditionally put below-the-line, however, they are an integral part of the production. The independent feature film took 24 days to shoot in and around London. Production Design – Set design is often overlooked on indies but can make all the difference on screen. Hair and Make-up – Depending on your genre you might have a large budget towards make-up. Consider each scene in your film and how much money you be dedicating to set design. During the early stages of pre-production, your budget breakdown is an estimate, you can re-draft later with the help of your crew and production staff. The cost of costume will once again depend on the genre of the film. First up, we collated a dataset of 107 budgets, ranging from micro-budget movies right up to Hollywood studio tentpoles, to give you a sense of how budgets change as they increase. Now that you have an idea of how many days you will be filming, you can begin to break down your film production budget. On larger film sets all expenses will be covered, on low-budgets, you will need to discuss fuel expenses with crew before production. This budget includes the deferred salaries of all the crew, including a line producer. On low-budget films, you can ask actors to bring their own clothes, but it would be ideal to have copies for lead roles. Investors require a real film budget to finance. This following section will go through some of the key areas you need to be thinking about during this stage in your budget breakdown. We’re in a golden age of TV writing and development. I am not saying that you can’t make a hit micro-budget film. Creating a budget breakdown, and revising that breakdown throughout the filmmaking process will help keep your expenses under check. Based on your shoots pages per day, calculate how many days each cast member will be needed. Your email address will not be published. Useful but do you have any templates for animation? – Film equipment is expensive as such make sure you get the proper insurance needed to cover you if anything breaks. Very helpful & really put together well. VFX, Budget your VFX and then you won’t have a movie you can’t budget! A contemporary drama will cost less in production design than a sci-fi. But yeah finding info on animated movie budgeting on the web is proving a challenge! – The producer can be the highest paid crew member, they are typically the first person to get hired and the last to leave a project. Director – Your director is the creative force and vision behind your film. When there is extremely great detail, treat the scene breakdown as shorter than the page count. Script breakdown software can give you the information you need, but at the end of the day, you still have to weigh each element accordingly to your individual production needs. A budget is typically divided into four sections: … This comprehensive guide and free, So, you’re planning to make a film. You will need to reimburse make-up artists for the cost of any specialist make-up (such as fake blood). On many sets, the editor or assistant editor will be cutting footage alongside the shoot. When it comes to the glitz and glamour of the movie biz, most people don’t mention film production budget planning–try saying that three times fast. It is critical that the budget is in alignment with your schedule and script. Count background actor days by doing a count of where they’re featured on your script breakdown sheet (template), with each strip multiplied by the number of actors. Whatever your job role and desired budget, this following guide will go through all of the areas of budgeting that you need to examine from pre-production to distribution. As good as your film budget breakdown is, it can't replace the experience of your department heads. For instance, if your script comes in around 90 pages and you’re shooting 5 pages per day, that means you’ll need your crew for 18 days. The majority of films are shot out of sequence. It will help ensure that all the tasks involved in the making of the film are on track. Like stunts, these elements will require special estimates for appropriate crew, rental, insurance, etc. Equipment/Insurance – Film equipment is expensive as such make sure you get the proper insurance needed to cover you if anything breaks. Movie budgeting contains the key information that you must have for your production. You may also need to hire out an office space for your post-production team. First, let’s look at the 7 basic Independent Movie Budgets. For larger budgets hire a PR team, major festivals recommended that even smaller productions hire a sales agent. By listing all of these elements, you can begin to estimate your film budget. Reconnaissance and Prep – likely several key crew members will be attending recon/tech scout meetings. No matter what your budget, there is always one constant: creating a budget for your film should surely guarantee that every dollar will be spent wisely. It merely provides a standard breakdown of the various would-be expenses in the production of such short films. Even on a low-budget contemporary film, you will need a make-up artist for applying basic cover-up and for keeping the actor's continuity in check. This document, which could be over 130 pages long, is used to secure financing for and lead to pre-production and production of the film. 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