HowtoBudgetaFilmProjectWithoutLyingtoYourself

Mostfirst-timefilmbudgetsareworksoffiction.

Notbecausethepeoplewritingthemaredishonest.Becausebudgetingafilmcorrectlyrequiresknowingwhatyoudon'tknow,andthethingsyoudon'tknowaboutfilmproductioncostmoneyinplacesthatdon'texistonanyconsumer-facingtemplate.TheGoogleSheetyoufounddoesn'thavealinefor"policeoff-dutypaybecauseweneededtoclosehalfablock."Theproduceryourfriendrecommendeddoesn'tknowyourtimelineincludesthreeholidays.Thedirector'squotedoesn'tincludethefourextrarevisionseveryonealwaysasksfor.

Arealfilmbudgetisn'taprice.It'saplanningtoolthatsurvivescontactwithreality.Here'showtobuildone.

Startwiththegoal,notthenumber

Thefirstinstinctistowritedownanumber—"wehave$50,000"—andworkbackwards.Thisproducesbudgetsthatmeannothing.

Therightstartingquestioniswhatthevideohastodo.Isitabrandfilmthathastoanchorayearofmarketing?Amusicvideothathastocompetewithsimilarreleasesinitsgenre?Ashortyou'reusingtoapplyforfestivals?Apieceofcontentyou'reshippingintwoweeks?

Eachonehasamarketrate.Aserviceablebrandfilmforamid-sizedcompanyruns$30K-$80Kdependingonscope.Amusicvideoforanartistonthecuspofamajor-labeldealruns$20K-$60K.Ashortfilmdesignedforfestivals—dependingonambition—runs$15K-$150K.

Ifyournumberiswayunderthemarketrateforwhatyou'retryingtomake,you'renotbudgeting.You'rehoping.Thebudgetcan'tfixthatmismatch—itjustexposesitearlier.

Thetwohalves:aboveandbelowtheline

Everyfilmbudgetsplitsintotwohalves,andunderstandingthesplitishalfthebattle.

Abovethelineisthecreativeleadership:director,producer,writer,keycast.Thesearethedeal-makers,paidinlumpsums(orpercentages),oftennegotiatedindependentlyoftherestofthebudget.Ona$50Kproject,ATLmightbe$10-15K—directorfee,producerfee,maybeafeaturedperformer.

Belowthelineiseverythingelse—thecrew,equipment,locations,post-production,insurance,food.Thisiswheremostofthemoneyactuallygoes,andwheremostbudgetoverrunshappen.Onthesame$50Kproject,BTListheremaining$35-40K,dividedacrossadozencategories.

Whenclientstrytocutbudgets,theyalmostalwaystrytocutabovethelinefirst.Itfeelslesspainful—you'renegotiatingafee,notcuttingadepartment.ButATLisusuallythesmallestlineonthebudget.Thesavingsarerealbutrarelychangetheshapeoftheproject.Thesavingsthatdochangetheshapelivebelowtheline,andtheycostyoumorethanmoneywhenyoucutthem.

Thecategoriesthatactuallymatter

Arealproductionbudgethasroughlytencategories.Theirrelativeweightsvarybyprojecttype,buteveryprojecthasthem.

Crew

Almostalwaysthesinglebiggestline.Atypicalnarrativedayonasmallcommercialormusicvideois15-25people.ADPruns$1,500-$3,000/day.Aproducerthesame.Agafferorkeygrip$700-$1,200/day.ACs,soundmixers,hair/makeupall$400-$800/day.Multiplybyyourshootdays.Thisiswherethebudgetlives.

Equipment

Camerapackage,lenses,lighting,grip,sound.Thecameraisusuallythecheapestpart—ahigh-endcinemacamerapackagerentsfor$1,500-$3,000/day.Lightingandgripistypicallymorethanthecamera,oftendouble,becauselightinganexterioratnightrequiresasmallpowerplant.

Locationsandpermits

Thelistedrentalrateisrarelytherealcost.Addpermits,firemarshallstandby,security,parkingfortrucks,off-dutypoliceifyou'reaffectingtraffic,holdingspacesforcastandcrew,neighborcompensationinresidentialareas.A"$2,000location"canbecomea$6,000locationonceyou'veclearedeverythingrequiredtolegallyshootthere.

Productiondesign

Sets,props,wardrobe,hair/makeupsupplies.Easytounderestimate.Asingleherocostumecustom-madeforamusicvideocanbe$3,000-$8,000.Abuiltset,evensimple,startsat$5,000.

Insurance

Mandatoryforalmosteveryprofessionalshoot.Productioninsuranceruns1-3%oftotalbudget,sometimesmoreforstuntsorriskylocations.Youcannotrentequipment,hireunioncrew,orshootonmostpermittedlocationswithoutit.

Post-production

Editorial,color,sounddesign,soundmix,VFX,musiclicensing,deliverables.Almostalwaysunderbudgeted.Acolorgradealoneis$2,000-$5,000foramusicvideo,$5,000-$15,000forabrandfilm.Soundmixissimilar.Originalscoreorsynclicensingontop.

Cateringandcraftservice

Soundstrivial.Itisn't.$35-$50perpersonperday,pluscraftservice(thesnacks-and-drinkstable)at$200-$400/day.Ona25-personcrewoverthreedays,you'relookingat$4,000+justtofeedpeople.Cutcateringandyourcrewworksslowerandremembersit.

Travelandaccommodations

Ifyou'reshootingawayfromyourhomebase—flights,hotels,perdiem($50-$75/person/day),rentalvehiclesforcrew.Adds15-25%toaprojectthemomentyouleavetown.

Payrollburden

Oftenforgottenbyfirst-timers.Whenyoupaycrewthroughapayrollcompany—whichyoumostlyhaveto,fortaxandinsurancereasons—there'sa20-30%burdenontopofthedayratesforworkerscomp,taxes,andpayrollservicefees.A$1,000/dayDPactuallycostsyourbudget$1,250-$1,300/day.

Contingency

Thelinefirst-timeclientsalwayscutandexperiencedproducersalwaysinsiston.10%minimum,15%issafer.Thisisthelinethatpaysforthedayitrains,theactorwhogetssick,thelocationthatfallsthrough48hoursbeforetheshoot.Withoutit,thefirstthingthatgoeswrongeatsyourpost-productionbudget.

Themythof"we'llfixitinpost"

Thesinglemostexpensivesentenceinproductionis"we'llfixitinpost."

Sometimesyoucan.Colorcansaveunderexposure.Sounddesigncanpatchdialogue.VFXcanremoveaboommic.Noneofthesepatchesarefree,andallofthemareworsethangettingitrightonset.

Adayskippedinpre-productionbecomesaweekaddedinpost.

Underbudgetingprepisthemostcommonwaybudgetsfail.Skippingalocationscoutcostsyouahalf-dayrebuildinglightingontheactualshootday.Notcastingproperlycostsyoutakesyoucan'tuse.Skippingatechscoutcostsyouanhoureverytimeyoumovetoanewsetup.

Themath:every$1yousaveinpre-productiontypicallycostsyou$3-$5inproductionorpost.It'stheworsttradeintheindustry,andit'stheonealmosteveryonemakes.

The70/20/10split,roughly

Here'sasanitycheckforanybudgetyou'rebuildingorreviewing.

Mostwell-structuredfilmprojectsbreakdownroughlyas:70%production,20%post-production,10%contingency.Withinproduction,theroughsplitis30%crew,25%equipment,15%locationsandpermits,15%productiondesign,15%everythingelse.

Ifyourpost-productionbudgetis5%oftotal,you'reunderbudgetedonpostandyou'llpayforitlater.

Ifyourcrewis60%ofproduction,you'reeithermakingsomethingwithveryhighcoveragedemandsoryou'reunderbudgetingtherest.

Ifyourcontingencyis0%,youdon'thaveabudget.Youhaveawish.

Theconversationaboutwhattocut

Everyprojecthitsthemomentwhenthewishlistcostsmorethanthebudget.Thereareexactlyfourthingsyoucancut,inincreasingorderofpain.

Scope

Fewerlocations,fewersetups,fewercharacters,shorterruntime.Theleastpainfulcutbecauseitchangeswhatyou'remaking,nothowwellyoumakeit.Atwo-locationvideoissignificantlycheaperthanafour-locationvideoandisn'tnecessarilyworse.

Time

Fewershootdays.Higherriskbecauseyoucompressthesamescopeintolesstime,whichmeanslongerdays,morecrewexhaustion,lesscoverageperscene.Savesmoney,costsquality.

Quality

Smallercrew,lower-tierdepartmentheads,cheaperequipment,lessposttime.Savesthemostmoney,coststhemostquality.Thisisthecutyoumakelastandusuallyregret.

Polish

Fasteredit,lesscolortime,lesssoundwork,fewerrevisions,singledeliverableinsteadofmultiple.Doesn'tchangewhatwasshotbutchangeshowthefinalproductfeels.Sometimesinvisibletotheaudience.Sometimesveryvisible.

Whenthebudgetistootight,cutscopefirst.Always.

Howtoreadavendor'sbudget

Ifyou'reworkingwithaproductioncompany,thebudgetyoureceiveisn'tthebudgettheyhopetospend.It'stheirbestestimateofwhatyourprojectwillactuallycostgivencurrentratesandyourstatedscope.Threethingsworthknowingabouthowtoreadit.

Markupisnormal

Productioncompaniestypicallytake10-25%markuponequipment,locations,andpass-throughcosts.Thisisn'tpredatory—it'showtheypayfortheproducertime,prepwork,andpost-productionoversightthatdoesn'tshowupasaseparateline.Askingthemtoremovemarkupisaskingthemtoworkforfreeonthepartsyoucan'tsee.

Dayratesarenegotiable;minimumsaren't

ADPmightcomedown15%ondayrate.Theywillnotworkforhalftheirrate.Askingexperiencedcrewtotakebelow-marketratesproducesresentfulcrewsandworsework.

Theline-itemismoreusefulthanthetotal

Abottom-linequotetellsyouthecost.Theline-itemshowsyouwherethemoneyisgoing,whichmeansittellsyouwhereyouhaveroomtonegotiate,whattocutifyouneedto,andwhethertheproducerhasthoughtthroughtheprojectatall.Avaguebudgetisawarningsign.

Thetakeaway

Theclientswhogetgreatworkforfairmoneydoonespecificthing:theytreatthebudgetasaplanningdocument,notapricetag.

Theystartwithwhattheprojectneedstobe.Theybuildabudgetthatincludesthethingsfirst-timersleaveout—insurance,payrollburden,contingency,post-productionatrealisticnumbers.Theymakethecutconversationsearlyinsteadoflate.Theynegotiatewhereitmakessenseanddon'twhereitdoesn't.

Thebiggestsavingsonanyfilmprojectdon'tcomefromcuttinglineitems.Theycomefrommakingtherightcallaboutscopebeforeanyonehasspentadollar.Aclearlyscoped,properlybudgeted$40Kprojectproducesbetterworkthanawish-list$80Kprojectthatrunsoutofmoneyinweektwoandshipscompromised.

Pickthenumberthatmatchestheproject.Buildthebudgetthatmatchesthenumber.Spenditthewayyouplannedto.

Everythinggoodfollowsfromthere.

TriptychStudiosworkswithbrands,artists,andlabelsonfilmandvideoprojectsofeverysize.Ifyou'rescopingaprojectandwantaproducer'seyesonwhetheryourbudgetmatchesyourambition,getintouch.