It caters to the often tight budgetary constraints while ensuring every production aspect, from pre-production planning to post-production polish, is adequately funded. Our Short Film Budget Template is designed with this unique nature in mind. However, despite their shorter length, the budgeting process for these films can be just as complex, if not more, than feature-length projects. All items will come with a unique rental rate.ĭepending on where you shoot in the US, the level of your budget-calculated in the millions for big-budget films-and the contracts signed with the camera crew, these rates can vary.Īssembling a production budget requires intimate knowledge not only of the filmmaking process and the rules of the industry, but budget building also demands that you research the many production, payroll, tax and production accounting regulations which vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.Short films, often seen as the stepping stones for budding filmmakers, provide a platform to experiment, innovate, and convey powerful messages within a limited timeframe. Camera equipment can include a camera and dolly, video assist monitors, grip equipment, lighting and more.Meal breaks must be offered every six hours. Typically the first eight hours are straight time, hours nine to 12 are paid time and a half and over 12 hours are paid double time. Be prepared to figure in overtime depending on union agreements and other rules, as day rates go up after eight hours of shooting. Calculate each of the crew-member’s day rate and multiply that by the number of shooting days.Size of the camera crew, which can include the DP, an operator and a camera assistant.The rest of the document is a detailed item by line-item accounting of each department and how those subtotals were arrived at.įor example, to arrive at a camera department total you might have to consider the following: When you turn over the top sheet of a film budget, a budget summary displays the subtotals of all budget categories. Below-the-line costs depend on the going day rates of production professionals and equipment rentals and on the number of shooting days. Below this line, which is a summary or subtotal of these fixed costs, are listed all the budget categories whose costs are not fixed. Whether it’s a percentage of the total budget for a producer or the market rate for the screenplay and story rights, these costs are fixed and are typically the first categories listed on the top sheet. Writers, directors, actors, and producers who are paid a contractually pre-determined fee. If it amounts to barely enough to produce option one-photos and voice over-tell the client upfront about the limitations of their budget.Ī budget top sheet is also where you will find the familiar yet frequently misunderstood concepts of above-the-line and below-the-line expenditures.Ībove-the-line costs are fixed costs. How do you know which way to go, high or low? Ask your client what kind of money they’ve set aside for the project. You could even tie all these elements together with professional narration and an original music score.Īsk your client what kind of money they have set aside for the project. A large enough budget can support interviews with department heads and workers on the shop floor, actuality and visuals of people doing their job, archival footage of the company’s history and flashy animations that show how the company’s widgets are made. Or, the project can be given the full documentary treatment. If well done, there’s nothing wrong with that and it can be very effective. One approach might be to do it in photographs and voiceover testimonials with text overlay. Similarly, a business video that tells the story of your client’s organization can be given a treatment that suits a particular budget. We’re talking about film budget here, but regardless of the genre, the line items in your budget will be very similar. You could be making a business video for a client, applying for documentary funding or launching a crowdsourcing campaign to get your short fiction film made. A budget helps you head off unforeseen cost overruns before they bring your film to a screeching halt. Knowing your resources will prevent you from making ill-advised production decisions. Creating a budget is the most important part of pre-production planning.īuilding a carefully thought-through film budget-and sticking to it once you’ve built it-can keep your shooting schedule on track. But if your plans include providing video production services, or at least recovering the costs of your next indie movie, please read on to learn how to build a film budget. If you’re doing video production because it’s a wonderful hobby and you’re okay with spending your own money to make your video creations, you probably don’t need to read any further.
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