Without enough budget or time left over for post, the final products just didnt work. Independent films can cost one dollar to fifty million dollars. Especially for low budget independent films, the budget can vary dramatically. A must see for aspiring and established film makers. What is the breakdown of costs associated with making a high. Its rare that independent filmmakers allocate a sufficient amount of budget to marketing, but this should really never be the case. You cant make a film without a budget this series is a fantastic primer on budgets for film for realworld filmmaking taught by filmmakers. There are many reasons for this that extend beyond the creative use of the budget, but the quality of the actual film. The finance plan of a film a breakdown filmarket hub. Filmmaking contracts should always be customised to suit each production and the legislation of your country area. If you know what questions to ask of yourself and others when breaking down a script and thinking about the challenges of the project, youll be able to start filling in the needed details of the budget and overall production plan. Review engagement is a final cost report accompanied by an independent public accountants.
Heres a feature film budget breakdown that takes a closer look at how the money to produce a film gets spent. Also, when creating a budget for a studio you need to get ahold of their budgeting guidelines documentation and chart of accounts. These forms should only be used as guidelines as you develop. This compilation of templates will help make sure that you dont lose sight of your financial statements. This is the ultimate guide to film budgeting, including a free template, and a detailed breakdown of each section, plus everything you need to know and plan for. It sets the framework for all the decisions regarding the film. The independent feature film took 24 days to shoot in and around london. Production usually entails the first through the last days of shooting, although on medium to large productions, this will overlap with the other budget categories.
How to best approach your indie film budget the beat. In november i am leading along with james cotton a fourmonth parttime programme around microbudget films. Earlier this year i produced a very low budget short film, affections, directed by bridey elliott and premiering at the 2016 sundance film festival. And a good budget reveals a lot about how a film is going to be made, what kind of story youll be telling, what kind of crew you plan to use and what sort of equipment youve selected. Example of a project budget project management strategies. Your sagaftra business representative will send you your actual contract when.
It is a summarized version of the film budget hence looks more concise. A few years ago, my company and i produced two feature films, from. With many films, the bulk of the budget is spent in the production phase. Project planning process creating a project budget example. What is the breakdown of costs associated with making a. Film budget pro is an outgrowth of his vast knowledge base as a filmmakerfriendly, independent movie warrior. To assist you in your budgeting efforts, this sample budget can also be downloaded as a template in excel for a yearlong project. Even a nobudget film will have some costs travel, props, lunch for cast and crew a budget breakdown will help you understand how.
Film budget pro services movie budget experts i film. This download is for a sample movie budget template as a static pdf file. The main problem is that the budget is over 75 pages. A film budget breakdown should fit your movie like a glove. In a low budget indie film this may be negligible, but at least budget for gas. An important note to leave on is there are always options for affordable film rental in chicago. This is the ultimate guide to film budgeting, including a free template. Film budget template sample movie production budgeting. The largest costs were art department they had to build. How to fix your independent film budget like a boss. You may need to give the breakdown of the budget to the departments or the crew. How do you even raise the funds to have a budget in the first place. If anything, the script breakdown example above shows how different productions use the same elements, but weigh them accordingly. Film sourcing production documents and templates are not intended to be legal advice and are for educational purposes only.
Knowing what to look for and how to think is the best way to start formulating your own projects plans. Once youve got the final master of your film, its time to start pushing it out into the world. The reason why its an independent film is because thats where the money is coming from. Creating a documentary requires a lot of effort and planning in order to get the most out of it. Film shoots may be a challenging activity in itself, but it cannot take off if the documentary budget has been prepared, approved, and granted. When making different kinds of documents, you can always find different tips that can serve to guide you through the process of writing. Their work is unparalleled in terms of accuracy, thoroughness, and cost effectiveness.
Some of them additionally provide examples of budgeting. It should cover everything from the projects inception through the night before shooting begins. The same can be said of sample budget templates, as there are indeed ways to streamline the entire process of planning a film budget. You need to know how many personnel you would need for the making of your film. For example, if an independent film will be made on a minimal budget, then certain items must drop close to zero. After taking a weekend to break the screenplay into a schedule and a budget, youll quickly find the gap between the money you have and the money you need. Studios and film makers often try to keep the information secret and will use accounting tricks to inflate or reduce announced budgets. Click over to our forum to download a free template that can help you start building a budget for your next film. Armed with a masters degree and several experiences assisting producers in the past, i assumed i knew everything i needed to in order to create an accurate budget. I highly recommend film budget pro to any filmmaker as a first step in moving your project towards getting a green light. Take it with a grain of salt because every production is different, and every budget is different.
After all, without marketing dollars no one will ever see your movie. Entertainment is good for the mind and for socialization. Filmproposals the site for independent film financing welcome to filmproposals, the site for independent film makers serious about raising film financing. Successful project management depends on the creation of a comprehensive and accurate project budget. As with all firsts, this was an incredible learning experience that highlighted. Aug 01, 2016 while making a film, you or your producer have to keep a lot of things in mind and, before you know it, you can easily go over budget. The essential guide to film budgets with free film budget. The budgeting process has a number of important internal and external purposes. The ultimate guide to indie film budgeting indiefilmto. Over the years, i have utilized film budget pros services to create budgets and schedules for independent films. The budget for the 2004 movie, the village, starring joaquin phoenix, snuck its way online and looks legit. In this film budgeting template, theres a dedicated sheet for abovetheline talent. Some independent films spend all their money on getting bigname actors and go cheap on the production, while other independent films will make sure that the film looks nice and has great locations, but will use some sort of unknown actors so they can save money there.
With decades of experience, our consultants can build the documents you need for independent film, big budget film, tv, documentary. James camerons avatar remains the highest grossing film of all time internationally. In order to do this, he will need a film production budget template. I want to ensure were teaching what is actually happening in the industry today, rather than outdated ideas or common misconceptions. Ultralowbudget filmmaking by dov ss simens on june 22, 2015. There are contents being a smaller film and the amounts spent can be understood with more clarity. Its rare that independent filmmakers allocate a sufficient amount of budget to marketing, but this should really never be the. Thats great, perhaps you are a producer or maybe an independent filmmaker.
Indie film howto budget for a real independent film. First, lets look at the 7 basic independent movie budgets. Many people like to go to the cinema to spend their free time. In a coproduction, like all relationship, honesty is best policy. While there are some limited benefits to looking at other budgets and copying info, i feel this is not the best way to truly learn. Sagaftra low budget agreements were created with input from filmmakers and actors to make it even easier for you to hire professional performers.
We strongly advise that you refer to the budget guidance in the guidelines for applicants manual before completing your project budget. Feel free to take a look at where we put our money, at least on paper, to give you an idea of where you should allocate funds in your own film s budget. One example is a business budget, but you can also make and use personal budgets if you wanted to watch your own spending. Jul 26, 2018 the finance plan of a film a breakdown. The following is an example of the typical expenses included in a project budget. However, if you are an independent filmmaker you dont want to get caught out later on in the filmmaking process. This chart shows the budget of every film in our database, where we have it. Whats the average budget of a low or microbudget film. Consult an entertainment attorney for advice on any specific situation. Simple film budget breakdown free template amy clarke films.
This film ended up having the best box office haul of any independent film. A general breakdown of a budget of an independent films depends, as every budget is different and everybody puts money into different things. Provide line by line information, adding rows where required, for each cost that is specific to your project. The project type and genre play a big role in the structure of your accounts and subaccounts on your film budget breakdown. Sample research project budget please use the budget breakdown to justify your project costs. The biggest contributors to this area of the budget are usually salaries, costumes, props, screen tests, location scouting, set construction, meals and transportation.
Being a short film budget template, the information displayed is less. Try to find sample film budgets in the same realm as the budget you are creating. Jacob aaron estes writer director rings, 7 minutes, the details, mean creek over the years, i have utilized film budget pros services to create budgets and schedules for independent films. Want to see a sample of what the agreements look like. Nov 12, 2018 this film ended up having the best box office haul of any independent film. Film budgeting refers to the process by which a line producer, unit production manager, or production accountant prepares a budget for a film production. We budgeted one of our features with a low budget and a high. This is important so you can include their wages and other incidental costs in your budget. Creating a budget for your independent film how do i determine a budget for my independent film. What about the average feature film or an independent film.
The more actual production budgets you can study, the better. Every line producer has their own, however all of them are a sum of basically the same parts. Jul, 2015 feel free to take a look at where we put our money, at least on paper, to give you an idea of where you should allocate funds in your own films budget. Heres a graphic breakdown of a typical independent film. Jan 14, 2019 creating an independent film budget requires that you get very creative. Budget numbers for movies can be both difficult to find and unreliable. The ultimate film budgeting guide free film budget template.
This document, which could be over 4 pages long, is used to secure financing for and lead to preproduction and production of the film. Even myself, when doing an independent film will use my own derivation of a budget my template. Contracts and resources for independent filmmakers sagindie. Making a documentary, short film or feature film budget. Typically, the distribution costs of a film are not included in the budget breakdown. During the early stages of preproduction, your budget breakdown is an.
Understanding how a budget is built will much better prepare you when creating your own. Some independent films spend all their money on getting bigname actors and go cheap on the production, while other independent films will make sure that the film looks nice and has great locations, but will use some sort of unknown actors so they can save money. However, careful planning is also a huge part of creating the budget. A short film budget is vastly different from a kung fu action film budget. Browse our selection of budget friendly film equipment rentals now. Using that big budget template made each of the budgets some. But im an indie filmmaker too, so believe me, i know the struggles of film budgeting. How to effectively budget a script breakdown michael epstein. Information is presented in the form of a summary page and then a breakdown of the budget. And what sorts of things can you include not include. Sep 22, 2014 whats the average budget of a low or microbudget film.
This sample independent film budget template provides freelance and amateur filmmakers with a rough breakdown of the expenses they are likely to incur. The largest costs were art department they had to build a chip shop in an empty shop. Indeed, much more are produced outside such structures independent films owing to the increased awareness of the film production techniques. Dec 03, 2019 if you want to shoot something you should make a budget. Unlike studio productions, as an independent filmmaker, you have limited resources. A well thoughtout budget is a clear plan for making a film.
Your film budget template will vastly look different for each. Our actual indie film budget worksheet template is in excel, fully editable and contains 100s of line items and formulas that can be completely customized to your film production. Remember these numbers are estimates and doesnt represent an actual film budget. Before getting down to the example, lets go over what types of financing can a film project aspire to or look. Whether you simply need a budget top sheet or to hire a line producer for a production, our film budget services have you covered. Creating an independent film budget requires that you get very creative. We offer 100s of tools, templates, articles, contacts and resources for both new and experienced movie producers.