Fred's Film School Part 2: The Budget

2009-01-28
By Fred “The Hammer” Williamson

In Part 1 we covered the Screenplay.  So now we’ve gotten our script together, and hopefully an idea of your proposed cast.  To make your cast list and the rest of the production work, you need to know the parameters of your budget.  Budget, you say? “I don’t know,” isn’t an answer, it’s an excuse.  Let’s dive into the nuts and bolts of all productions - the budget.

First you must familiarize yourself with crew costs and time constraints of shooting a feature film.  All budgets are made up of the cost for each member of the crew multiplied by the length of time it will take to shoot the entire film.  If you have no experience, or have never been around any film production, the internet and film libraries are going to become your best friends.

Production budgets are basically divided into two parts.  The first part consists of the “above-the-line” costs, including the Producer(s), Director, Writer, Screenplay and all Talent (including their pension and welfare).  The second part consists of the “below-the-line” costs, including the entire crew, all the equipment, film stock, sound, the production offices, wardrobe, props, location costs, post production services, insurance, fees, and everything else needed to complete the project and deliver it to a distributor.

You must research old budgets wherever you can find them. While technology has changed over the years, you’ll still need a crew that will consist of the camera operators, the grips, the gaffer, and so on. You’ll still need equipment, including the cameras, the lights, the generator, etc.  Get to know the names for crew positions and the equipment.  How many cameras do you want to shoot with?  I always shoot with two, sometimes three.  How much film stock will you need?  Today many shoot digitally, but I personally still prefer to shoot using 35mm film, which gives you more depth and a richer look.

These are all things that must come into consideration when you’re putting together your budget.  These are not the things that you can consider “down the line” when you’re ready to shoot.  Too late then. If you’re going to find an investor who will fund your project, you must know what the film will cost to shoot. You want to ask for enough money to finish the project because once the deal is done, there’s no going back to the well for more.

If you really want to be in the film business, then educate yourself. If you only want to be a screenwriter, then read no more, because I’m talking production.  If you want to be independent and do it all, then you must know a little about the whole process.  The best way to learn is to try and get a job wor king on a film as a trainee or intern.  Most film companies will have trainees on their set.  Expect to work harder than you ever have for little or know money.  And do it with a smile or they’ll send you home.  They know you are there for the experience, so watch, learn, and ask questions.

If you can get a copy of the budget for the film you’re working on, then you’ll see first hand how the budget relates to ever aspect of the production.  Study it.  You can learn a lot very quickly if you pay attention.  Once you have a better idea about how to prepare the budget, you will have more confidence in writing your script.  If you already have a script before your “trainee” experience, you may find yourself going back and modifying many scenes.  You’ll understand about the cost of locations and you will keep your movement of scenes to a minimum.  Each new location costs more money - and the bigger the location the more money.  There’s a big difference in your budget if you want to use a living room with the baseball game on the TV, or if you want to be at Wrigley Field and see the same baseball game.

Keep your cost mainly to the actors.  The big difference between a $4mil budget and a $2mil budget is the above-the-line costs.  The below-the-line costs usually remain about the same, i.e.  dollars times the number of weeks you20shoot.

Where you shoot the film will affect the cost.  Does the location have crew people who live there, or will you have to bring the crew?  If so, you need to include the cost of travel, food, per diem and housing in your budget.  Is there a lab nearby for processing your footage?  If you’re shooting with film, where will the film stock come from?  Fuji and Kodak each is a different price!  Where will you edit?  On location?  At another office which you need to rent?  Do you need to rent the editing equipment?  Will you need added sound effects?  How much CGI (computer generated images) will you need, if any?  These are all things that must be added to the costs and included in your budget.

You can ask all the questions you want, and enlist all the help you can get.  But in the end, you had better be the one who controls the budget- someone else will pad the budget, make deals for kickbacks, and you won’t know where your budgeted money has gone.

If you plan to remain an “independent” then you need to know these things, or have some basic knowledge about them.  You’ll make mistakes, but don’t be afraid to ask.  You can’t look for financing without having the budget in place.  The first question anyone will ask is not about the script, not about who you want to star... it will always be, “What is the budget?” The next thing they’ll ask is, “Who’s in the project?”  As I said before, “I don’t know” is not the answer.  You can always say you have a “proposed budget” and a “proposed cast” and both can be adjusted to fit any star the investor may want.

Now you have a script and you hopefully have worked hard to assemble a sensible budget. Stay tuned for more...

Fred Film School Part 1: Script & Story