ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

4 years, 3 months ago - Marlom Tander

The only way to budget a movie, if you are on a tight one, is to break the shoot down into shooting days.

That tells you how long it will take to shoot. Allow for rest days, allow for "Africa travel, weather and health" delays. And company moves? So, your 18 days filming is really a 20-30 day trip. Maybe with an advance team to ensure logistics.

Then you add in all the expected hire costs, wage costs, kit costs, location costs, transport costs, catering costs, accom costs, medical costs, legal costs.

Be detailed - costumes will cost more than you think, unless it's a compressed timeline and they wear the same clothes right through. If anything could get muddy and need a take 2, you need duplicate clothes OR halt production while you wait for it to be cleaned...

Africa - is a lot of countries, all with their own rules re work permits and, probably, carnets, and perhaps less than gentle freight handling and perhaps bribe seeking customs, not to mention region unrest even in “safe” countries... You need to get country specific very fast in order to even try to budget.

Example - you pick the cheap "can't change" flights, and assume that you start shooting next day. Which is fine IF you are sure that the kit will have got through customs. But gets very expensive very fast if you need to delay return flights.

Remember to cost your post, and your cost of sale.

Build a spreadsheet. It may seem tedious but once you know you have a real line worked out for every cost you can think of, you will know that you have a sane budget, and be clear as to the risks.

Your aim at this stage is “how much do I need to make the film I want to make”. If that number is too big for you to try and raise, it becomes, “how can I change the film to make it cheaper? NOT, how can I reduce the budget but make the same film”. Because your budget doesn’t have any fat in it.

Good luck

4 years, 3 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Marlom is right, of course. I would just add that you *need* to get a good local producer wherever you're going to film - local contacts and knowledge will save you far more than they cost you. For instance, if the custom is an 8h day, then you have to pay overtime for your overrun. Or if your shoot is in a majority Muslim country/region, you may find yourself not shooting on a Friday. Or a camera fails and you need a replacement straight away. Or you need a hospital and someone who knows which are the better hospitals in the area. Or... anyway, get a local fixer/producer who can deal with the local vendors and crew.

4 years, 3 months ago - pete hall

Er... to even think about this, i'd want to know first if you have experience of third world travel, then Africa specifically, then filmaking in Africa, finally the actual country(ies) you plan to be in. The first rule of Africa is "expect the unexpected" Nothing is going to work out as expected. On the other hand, other things will happen; some good, some bad. The bigger the project, the bigger the parameters of those possibilities. A good fixer is essential, preferably arranged well in advance. Pay that person well; they are your key to success. The significance of advance fixer-finding is that you can test the person out with a few tasks to see how they perform.

If you can demonstrate awareness of all these factors, a crowdfunding campaign is much more likely to gain respect. Well, this is just off the top of my head. Good luck.

4 years, 3 months ago - John Lubran

All good advice so far. I've been filming in several different parts of Africa over the last few decades.

The devil is very much in the detail and so far there's no informative detail.

Your question has the ring of naivety about it, but it doesn't mean you are. Despite the sound advisory commentary you've had so far it doesn't mean that other realities aren't available.

It's a bit like computer programming, insufficient data in gets insufficient data out.

4 years, 2 months ago - Lee 'Wozy' Warren

I can help you with your budgeting requirements. I've helped many people with their budgets, forecasting, and fund raising.
Message me for a chat.

4 years, 2 months ago - Lee 'Wozy' Warren

My feature directorial debut cost c.£140,000 to produce (production and post) back in 2007. And that included Mike Reid, Rula Lenka and Eric Cantina, amongst others. And it also won best actor and best picture at the Newport International Film Festival to boot.
If you've never directed a feature before, £300,000 maybe a little over ambitious.

4 years, 2 months ago - James McCann

Can anyone recommend any books about budgeting a film?

4 years, 2 months ago - Marlom Tander

James : If you know what you need to make your film, you know everything you need to budget a film.

It is literally one line in a spreadsheet for every single expense, resource, person and consumable you'll need from start to finish.

Best way - break the script down into a scene/shot list and schedule it by day 1 to X. For each day, who is needed, what are they wearing, what food, drink, transport, accom, makeup, props, kit, crew. Don't arm wave about "driving own cars", assume EVERYTHING costs.

Then add it all up. THEN try and work out what savings can be made.

The good news - doing a budget seriously will help you find the things you haven't fully thought out. When you have your draft, ask your team to go through it, with the script, and see if they can see what's missing. Stuff will be missing.

The corporate structure, VAT and tax credits, see an accountant closer to the time. (The good news is that these basically give you some contingency when you go over your budget while shooting, and if you don't, it gives you more for post/sales).

4 years, 1 month ago - Lee 'Wozy' Warren

James - there's only so much you can learn from books. It's all quite sterile really. I'd be happy to give you an hour or so Zoom session on the basics, an introduction if you will so that you will gain some core insights to use in the future. I'll message you directly.

4 years, 1 month ago - Lee 'Wozy' Warren

Wozy's Top Tips!

To produce the most accurate budget possible, you'll need to schedule your film first. Without the schedule, there's not a lot to budget...

Woz

4 years, 1 month ago - James McCann

Thank you Lee, thank you Marlom.

4 years, 1 month ago - Lee 'Wozy' Warren

I'd be happy to run a free webinar to provide an overview to budgeting if there was enough interest...