ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

11 years, 5 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

I've never filmed in Israel, but I am aware of how delicate the politics in the region are, sensitivities run extremely high as you probably know.

One thing to be aware of though is that you may find it affects who you can use as crew, no matter how sensitive the story. If you get Israeli stamps or visas in your passports you may invalidate your passports for travel in Arabic countries, for instance. Or if you choose to shoot outside Israel for desert scenes then you may not be able to take any Israeli crew.

If you want somewhere deserty any familiar with film crews, Morocco has a decent film infrastructure, and is handy for the UK (same time zone).

11 years, 5 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

+1 for hotels, +1 for decent catering.

Hotels - if you can afford it, single rooms are essential. Even single rooms in a crappy hotel beat shared rooms in a nicer one. Everyone will be tired, everyone has different habits, some will come in loudly from the bar whilst another is trying to read quietly and forget they're having to deal with the project. I know people who've upped an walked away at being asked to share a room. If I don't get a double for sole occupancy myself, I know I'll be working on severely reduced capacity and it's the project that will suffer.

Catering - you can't do pizza 2 days in a row, so try to keep the menu varied. There will inevitably be dietary oddities, so get a load of packets/readymeals from the veggie section. If you buy microwaves, the spark's first job is to open them up and remove the beepers/pings ;-)

11 years, 5 months ago - Marlom Tander

Budgets of any sensible degree of accuracy (which you want, if you're paying for it and a few grand over would hurt) are derived from the ground up.

If you really know how you will shoot your short, it's easy, because you know exactly who you need, with what kit/costumes/sets/props, and where, and when. From which you can derive things like catering, accom and transport costs.

It's time to get quotes/estimates. Dump them all in a spreadsheet and hey presto.

Post is more nebulous to budget because until they see what you give them post people are limited to caveated ballpark estimates.

I have helped people with budgets and I find that they are always looking for a magic formula. Well, for a low budget film there isn't one. You have to do it all from the ground up.

CONTINGENCY - always be aware what can go wrong and at what cost, and what will kill the project (as in, leave you with incomplete footage and no money left). Make sure you factor in any reasonably probable scenarios. For example if it's a 4 day shoot in a foriegn country, plan for a week, in case you get messed around with a location or something. You can't factor everything - anyone who planned to shoot their Boat Race Movie training scenes on the Thames this Jan/Feb has probably just dropped a packet.

TIP - do not skimp on the catering. Your people will forgive you almost everything, but crap food and lack of water/tea/coffee will get you lynched bloody quick. Plus hungry/thirsty people are thinking about their hunger/thirst and not the shoot. In your draft budget, put people in hotels.

11 years, 5 months ago - Marlom Tander

Oops, because if you discover you can't afford hotels, you've got some fat if you move them into tents :-)

11 years, 5 months ago - Dan Selakovich

It's "set" in Israel, but you don't mention if you are actually SHOOTING in Israel. Do you live in Israel or the U.K.? You also don't mention if you already have money. There's a thing called a "reverse budget", where you have money, then you figure out how to shoot it for that amount. For example, is it mostly interiors? You can shoot those anywhere. Then spend a day with you and a camera op and maybe the lead shooting some exteriors in Israel, instead of hauling an entire crew there for a week.

Have you done a schedule? You can't do a budget until you know how long it will take to shoot your movie. And you can't do a schedule until you know some things like your shooting ratio. 25:! takes more time than an 8:1. Then start your budget with post, as those are some hard costs. A mixing stage costs the same per hour whether a short or a feature, for example.

If you've never done a schedule or budget, you really are going to need some detailed help. Something that can't be done on a SP forum. There are lots of books on both. Start there and try to get as far as you can on your own, then offer to take a professional AD and Production Manager to lunch and start asking questions.