Chapter Five
Helpful Scheduling and Budgeting Tips

“All we know about the future is that it will be different.”

Judi Dench as Evelyn Greenslade, in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Experience is something you get by performing a task multiple times. When you’re learning a new skill, you have the advantage of bringing fresh eyes into the process and you may find a way to improve it. In addition to creating several schedules and budgets to build that experience, strengthen your budget and schedule with these tips.

  1. Run through Different Scenarios
  2. Ask for Help and Advice
  3. Look at the Numbers
  4. Create a Picture

1. Run through Different Scenarios

Scheduling: Look at the big picture, then look at small, detailed pictures.

Save your draft. Back it up. Reopen, do a Save As: Name the file logically (Title_Version #_6Days)—look at the stripboard anew. Mix it up, take a fresh look for potential discovery (don’t take deleted scenes out of the boneyard). Try scenarios with longer or shorter days, 5- vs. 6-day weeks, all weekend shoots.

Shift the stripboard view from horizontal to vertical. Examine individual Day out of Days Reports for sets, cast, props, vehicles, locations, to study them for potential consolidation.

Budgeting: create budget groups and compare them to each other. Save your draft. Back it up. Reopen, do a Save As: Name the file logically (version __). Create versions of budgets and compare them, considering the variables where you have some flexibility.

2. Ask for Help and Advice

Start with the AD, Director and producer. As you add department heads, ask for their insight on specific issues regarding personnel and equipment. Cutting people and equipment might seem savvy and indeed lower the budget, but the conditions created may cause the work to become more difficult, or take longer.

If your team is inexperienced, find advisors working in production management, UPMs, Line Producers who, in exchange for an invitation to the wrap party, or credit; will answer the occasional question. These might include local filmmakers you know or met online or in film communities, people whose films you’ve seen and liked, instructors, authors of IndieWire and MovieMaker film articles, members of WIFT, IFP, Yahoo groups, Meetup Groups, Femmes Fatales, The Film Collaborative and through social media.

You don’t know what you don’t know, which is great for two reasons—we’re all working with limited knowledge doing the best that we can at any given time; and another person has a different approach than yours, so other people will give you new insights to your process.

3. Look at the Numbers

Scheduling

  • 12-hour workday
  • − 1.5 hour for meals (2 meal breaks @ ½-hour each + time getting to/from)
  • = 10.5 hours left
  • − 1.5 hour set up lighting (or more)
  • = 9 hours left
  • − 1 hour breakdown /secure gear
  • = 8 hours left
  • − 1 hour for miscellaneous (or more):
    • Production meeting
    • Wardrobe/hair/makeup/art: retouches after takes, meals
    • The “concern” of the day (drama, dispute, insurance claim, late arrival)
    • Paperwork—filling out/handing in time sheets, call sheets, petty cash, receipts

  • = 7 hours (or much less) to actually block, direct, rehearse, refine lighting and camera setup, capture the needed video and film.

That’s a day with no crisis or weather interruptions.

Subtract time spent communicating, rehearsing, blocking—which will vary depending on the complexity of the scene, emotional content, lighting design and camera movements. Working with crowds, animals, children, stunts, elaborate costumes, makeup, equipment, night shoot, extreme temperatures or weather, will take 3–4 times longer—so an 8–9 hour day is now 2–3 hours of potential actual shooting time. This may sound like a lot of time compared to the actual page count of the scenes you are attempting to get “in the can.” In reality, shooting is a race against time, artistic balance and external pressures, to shoot the desired page count.

Only a fraction of your total hours will be spent “making the day” getting scheduled script pages into video (as long as all the equipment is working and operated perfectly). Each new camera setup takes time, to move lights, equipment, setup. Each new “take” requires time, communication, blocking, setup, mental and physical reset. Moving to a different location takes time.

How to account for the 20 minutes and $50 spent wheedling and bribing the rapping pan flute player in Times Square who insists upon playing (accompanied by a giant amp) right next to where you are shooting? Unforeseen delays are difficult to plan for and this is where you will work closely with your Assistant Director and Director as they refine the schedule, impacting the budget.

Once a shooting schedule is created, the Director and AD are guardians of the schedule (as is each cast and crew member, more informally). Make up and discuss with your team a daily time table, hour by hour, to see where you can borrow, or save time.

Budgeting

It is natural to desire as much artistic and technical variety in a film as possible. Actors of all ages and sizes and abilities, helicopter and underwater shots, stunts, puppets, animatronics, celebrities, miniatures, pyrotechnics, crane shots, a 78-piece marching band. Low budgets pose a challenge to natural artistic inclinations.

If a budget is extremely tight, ask the Director and department heads what their top two wishes are and how those would impact the finished product? Let everyone make their case and pitch in to identify how to make it happen on their own behalf—calling in favors, friends, etc. Research rates and deals that might be made and potential budget account shifts. If we come under budget on our stunts on shoot day 4, we’ll put that cash toward a helicopter shot (after making sure the needed footage isn’t available in a stock film library).

With this information, create a version of the budget with the top two requests of the Director and department heads and have a meeting with your team to discuss possible strategies to fulfill such wishes. It may be worth seeking additional financing, writing a grant, or seeking a partner (corporate) who could assist with this fulfillment.

4. Create a Picture of your Schedule and Budget

Scheduling: When you have a schedule and budget that you think is workable, put it in pictures. As filmmakers, sometimes it is easier to conceptualize an image. Time allocation in a typical 12 hour day Schedule might look one way, with a complex day allocated differently.

Fig. 5.1 Another Way to Look at your Schedule

Fig. 5.1 Another Way to Look at your Schedule

Fig. 5.2 Sample Virtual Reality Shoot Day, Requiring Sufficient Blocking, Lighting, Dressing and Organizing

Fig. 5.2 Sample Virtual Reality Shoot Day, Requiring Sufficient Blocking, Lighting, Dressing and Organizing

Preproduction time is relatively cheap compared to shoot time, so take advantage of it by organizing and analyzing the shoot with your team to find potential time savings. A timeline, whether online, in Excel, scheduling software, or on paper, is a great way to keep duties top of mind. Create a chart of milestones along the left, on top, list time segments—in days, weeks, or months. Shading indicates who will head up those tasks. Here are a few examples of how you could set up timelines.

Any of these timelines could include more details or fewer. Once a timeline has been established, actionable checklists help everyone stay on track and sharing these on a productivity platform, whether through Dropbox, Google drive, or on a production management platform, or project management software, keeps the team on the same page.

Table 5.1

fig0001

Table 5.2

fig0002

Budget Proportions: Do they make sense for the goals and experience of your team? The bigger the budget, the higher the Above the Line costs. As budgets descend from lower millions, to hundreds of thousands and below, Above the Line costs shrink in proportion to other sections, while the portion allocated to post production will grow. Many expenses in post are hard costs (facilities and lab) and cannot be deferred, or exchanged for credits or profits. Production costs depend on the willingness of cast and crew to defer pay, or share in profits in lieu of payment upfront.

In a perfect world, the majority of any budget should be seen on screen AKA: in production values, whatever the producer considers that to be—a star, great sets and props, amazing locations. This is one reason that every budget is one-of-a kind. For low-budget films without recognizable stars, that means most of the budget is Below the Line—what is paid for during production should yield double the results on screen—for every $25 spent, $50 worth of value should appear in the film.

Casting a star, even in a cameo role, will raise Above the Line costs and Below the Line costs along with it. It may be worth it if the star greatly increases salability of the film and the trade-off is worth the expense. 50% / 50% on big budget studio films is not uncommon. In most cases, it’s difficult to hire pricey actors without the Below the Line infrastructure (trailers, entourage, agent’s fee) to support them, although you may be able to cast a known star for one day, or with voice over, or in some other time-efficient way.

Fig. 5.3 On a $75 Million Studio Film, Almost Half is Spent on ATL Expenses

Fig. 5.3 On a $75 Million Studio Film, Almost Half is Spent on ATL Expenses

Extensive CGI will require that the post production portion of the budget will increase. Bottom line, if you have a budget with 90% Above the Line and 10% Below the Line, something is amiss. With virtual reality, the budget will be heavily weighted toward post production, as the majority of time will be spent there.

A Rule of Thumb (for low-budget to micro-budget projects): 70%+ in the Below the Line to make sure your financial plan yields production value at every level possible. For example, if the producer of your project gives you a low budget range figure to back into, allow 30% for Above- and 70% for Below-the-Line.

Fig. 5.4 Know Where the Largest Part of your Budget is Allocated and Why

Fig. 5.4 Know Where the Largest Part of your Budget is Allocated and Why

In practical terms, that will give you a general idea of where and how you could spend resources. Use a calculator to see how the money would be divided in rough terms.

Table 5.3

Total Film Budget 30% Above the Line 70% Below the Line
$100 $30 $70
$1,000 $300 $700
$10,000 $3,000 $7,000
$100,000 $30,000 $70,000
$1,000,000 $300,000 $700,000
Fig. 5.5 Bigger Budgets Spend a Larger Proportion on Above the Line Costs. This $5 Million Feature Example isn’t High Compared to Many Hollywood Films

Fig. 5.5 Bigger Budgets Spend a Larger Proportion on Above the Line Costs. This $5 Million Feature Example isn’t High Compared to Many Hollywood Films

Fig. 5.6 Digital Features Made for Under $20,000 Spend the Least Amount Possible on ATL Expenses

Fig. 5.6 Digital Features Made for Under $20,000 Spend the Least Amount Possible on ATL Expenses

For example, if a total locked budget is $10,000 and the Director requests a crane that will cost $9,000 to rent, there is homework to be done. Is there a vendor (company or individual) that owns this equipment and might rent it (and operate it) on the cheap? How expensive will the insurance and transport be? Are you working with a vendor who might be able to help you? Ask everyone you know; put out notices to that effect on film boards and online. Might this person take a credit, or small acting cameo, or promotional plug in exchange for the use of the equipment? Is similar or older equipment available that can approximate the effect? At the end of the day, if the production cannot afford the equipment, the director has to evaluate what it was about the shot she most desired—height, movement, scale—and decide, if shooting from above on a balcony, using some other equipment might approximate the effect.

Using appropriate budget proportions as a guide, you will immediately notice if things are wandering off course. For example, if you have $1,000 dollars to make a digital short film, you will need as much of that money to be spent Below the Line as possible, for tapes, props, locations, food. So if 70% ($700) of that $1,000 is spent below the line, 30% ($300) is spent above the line, maybe to pay for copies of the script, transporting the ATL team. With a budget that size, better to forgo any ATL costs at all and use the money for post or marketing.

Whatever the budget proportions are, it’s your job to know why and to make a best efforts decision with your team, whether they can yield the best film possible.

Marketing: For those who plan DIY robust marketing plans and want to make sure money is available, you may slice the budget this way.

Table 5.4

Marketing 50% Film Budget 50%
Merchandise, website, DVD screeners, street teams, posters, postcards, festival market entry fees and travel expenses to festivals, screening expenses, traveling to film markets and related expenses, private screenings, even DIY distribution such as a 4-wall release and other distribution expenses Total budget $500,000 15% of Total Budget: Above the Line 35% of Total Budget: Below the Line
For example, in the case of a total film budget of $500,000, $250,000 would be the marketing budget 15% or $75,000 is ATL, and 35% or $175,000 is BTL

This planning ensures that you can pull off publicity and marketing plans with an appropriate budget to do so. It requires discipline to leave that part of the budget untouched.

Fig. 5.7 A Robust Marketing Budget Enables Maximum Exposure

Fig. 5.7 A Robust Marketing Budget Enables Maximum Exposure

Evolution of the Schedule and Budget

Once you’ve created the initial schedule and budget, new information will affect them.

The Schedule will go Through at Least 4 Major Iterations

  1. Preliminary: Input from producer. Once location and season pinpointed, to shoot: check historical weather forecasts. Will evolve as Director, AD and other Key crew identified.
  2. Fortified: create a schedule that will pump up the budget, with longer weeks (6 versus 5) and longer hours (14 versus 13). This approach is one way to inflate a schedule for the sole purpose of reinforcing the budget. Most likely, you won’t work the full 12 or 13 hours and that savings can be applied elsewhere. Often, on complex days, it’s easier to complete a long day than to break it down and set up again. However, it is safer to plan that the complex day will require overtime and extend into another day, which may also require OT.
  3. Comparison: Create a 6-day week versus a 5-day; Weekday schedule versus Weekends (non-union); 11-hour day versus 12-hour (12 v. 13, etc.); completion before key specific festival due dates or other target date. Alternate easy and difficult weeks, to avoid burnout.
  4. Can you take advantage of 3-day weekends? The team must be open to this idea. Slow seasons may yield equipment deals and crew looking to pick up a gig, though year-end holidays are a tough sell (Table 5.5).

Table 5.5

December New Year’s Day
January Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
February Washington’s Birthday
May (end) Memorial Day
July 4 Independence Day
September (start) Labor Day
October Columbus Day
November Veterans Day
November Thanksgiving Day
December Christmas Day

The Budget Should Go Through at Least 4 Major Iterations

  • 1. Preliminary Budget: Once you get numbers, create a Full price budget (the real cost of doing the film). This budget could be used to raise financing, or as your springboard. Research the going rates in your area and if you don’t know, use union rates as a guide.
  • 2. Perfect World: Create a perfect world version—including the first choice of cast and crew. Add a robust marketing budget and great equipment, as well as ample time to utilize it. This budget could be used to raise initial financing, or defend an expensive request (underwater cameras and cameraman, tanks, cranes, star VO).
  • 3a. Practical: Create a Practical version w/Deals (favors called in, deferrals by key crew and cast stakeholders in the film). This budget is not used for fund raising (except in the case of no-low budget projects or docs). A good tool to bring in partners. Include at least 1 of the top 2 requests made by department heads.

  • 3b. Or… No Matter What: Hell or high-water budget—you and your team are just going to do it, on a specific start date. Not everyone will need this version, but it can serve as powerful motivation for partners, crew, cast, willing to work for credit and experience.

    Your producer may request budget portions—to make one stunt or major scene, to prove the concept—as a trailer budget to convey the idea to funder, or development budget, post production budget, effects budget, local versus distant budget. A cost plus version of the budget is created by building a profit (usually 10%–15%) into each line item, commonly used in corporate videos, commercials and music videos.

  • 4. Final Approved Budget

This is what the Producer signs off on and once locked, must not be exceeded.

The Team

Once your preliminary schedule and budget are completed, go over it in detail with your team. The Producer, AD and Director, DP, Production Designer, Line Producer and Production Accountant bring a perspective that help you find time and financial savings.

The collaborative nature of filmmaking sometimes creates conflict, particularly on small budget indie films where crew and cast may be responsible for multiple duties. What will help alleviate tension is that you stay organized, everyone knows who is in charge and what their duties are. With your core team, commit to a schedule and establish a budget for each department—that department heads should be prepared to stick with.

No matter what you call them, you need someone in charge of key areas. These are usually department heads trained in a particular skill or craft, but in the DIY film environment, if you want to get a film made, do it with the resources you can muster. You will at least need someone in charge of:

Raising money, controlling money, paying people, maintaining the budget and schedule (combination of Producer, LP)

  • Visuals (led by the Director)

    Encompassing the Art Dept, Props, Sets and locations, combined with the Look of Actor (hair/makeup, wardrobe)

  • Safety and Security (usually the AD, also running the floor)

    (for people and equipment)

    Continuity

  • Camera and Sound

    Format, Operations, Equipment

    (On no-low projects, hiring one person to handle camera and sound is not uncommon, HOWEVER, that’s a big responsibility to carry and crappy sound will kill a great picture)

  • Food and Shelter

    Quality and Quantity of Meals, Access to Facilities, Bathrooms, Dressing Rooms, Parking, Subway stop, Bus stop

    (Heaters, Air Conditioners—or the location of nearest Starbucks)

    Crew and cast often frame their working experience in terms of the quality of food on a shoot (I’m not kidding). Food conveys warmth; you are caring for your people in a primal way and they will remember it, good or bad.

  • Electricity, Rigging, Shading

    Locations

    Transport

  • Marketing and Distribution

    Whether you appoint one person, such as the Producer of Marketing and Distribution to lead this front, or everyone chips in—it’s important to address this. Perhaps you plan to enter a few film festivals and put your film up for free to be viewed on Vimeo or YouTube. Will it be supported by a website and social media? Do you want to keep your network informed? This all takes energy and creativity—so give this some thought. If the ultimate goal is to sell your film, working with a distributor is your best bet.

Priorities, Prices, and Deal Making

You are the newest overlooked superhero, the Under Wonder. Your plans are completed just under the maximum time and a little under budget. Fortify the budget in categories like travel, stunts and safety, there’s a good case to be made for all of them, it’s not “padding,” you are adding reinforcement where necessary.

While building your crew, seek to hire the best, smartest people. Tune in to the other persons’ WIFM channel (What’s In it For Me). Is there something you can do for them? Just ask, nicely. The worst someone can say is no. Everything is negotiable. Really. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes and find out—what do they need/want?

  • Credits, money, access to equipment
  • Experience, build skills, move up within their field, or into different aspect of production
  • Relationships, networking
  • Seeking support and help with their projects
  • Find agent, get into union
  • Want to travel
  • Crazy about the subject, script, other crew and cast

Priorities

Budgeting forces you and everyone in your team to make decisions and prioritize. Of the many details in a budget, how do you decide which equipment, prop, location, or line item is more important than another? Examining 90 script pages, 90 breakdown sheets and a budget that runs 70 pages long may seem overwhelming, so take it back to the story. This is a good exercise to do with your team—what is the core value in this script? If you can establish this, it will focus your budget. The reality of modern filmmaking is that everyone on your team must expand their creative abilities, owning their portion of the budget, aware of the time/money conundrum to work making an amazing film with whatever is available.

Start with genre and discuss where the money should be directed. Of course you want the best possible crew and equipment, the most talented actors and ideal locations. But every production, even Avatar, comes to a point where they have to pick and choose highest priority expenses. No movie has unlimited resources.

What is the most important facet of type of film? A comedy better be funny; how is money spent for funny? Madcap pranks, physical comedy (requiring a stunt coordinator), an unlikely location, gags, or props? More than likely, funny comes from the writing and the actors and that’s where the money should be prioritized, as opposed to travel, expensive sets, etc. Thorough casting session to find up-and-coming comedians, rehearsal time to foster chemistry may be time and money well invested.

If the film is a coming-of-age story about a young girl and her dog, then the money should be spent to get the right child actor (and support system including welfare worker or teacher, or parent/guardian), as well as a dog with sufficient training and a brilliant wrangler. The magic of the story is likely to come from preparation of both and the chemistry between them. What makes a convincing fantasy—props, costumes, makeup. For a drama—the actors and story are key, the climactic scene, any love scene, the chemistry. This exercise will assist with brainstorming necessary to pinpoint the importance of certain budget line items over others.

It is useful to compare where your film fits into the overall industry landscape. The following 10 genres (Table 5.6) are the most profitable to date, for all films of all budgets.

Table 5.6

Genre Characteristics
Comedy Funny, writing, talent
Adventure Locations, sets, dashing believable hero(ine), props
Drama Authenticity: locations, costumes, actors
Action Stunts, hero and villain charisma
Thriller/Suspense Special effects, sets
Romantic Comedy Funny, chemistry, wardrobe
Horror Special effects, makeup
Documentary Vividly told. Insider view, graphics, stock footage
Musical Choreography, music, dancers
Dark Comedy Funny and Dark writing, talent

Table 5.7 shows the top most profitable indie films (comparing grosses to budget) released since 2000. Source: the-numbers.com.

Table 5.7

Title Budget
Paranormal Activity (1 and 2) $450,000
The Gallows $100,000
The Devil Inside $1,000,000
God’s Not Dead $1,150,000
Insidious $1,500,000
Annabelle $6,500,000
War Room $3,000,000
Unfriended $1,000,000
The King’s Speech $15000,000
Magic Mike $7,000,000
The Fault In Our Stars $12,000,000

Source: the-numbers.com

It is interesting to survey the following list (Table 5.8), lowest budget films to make $1 million at the box office; none rely on lavish effects. The bedrock is writing, performance and directing, which comes back to preparation and prioritizing.

Table 5.8

El Mariachi Your Sister’s Sister
Slacker The Gallows
In the Company of Men Facing The Giants
The Brothers McMullen Deep Throat
Gabriela Clerks
Super Size Me Hollywood Shuffle
Pi The Mighty

Source: the-numbers.com

Prices

Using a bidding process is one way to gather competitive prices. Once key crew creates a list of exactly what they will need for the production, identify relevant vendors and submit a request for competitive bids to each vendor. Let them know you’re looking for the best bid. It’s a straightforward way to let the market compete for your business. We know that the lowest price is not always the best deal—your funders may want to know why you didn’t select the lowest price—so keep notes on why and how decisions were made.

Deal Making 101

Everything is negotiable and the list price (AKA going rate) is generally a starting point, with some flexibility, if you will only ask. So ask for a 30%–40% discount (lower may be perceived as insulting), indie or low-budget discount, extra time, discount to pay with cash, stuff thrown in for free, calls, swag, expendables, use of a location, an introduction, networking help. Before making a deal, try to:

  • Borrow
  • Barter: Product Placement, Exchange Advertising
  • Haggle and Offer Credits
  • Defer: Offer payment based on sales or profits to the project

Talk with other filmmakers—where did they get the best deals? Build relationships: return calls and emails and let vendors know when they didn’t get the gig. Nobody likes to be kept hanging; this will build up your karma credits and reputation.

Start an account with a vendor: That way if you get in a bind and have established a relationship with them, they may stretch a little to help you if something comes up.

Repay favors—write online reviews, thank you notes, send small gifts or invitations to screenings or wrap party, put links on your website, sing the praises of everyone who lends a hand. Referrals = good will, which comes in handy when you most need it.

When you think of product placement, the Morgan Spurlock film may come to mind: The Greatest Film Ever Sold, or i-Robot Audi deals, E.T’s Reese’s Pieces come to mind, Up in The Air (American Airlines, Hertz), James Bond, or any of the franchise films. In the low-budget spectrum (particularly without a theatrical or TV distribution deal) you are more likely to obtain free product (or temporary use of a product) in exchange for showing the business or good in a favorable (or at least neutral) manner.

There are companies that specialize in product placement, matching up products to film-makers, and a benefit of working with a company like that is they have done the legal work (clearances) and know exactly how you can use the product. With a small budget, why would an advertiser be interested in appearing in a film? Chances are, without a well-known celebrity, distribution deal in place, or really powerful hook, they won’t, but you never know. Starting from a practical standpoint, smaller or new-ish companies may have more of an interest in product placement. Make sure they understand who you are and what the film is about and enlist their help in publicizing your film online as well so that you are both benefiting to the maximum extent possible.

Films with niche audiences or topical subject matter are more likely to find success in this arena. (Of course the company will want to see the synopsis.)

  • Main setting of the movie takes place in a certain type of business location
  • Faith-based material
  • Documentaries focusing on specific philanthropic, medical or health issues, or hot button social issues (gun control, bullying, anorexia)
  • Material based on a particular product, sport, activity, food or beverage

Start locally by approaching a business owner who may let you use something for free, feed you, give you makeup or clothing or props, a location, place to hold the wrap party, use your imagination. For low-no budgets, it’s unlikely the company will give you cash, or advertise for you in return for you showing their stuff in your film, but you never know, ask. If you are not sure whom to contact at big companies, start with the media and public relations department.

There are trade publications for nearly every aspect of the entertainment business and you can check Product Placement News (www.productplacement.biz) for trends in product placement and the branded entertainment business.

Changes During Shooting

The best way to see into the future is to imagine it early on, while there’s time to prepare. Channel your inner paranoia and play Chicken Little, asking yourself what could go wrong, as many times and in as many ways possible. When the sky falls, where is it likely to land? Plan for the worst, to push for the best.

What will we do if:

  • It rains?
  • Power goes out?
  • Barking dog next door?
  • Someone’s late?
  • Equipment is missing, damaged?
  • Location is locked, no way to access?
  • Insurance certificate didn’t come in time?
  • No tape or film stock?
  • Serious accident? Someone is sick?

Keep this list nearby while going through the schedule and make backup plans and collaborate with the AD. You are the primary advocate for the film’s schedule and budget. Ask your team how you can find more time, money, security, equipment, generators, backup locations; just in case, you want to have some options. “How are we going to tackle…”

Safety, Insurance and Legal

There’s no price on safety. That’s a lie; there is a price on safety, that’s how insurance prices are calculated. Low-no filmmakers sometimes skirt insurance unless forced to by location owners, vendors or funders, relying on luck. However, that is a dangerous game, because nobody plans an accident. Contact a broker who handles production insurance and they will find the best rates from a variety of insurance providers.

But what about our low-no $20,000 feature—we don’t need insurance, we can’t afford it. At least get a quote to cover your people (liability and worker’s comp) equipment and E and O insurance to CYA and the audiovisual content in the film—that will speed the transaction along when distributors come calling. The purpose of insurance is to cover possible damages to property or injury to people. Don’t be embarrassed to ask lots of questions about insurance; it is confusing.

Safety and Insurance

You can buy insurance for the duration of a shoot (short-term production); or a year-long policy (annual producer’s insurance policy, or production DICE: Documentary, Industrial, Commercial, Educational) more practical for documentarians, longer-term projects, or a company with a series of projects over a year.

In the film’s budget, insurance is a contractual cost, calculated as a percent of the total budget (2–4%) and is based on the length of the film, content (stunts, pyrotechnics and explosions, animals, kids, vehicles, firearms, fights, fire, boats, aircraft, live gangster rap music scenes, a piece of equipment worth $350,000+, scaffolding; versus walk and talk on a suburban street). The more dangerous the content of the script, the more people and equipment, the more valuable your props and locations, the longer your shoot, the higher the cost of your policy.

The premium is what you pay for insurance upfront. The deductible is what you will need to pay in case of a claim (something happens and you need to use the insurance) before the insurance company kicks in and starts paying up to the limits established on your policy.

Comprehensive General Liability provides protection in case of losses due to bodily injury, or property damage, caused by the insured’s employees or agents, as a result of filming. Location owners require proof of this if you’re shooting on their property, governmental agencies usually require it for shooting on public property, or to obtain film permits.

Workers’ Compensation and Employer’s Liability provides coverage for medical, disability or death benefits to any cast, crew or office employee (paid or unpaid) who becomes ill, or is injured, working on the film. If you are hiring cast and crew as independent contractors (often LLCs, Loan-Out corporations), they are supposed to carry their own workman’s comp. Find out who is and isn’t covered and procedures in the event of an injury or incident.

Equipment, Props, Sets and Wardrobe Insurance covers loss and damage to rented equipment, camera, sound, lighting and miscellaneous rented equipment, props, sets and wardrobe from all vendors.

Most rental companies require proof—a certificate of insurance, with their company added to it—before they will rent you their gear. They usually insist upon a credit card for a deposit as well, in case the equipment is destroyed. Some vendors offer floater policies (you ride on their insurance for an extra fee), but these are more expensive than if you procure the insurance yourself. Owned equipment requires a separate policy.

The equipment folks usually request the following:

  • You add their company as Additional Insured to your policy
  • You add their company to be named as Additional Loss Payee to your policy
  • Your insurance provides adequate coverage (they’ll tell you the limits)
  • Fax/email them the certificate, confirm receipt.

Hiring crew with their own insured equipment is a plus because they take good care of it.

Errors and Omissions insurance protects you from claims involving violation of personal rights, libel, or slander (important for documentary makers), and is usually required for distribution. An entertainment attorney specializing in legal clearances will review the script or story, origins, characters, names, locations, similarity to real events or people. E and O protects you in case your title violates a third-party trademark, accidental failure to obtain consent, or a proper license causes someone to sue.

Auto (hired and non-owned): Liability covers injury to third parties, or damage to property caused by vehicles rented for the production. The physical damage part of the policy provides coverage for damage to the vehicles themselves.

You can also purchase insurance to cover the negative, film and videotape loss, principal cast (requires completion of health questionnaire and physical), aircraft, animals boats, office contents, foreign production, adverse weather, additional insureds, jewelry, fine art (on location), illness, bereavement, kidnapping and ransom.

Third Party Property Damage covers loss, damage to, or destruction of property of others, including loss of use of that property in your care, custody or control.

Guild Travel Accident insurance is required by guilds and unions and can be extended to non-union cast and crew as well.

Shop around. Non-profits and film-related trade organizations like WIFT, IFP, Fractured Atlas and Shooting People have relationships with insurers and may provide discounted deals for members. Local film commissions, trades and other filmmakers are great resources for insurance, so ask lots of questions. How fast can you get coverage? Is there a person available after hours (often when indies are shooting)? The upfront cost is small compared to catastrophic damages in the case of a lawsuit, severe injuries, or death. Some vendors who can help locate insurance for low-budget productions include Ventura, Film Emporium, ProductionInsurance.com and RVNA. (If you know of others, please let me know so I can share those resources.)

A note about drones—they are becoming more popular every day. There are state laws and Federal laws about drone usage. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is responsible for controlling the safety of air travel and any machinery operating in the air, including drones. Laws have been shifting around drones for safety reasons and these affect our film shoots. Before shooting with a drone, find out the rules—your drone operator may have to get an operating license, or register the drone. FAA.gov, federaldroneregistration.com. Also, ask your insurance company if you will need additional coverage when using a drone.

On set, the Assistant Director is the go-to person for safety, but an informed and pro-active attitude toward safety is important during shooting and around a set. Whether you are shooting union or not, it is never a waste of time to discuss safety for the shoot and share information that will keep everyone safe.

Legal

Legal fees vary by project size and complexity. Legal costs are often underestimated and are important when it comes time to show your film on the festival circuit and then get it distributed. Getting advice and allocating resources as early in the process as possible will help you navigate contracts, licenses and permissions and have someone you can ask for advice when you need it the most. As with other vendors, get several references for a lawyer that has experience with projects of your type and solicit multiple bids. Talk with the lawyer to feel comfortable working with them; chemistry is one factor in a good relationship with a firm and it’s a good idea to speak with their other clients, so ask for references. This may seem obvious, but entertainment attorneys have specialized knowledge about working with intellectual property and the issues that arise. It is advisable to work with an entertainment attorney, specifically one that has experience with the type of project you will be working on. An additional point is that a long-term relationship with a good law firm can help grow your career, as lawyers will have additional clients and connections that may prove beneficial to you over time, so take time to survey who the best firm and lawyer is for you.

Some common legal costs can include:

  • Forming the production entity;
  • Drafting and negotiation of legal agreements for producer, casting director, DP, production designer, editor, composer, lead actors and foreign sales agent or distribution agreements
  • Drafting standard agreements for the below the line crew and help with location agreements, music licenses for songs
  • Script clearance fees
  • E and O application, copyright application and/or amendment and title reports
  • Financing and bonding of the film
  • Assistance with guild and union agreements, such as SAG signatory paperwork
  • Reviewing main and end title credits to ensure they comply with your contracts
  • Ongoing profit participation statements
  • Tax, immigration, arbitration or litigation
  • Creation and/or maintenance of a client trust account
  • Hourly fees for ongoing advisory services if your team has questions or litigation

Lawyers usually offer a free consultation to discuss the film. Some attorneys will offer a specific service for a fee—like services a la carte; and others will give you a package deal for one price, or a price range—with the stipulation that services beyond what is in the contract will be charged extra. It is typical for the firm to receive credit on the project, or the individual lawyer.

Publicity, Marketing and Film Festivals

You will need a paper version and an electronic version of your press kit to convey the “story” of the film and making it, to distributors, festivals, press and fans, quickly and easily. Much of this can be generated for free. Start as early as possible, or hire someone to create and gather these materials:

  • News hooks to make it easy for journalists to write about you
  • Synopsis, List of Credits
  • Bios of key cast and crew
  • Production stills
  • Key art and great graphics pertaining to the story, logo
  • Trailers and teasers, provocative clips from the film which can also be used in social media promotion, film festival promotion and crowdfunding (if necessary for festival or final expenses)
  • Canned video “interviews” where your publicity folks create relevant and provocative questions and your filmmakers answer them on camera
  • Transcribed version of the above
  • Website, Facebook page and other social media pages, crowdfunding pages, presence on film communities, YouTube and Vimeo page
  • Genre, estimated length of completed film, anticipated rating
  • Sell Sheet (poster on the front, synopsis and bios on the back—once you have team and cast attached)
  • Reviews
  • Awards List

Budget for promotion. Whether all Do-It-Yourself or not, planning your festival, marketing and distribution strategy and budget early on will help keep you from running out of money.

Remember that if you are using a crowdfunding campaign for your film from the very beginning, that is the launch of your marketing, so use it to the fullest extent possible. Since you will create a budget for entering the completed film into film festivals, should you also enter your final script into screenplay contests? Winning or placing in those will also create buzz and pedigree for your movie. As you launch your crowdfunding campaign, can you earn some comments from the press about the project? All the notice and buzz you can build around your movie at every stage will add to its accumulated “noise” in the marketplace. Creating a timeline and project base with all of the assets can be a resource that is used as the project grows, and many of these initial materials—such as your title, genre, logline, synopsis, stills, headshots, cast and crew list—are the very things that will make up part of your press kit.

Apply your scheduling and budgeting skills to all of your marketing, from crowdfunding to the execution of your marketing and distribution plan. Table 5.9 shows a simplified crowdfunding timeline:

For clarity on terms, publicity is free press—whether with film bloggers, an article in a magazine, local newspaper or elsewhere, this is a way to get free awareness for your project and the filmmakers. Marketing builds awareness and it’s important to strategize and start this as early in your filmmaking process as possible, whether promoting your placement in a film festival on social media, sending email newsletters or running a crowdfunding campaign.

Film Festivals are useful, primarily to earn official selection, receive laurels, win prizes, attract the attention of distributors, but also to market a project and the filmmakers involved. Whether one wins or not, placing in or winning a festival and sharing your film at a live screening is rewarding for all the artists whose hard work goes into making a movie. Festivals are plentiful, growing in number and specificity (genre, length, theme, etc.) and growing in importance to attract attention to a film and increase marketing opportunities. The expense of attendance and entry fees can be considerable and is often understated by filmmakers.

With the growth and proliferation of film festival entry sites like Withoutabox.com and FilmFreeway.com and Festival Focus, filmmakers can estimate the costs well in advance and should plan a budget accordingly. Expanding this section will emphasize and offer filmmakers ways to ensure that their budget is robust enough to support this critical component, the results of which often contribute to a film’s overall success and marketability. Look on the posters of indie films playing in theaters, typically sporting the familiar laurels from winning one festival or another.

There are many festivals, but only the biggest ones (Cannes, Tribeca, Toronto, Sundance, Berlin, Rotterdam, Venice, Locarno, San Sebastian, Karlovy Vary, Los Angeles Film Fest) attract distributor attention. Pick and choose which to apply to; there are thousands and if you get in, try to go and capitalize on the experience to every extent possible. Many festivals that charge submission fees will give you a break if you submit early. It’s important for your PMD (Producer of Distribution and Marketing) or whoever tackles the promotion and festival submission process to understand that the world premiere is valuable, so do your best to get that at the biggest festival possible, because you only get one. After the world premiere, a premiere in a specific country, then state, can also be valuable. Festivals are inundated with submissions, so a personal recommendation from someone connected with the festival can give your project a boost in the crowd. Ask everyone you know and their friends, who might know someone in contact with a festival programmer.

FilmFreeway.com and Withoutabox.com are one-stop shops for film festivals, screening series and screenplay contests. If you have not done so yet, check them out. They are platforms where you can join for free, upload your film, enter bios, synopsis, loglines, photos, cast and crew just one time, then use that to enter several festivals at any time. You can set up reminders when the entries open (it is usually cheaper to apply to a festival as early in the process as possible) and research many festivals in just one place.

Things to remember about festival expenses:

  • Research festivals
  • Set Reminders and Watchlists so you can enter early
  • Enter as early as possible (less expensive)
  • Enter the cheap as well as expensive, top-tier fests
  • Write a great cover letter to get noticed
  • Get to know the programmers; ask if you can have a fee waived
  • Create postcards/materials that you can use at several occasions, updating screening times with a sticker for each festival to save funds

With the abundance of festivals to choose from, allocating a budget for related expenses is important. Prioritize the festivals that are most important, but also figure on entering festivals that may not be the most prominent. There is value to entering a smaller festival that features your project’s genre, strengths or story theme and you’ll want to enter festivals nearby, in your home town, or in an area that might have a strong demographic correlating to your target audience.

Categories for film festival budgets could include:

  • • Festival entry fees
  • • Facebook ads to promote the film
  • • Postcards to promote your film at the festival
  • • Festival consultation with consultant fees
  • • Travel budget to film festival
  • • Food, lodging, entertainment at the film festivals for you and your team
  • • Swag to promote your film at the festival
  • • Outfits or accessories to wear on the red carpet in promotional stills
  • • Tickets to attend events or screenings at the festival if that festival doesn’t provide them for free to the filmmakers
  • • Gear you want to buy to remember your festival experience; you will want the hoodie, ball cap, or poster

Film Market attendance is more expensive than festival attendance (if you register). A budget for festival or market attendance would include travel and lodging, registration fees, one-sheets, screeners, postcards, business cards. Markets are a forum for buying and selling films. Contracting with a producer’s rep or sales agent eliminates the need for a member of your team to attend, as the rep or agent will be there on your behalf. A Producers Rep seeks U.S. distribution and helps find a foreign sales agent for international rights; they charge up-front or take a percentage of the deal (10–35%).

Independent Sales Reps license the film on your behalf domestically and internationally, earning a percentage of the deal (10–35%). A Sales Agency may focus on U.S. and/or domestic, often requires a down payment, earning a percentage (15–40%) of deals they make, after recouping their expenses. For more info, check out Stacey Parks, The Insider’s Guide to Independent Film Distribution (Focal Press). Film markets include Cannes, Filmart, AFM, Tokyo, Toronto, MIP-TV, MIP-Com, EFM, NATPE.

Marketing and Publicity: The difference—Marketing is the blanket term for all of the activities to promote your film and includes any that you pay for—such as placements of ads in various media, while publicity is the act of activating free buzz and word of mouth about a film through interviews, press releases, publicity stunts, appearances. It is necessary to cut multiple trailers and teasers—for the project’s website and marketing, creating visibility on various social media platforms, or for use with ancillary elements like apps, contests, games and the like. You can find editors who specialize in this, allocating it solely to marketing activities, or build a portion into your editing budget. If the filmmakers have run out of money in the home stretch of post production and do not have any money for marketing, discuss with them a plan for marketing, or arranging to create a crowdfunding campaign just for that purpose.

Premiums: Anything you give out that has the name of the film and the website (pencils, shirts, caps, bracelets, temporary tattoos, jewelry, mugs, rubber bananas, etc.).

Online Presence: At the outset of preproduction, you will need someone to build your website and establish a social media presence. Tech-savvy PAs or interns may be able to save you money in this arena.

Distribution Expenses

Plan your Distribution and Marketing activities from the start and budget accordingly.

If you are planning on applying for a Movie Rating by the MPAA Classification and Ratings Administration (CARA), it is based on the budget of the film; do not assume you will receive the rating you expect. www.filmratings.com/filmRatings_Cara/#/resources/

If the producer wishes for that unmistakable Dolby Sound and the corresponding logo, ask your post production facility to quote for these fees.

E and O (Errors and Omissions) Insurance is an important one for distribution purposes, so get a quote from your provider when you shop around for production insurance. While some distributors or sales agents might pick this cost up for you, there’s no guarantee, and the downside is that you may have problems getting it when you most need it (same with title registration). To obtain E and O insurance, you must get a Script Clearance Report, usually from an attorney who specializes in this field. The point of the report is to minimize legal exposure by checking names of people, locations, businesses, product names, schools, organizations, film clips, photographs, books, works of art, props and anything else that may have been copyrighted by another person or corporation.

Clearances for your title, a title report (search) and title opinion (lawyer approval of the search and results), based on prior use of your proposed title, similar and related titles. You can’t copyright a title, but you aren’t allowed to mooch off of somebody else’s title (Return of the Wizard of Oz) unless you get legal permission from the copyright holder. This doesn’t stop companies from making “mockumentary” films (Snakes on a Train, by Asylum) which seem to come close—but as long as you do not confuse the audience, legally you are OK (in theory). It is possible to search the U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress records and common law sources like IMDB, Amazon and Netflix to help prevent you from inadvertently choosing a title just like another movie or TV or video project. You will still need to pay a law firm or entertainment attorney to produce these for you if the project will be distributed. You might be able to get the distributor or sales agent to front these costs, but it’s not a given.

If you plan on holding preview screenings to test audience response, include those costs as well—renting out a theater, hiring a projectionist, audience recruiting fee, your data gathering and questionnaire process.

Here is an example of the type of expenses incurred to self-release a film in the theater, which had a total budget cost of approximately $50,000 for the filmmakers. The costs, broken down, included:

  • Exhibition costs: working with a theatrical booker, E and O insurance, feature and trailer DCP creation, Blu-ray authoring, Virtual Print Fees (VPFs), cost of renting a theater, shipping, one-sheets, trailers

    (31%, $15,550)

  • Marketing: publicity, marketing. Creative: editorial, poster design and printing, publicists, press screenings, lobby displays, web updates, grass roots efforts like wild postings, post cards, social media

    (37%, $18,500)

  • Paid Advertising: print (newspaper and weeklies), ad slick production, online and social media ads

    (32%, $16,000)

Increasingly filmmakers are taking their releases into their own hands, whether it is theatrically with a partner like TUGG, or Submarine, or a 4-Wall themselves, by booking a local indie theater nearby, or in a college, museum, church, or in any big space with a good screen; as well as releasing a film on one of the VOD platforms directly or through a service such as CreateSpace (Amazon), iTunes, Distribber, FlixU, IndieFlix, Vimeo, You-Tube—and there are more all the time, so be sure to research these and compare them.

Self-marketing and releasing a film takes an incredible amount of time and energy, but who else has the passion and commitment to your project that your team does? This issue is one to bring up with your team early, to create awareness as early in the process as possible. Something to keep in mind, that in addition to the producing and directing team, the writer and actors have as much of an interest in building traction for the process as anyone, so if you can, enlist them in the marketing and awareness process as part of any payment they receive.

Getting a distribution deal requires expenses. Here is an example of some of the requirements for a VOD release deal and you can price these costs:

  • Hard Drive with 1080p, 23.98 HD or ProRes 422 with composite stereo composite sound mix, separate stereo music and effects (M and E) sound mix in AIFF or WAV format (16-bit, 48k or higher)
  • Preferred audio delivery also includes 5.1 surround composite plus 5.1 surround music and effects (M and E) in CAF format, or each surround channel in AIFF or WAV
  • Complete credits list
  • Trailer of feature in same formats as listed above
  • Minimum of 30 production stills, not behind-the-scenes photography (high-resolution 300 dpi or better TIFF or JPEG format)
  • Music cue sheet (Excel format preferred)
  • E and O Insurance certificate
  • Dialogue list (Word or Excel format preferred)
  • Closed Captions
  • Complete chain of title documentation including copyright certificate and existing layered key art in Photoshop PSD format
  • QC (Quality Control) Report from a reputable lab

Hidden Expenses

Expenses can be hidden in plain sight; ask vendors about things that may seem obvious.

  • Catering: Food for extra people (investors visiting sets, extras) and a place to eat it. Plates, napkins, silverware, what is required for access to water and electricity. How late can they take a head count?
  • Return times, days for gear, OT charges.
  • After-hours contact information if equipment breaks or malfunctions.
  • Characteristics of the stock/format (there are lots of formats available now to shoot on and they have different quirks).
  • If you are shooting on P2 Cards, what’s the workflow? Ask the editor so the shoot isn’t held up.
  • MUA and Hair: Quality prosthetics, wardrobe, makeup, and wigs. They don’t have to cost a fortune but they’re not cheap; discuss essential elements with makeup, hair and costume department heads. High-definition formats are so great that they show everything. Airbrush makeup system may be required.
  • Stunts—extra people, safety, insurance.

Union/Guild: Residual Deposits, Pension, Health and Welfare, Overtime, Meal Penalties, Production Fees, Severance, Turnaround Times, Travel requirements (1st class airfare or coach). Will you want the talent to show up to screenings and press events? Does their contract include promotional activities? Understand these way in advance so you don’t get bitten later. If your production goes over the allocated, guild/union approved budget, you will be billed after the fact for the bump-up. Cell phone reimbursement—put a cap on it. Per diems are for distant shoots and when the budget is snug, feed everyone as a group, keep the per diem for extra expenses (forgotten toothbrush, calling card).

Garbage Disposal: Film production generates a lot of trash and some of it is toxic. Depending where you are shooting, construction materials, unused paints and fixatives aren’t permitted to be left in any old trash can or poured down the drain—you can get fined, shut down and it is bad for the environment. Plan your trash.

Unused supplies: Try to sell them if possible. For items that remain unsold, if it’s expensive to dispose of items, call places like the Salvation Army, local high school and college art teachers, or Habitat for Humanity to find out if they can use them.

Emotional Vampires and Power Plays: everyone should know who’s in charge and those in charge should be supported. Lose dead weight or negative energy as early as possible.

Drugs and Booze on set: put a clear policy in writing that everyone is aware of and don’t tolerate infractions; it’s a safety issue.

Safety and Security: worth the price, medic, firemen, policemen, security guards, locks, accounting controls, insurance.

Cast: do they require anything special or extra: entourage, perks, personal chef, trainer, hairdresser, children present, private house, trailer.

Just say no to “we’ll fix it in post,” a mentality that pushes responsibility and expense to post production. This usually moves the headache forward in time and will disrupt the budget, eventually. Avoid this. This includes the affordable tendency with digital format to shoot so much footage, just because you can. Remember that someone has to go through all that footage.

Bad weather slows everything down; look at historical forecasts and the Farmer’s Almanac for the regions and season you will be shooting in. Plan accordingly, taking into account recent weather pattern changes. Assign 2 people to check the Weather Channel every day and at night (in case 1 person forgets, or you get different forecasts!).

Legal Formation: You can save money in legal expenses by doing certain things yourself, if they are done correctly. Find a good entertainment attorney, recommended by fellow filmmakers, and start cultivating relationships with entertainment lawyers by attending legal seminars concerning film and entertainment law.

Your producer may already have a production company, but it is common to form a company for each feature film, to offset taxes and protect members and investors. Don’t rush to form a legal entity (you’ll be on the radar to pay taxes), but do budget for it. Every state is a little different. Consult your CPA and attorney. Forming any business entity has tax consequences. FYI: if you are using location-based incentives, they may have rules about this, so find out before spending a dime.

Minor Actors: There are strict rules about the amount of time a minor (18 and under) can work or be present on set (see Table 5.10). Minors must have meal, rest, recreation and schooling breaks as well. The Federal Department of Labor summarizes varying state laws regarding minor employment in a film, which can be found in their Table of Child Entertainment Provisions: www.dol.gov/whd/state/childentertain.htm

Table 5.10

Age of Minor Maximum Work Time on Set
15 days–6 months 20 minutes
6 months–2 years 2 hours
2–5 years 3 hours
6–8 years 4–6 hours
9–15 years 5–7 hours

The hidden expense on top of the extra time it will take for a child’s rehearsal and performance is the fee for a guardian to accompany a minor. The shorter attention span of a young person means more short takes, more footage, more work in post. Babies are adorable but unpredictable.

Animal Actors: Require extra time to get from one place to another, acclimatized and comfortable in a new environment. They must be cast, trained (centered near major film industries) fed, watered, shaded, sheltered, cared for, which can all add up. They may require fans, misters, appropriate crates, collars and veterinarian examinations.

An American Humane Certified Animal Safety Representative™ must be on set (no charge for this within the U.S.) but you are expected to feed them.

Exporting or importing animals requires licenses from the U.S. Dept of the Interior and a certificate of health is required when you are transporting an animal actor anywhere. Check with your local film commission regarding special permits needed for animals on your set in that region. Animals will incur additional insurance costs, including animal mortality insurance.

Shipping: Plan ahead and make sure there is a human being responsible to account for your package on the other end. If at all possible, assign an office production person the duties so shipments have someone accountable for them at every point. Allocate a budget for shipping AFTER you have researched how much shipping you are likely to do and to where.

Shipping is expensive even when you are not in a rush; particularly international shipping. Ask who needs it, why exactly and when? Is this a document or file that in any way can be PDF-ed, or scanned or transferred online, via FTP or the multiple FTP-type services like YouSendIt.com or Dropbox? (Which are available for a one-time fee, you don’t necessarily have to subscribe annually).

End of Chapter Five Review

The proportions of your budget should make sense to show up on screen, in production values, whatever the producer and director consider that to be.

  1. Ask for help, get a second opinion
  2. Look at the numbers
  3. Make a picture

The Schedule will go Through at Least 3 Major Iterations

  • Preliminary
  • Create a 6-day week versus a 5-day
  • 1st choice schedule accommodating availability of dream team

The Budget will go Through at Least 3 Major Iterations

  • Preliminary Budget
  • Perfect World
  • Practical (with deals and favors called in)
  • No Matter What
  • Final Approved Budget

Research in advance ways to save money and time on hidden expenses, like:

  • Waste disposal
  • Insurance
  • Legal fees
  • Minor and Animal Actors
  • Shipping

..................Content has been hidden....................

You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.
Reset