BUDGETING
Budgeting is an excellent skill to develop as a film maker.
It will enable you to complete your films in a reasonable time, allow
you the opportunity of being a dependable supplier of products for
distribution and ultimately a successful career financially. Don't
scoff at this. Wait until you get older!
Here are some things to remember. Shoot 35mm. Budget no less
than $50,000. Certain scripts and genres can be made for that. It's
very hard! It takes a lot of experience. If you must shoot on this kind
of budget, don't use the standard budget forms. You'll be over-budget
before you complete the first sheet of the standard studio budget
forms. Create your own budget format. List all the deferred services
and supplies separately. For example, if you're the writer and director
and you own the picture, why bother entering a triple salary for
yourself at this stage?
Most of your money will be spent on film stock and lab
services, with this kind of budget. If this is your first film, pay
your lab bill as you go! Otherwise, you'll think all kinds of ugly
things when the going gets rough. You may never be able to complete
your film when you run out of money and the pressure starts to mount.
And it may be the last picture you'll ever make, if you put the lab in
a difficult spot. And if the picture is your baby you'll never forgive
yourself later when the lab sells it for "storage charges" to a total
stranger!
Most 35mm low-budget movies can be made for $100,000 to
$200,000. If you can't make your money back on this kind of budget,
don't make another film on your own until you've gained some
experience. It doesn't matter how long you've been wanting to make a
movie or how many movies you've worked on.
On this kind of budget you can pay all your actors something. That
means you can get competent, non-union actors for the picture.
Many "industry types" will tell you that such actors don't
exist. I'll tell you, not only do they exist, but there are actors in
the same phase of their career as you are, just getting off the ground,
who avoid joining unions just to have the opportunity of a substantial
role in an independent movie - a chance they won't get if they join the
unions first! Be patient, be humble, and be compassionate when dealing
with such talent. They are the best friends you'll ever make in this
business.
And here's another thing to keep in mind. These actors are
usually more advanced and sophisticated than you are, because it's
harder for them to get to their level of competence and then to have to
willingly work in a sub-standard production. Remember all you had to do
to be a film producer is come up with $100,000 and, with all your
gifts, you're probably making your first picture, while actors have not
only education usually , but also they've been in plenty of plays and
possibly some movies and television.
And you have budgetary constraints on how much production
value you can squeeze into a movie, but they have to perform at top
level, as though they were working on a union picture -- otherwise the
film won't make the grade.
Maybe you're lucky and you got $250,000 to $500,000 at your
disposal. You're in fact in a position to make an excellent "B Movie."
Okay, you're playing in a different ballpark from that of an
independent film maker. You got the money to make some serious damage!
You have the opportunity to do a union picture with respect to your
actors only! If you try to make an all union picture with this kind of
money, I might as well tell you right now, in very sincere but by
necessity unceremonious terms, you're gonna get killed -- maybe
literally. I hate shocking people like this; but, believe me, I would
consider it very irresponsible to write such a book as this and not
tell you, dear potential film maker, about the certainty of the danger
awaiting you if you falter one step here. You got plenty to worry about
just dealing with actors' managers, agents and unions at this point, to
be further hampered with union crew demands at your back. Notice when
you're directing your actors, your back is to the crew -- the actors
are in front of you, you can watch them, you know how they feel, you're
prepared to deal with them! We hope. But the crew is right behind you,
ready to tear you apart if you break the union rules!
Now with this kind of budget, your lab expenses are
constant; therefore, you have the opportunity to get actors from
$100,000 to $400,000. This is where you need the help of casting
people, (if you don't have contacts with actors directly). You'd be
surprised whom you can get for that kind of money: name actors from TV
-- in-between productions or seasons, character actors from big
pictures, one or two-day acting stints by big name actors -- in the
right roles! You get the picture?
This is the kind of budget the independent distributors love
to "pick up" in a feature. Tell'em you made it for a million bucks. You
shouldn't care whether they believe you or not; just make sure you get
the negative cost (the money you spent on it) in advance, upon signing,
before you give them the picture -- regardless of what other percentage
you're supposed to get. If you don't for any reason, you may very
likely lose all your money!
From $500,000 to $1,000,000 budget a picture is graduating towards the
"A film" category. Just because the film is graduating that doesn't
mean as a film maker you are qualified to make such a film a success.
The problem is in recovering that kind of money. Period.
Avoid spending that kind of money on an independent movie -- it's just
not cost effective. The markets don't support that kind of budget, with
its restrictive production values. A film like this may become a cross
between a "B film" and an "A film," "neither fish nor fowl." There are
exceptions; but, this is a difficult budget category, except for
possible production outside the US or in co-production deals, where
you're matched by foreign companies dollar for dollar, and then in such
cases you're making an "A film" really. I'll discuss this later.
The "A film" budget for independent film makers begins at
$1,000,000. And the maximum limit, at this writing these days, is
$5,000,000. That means, as far as I'm concerned, if you're making your
own picture and you've reached the stage when you can spend that kind
of money on a production, and you decide to go over that, you're mad.
Sorry, it's only my opinion. Call me whatever you like, but understand
that I don't want you to get hurt. After all you bought my book. You're
a customer. You're king!