Learn  from a producer and filmmaker whose projects have screened at Sundance, Tribeca and SXSW!

Get downloadable documents including Breakdowns, Schedules, Budgets, Union Sheets and SAG Rates

Are you a producer or a filmmaker with a story to tell but are lacking access to big financing sources? 

You may not realize that your vision can be achieved for less money than you think and, by doing so, you can make a grand statement to the world about your talent and your ability to produce a film on budget and on time.

For producers and filmmakers, a feature film with a budget below $300,000 can be a phenomenal opportunity to launch your career and see your creative vision become a reality on screen. In today’s world of varied distribution options, these low-budget films are incredibly enticing to financiers who believe there’s less risk and more avenues to profitability.  For producers, it’s a way to prove you can bring a project home. For a filmmaker, it’s a fantastic way to make your mark with managers and agents. In short, when executed properly, it's the perfect calling card.  

But in order to make it happen, you’ll need to build a realistic and professional budget and schedule that assures you can bring the film in on budget and on time. And that is an art unto itself.

Luckily, Julie Buck is here to help. As a producer, line producer, production manager, and member of the Directors Guild of America, Julie has budgeted and scheduled hundreds of independent films. Julie’s work has been screened at festivals including Tribeca, South by Southwest, London Film Festival, and Sundance, among others. She's worked with A-list talent throughout her career, including Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, Octavia Spencer, Anjelica Huston, and Bill Pullman.

In this exclusive, on demand, 4-part class, Julie will guide you on how to set a proper budget and schedule for your under $300K film. You’ll immerse yourself in how to build a realistic budget in this price range by breaking down your script costs accurately, conveying everything your physical production requires, and understanding above-the-line vs. below-the-line costs. You’ll then move onto equipment, transportation, and legal considerations that are imperative for any budget, and ensure that your numbers cover everything through post-production. Once you’ve built out your budget, you’ll learn how to find financing, even if you don’t think you have those connections yet.

In addition to Julie’s wealth of experience, she’ll be providing you with exclusive handouts to help you create your budget that can be used to find financing, including:

• Breakdowns
• Schedules
• Budgets
• Union sheets
• How to determine rates and working with SAG 

Testimonials about Julie:

"Julie is beyond informative and helpful. Thanks to her, I actually see a clear path to production on my first feature." - Tiffany R.

"Huge thanks to Julie for sharing her wealth of knowledge with our class. Her expertise is evident in her teaching. Well done." - Sebastian L.

Session 1: Breaking Down a Script & Scheduling

• Learning the basic elements of the script (locations, actors, page count, etc.), and how they impact the schedule.
• Learning to flag difficult elements that might sink a film
• Numbering the script and breaking down the script into separate elements
• Rearranging the breakdown into a realistic one-liner schedule, including day-out days and tagging elements that could impact the budget
• Discussing the various software available to schedule a film

Q&A with Julie

Handouts: Sample script and schedule

Assignment: You will expect to prep a simplified breakdown for the following week.

Session 2: Above the Line (ATL) Budgeting

• Learning what “Above-the-Line” means, including costs for producers, directors, writers, and actors, and how to minimize these costs
• Discussing unions and hidden costs of hiring SAG actors on a micro budget film
• Finding rate sheets, understanding fringes, globals, Taft Hartleys, and potential agent fees

Q&A with Julie

Handouts: Above-the-line rate sheets and sample SAG agreements

Assignment: We will begin to prep a simplified ATL budget in class, which you will finish at home and we can discuss it the following week.

Session 3: Below the Line (BTL) Budgeting

• Learning what “below-the-line” means, including costs for the crew, equipment, locations, legal fees, insurance, etc.
• Discussing potential unions that might be involved, how that can impact the backend of a budget, and how to avoid union pitfalls
• Learning how to create globals and fringes in scheduling software

Q&A with Julie

Handouts: Below-the-line rate sheets

Assignment: We will begin to prep a simplified BTL budget in class. During the week, we will work on how to build rates and how to keep down equipment costs.

Session 4: Preparing for the Unexpected

• Learn about post-production costs
• Discussing pitfalls of first-time filmmaker budgets
• Next steps to getting your film financed and produced

Q&A with Julie

WHAT TO EXPECT:

The opportunity to work this closely and for this long with an executive and an expert in the field is an incredibly unique and valuable opportunity.

• This class is designed for beginner and intermediate students looking to learn financing and how to budget properly. This is an in-depth, practical, and detailed class with significantly more content than a standard 90-minute webinar.
• This class will consist of four sessions, each roughly two hours in duration.
• PLEASE NOTE: This exclusive Stage 32 class is now available to watch on-demand so your instructor is no longer available on email but we encourage you to do any assignments to get the most out of the experience.

Directors (Advanced, Intermediate, Beginner) interested in perfecting their financing skills.

Writers (Advanced, Intermediate, Beginner) interested in perfecting their financing skills.

Producers looking to advance their knowledge of finances and budgeting for their next project.

Actors looking to understand finances when it comes to a project.

Testimonials about Julie:

"Julie is beyond informative and helpful. Thanks to her, I actually see a clear path to production on my first feature." - Tiffany R.

"Huge thanks to Julie for sharing her wealth of knowledge with our class. Her expertise is evident in her teaching. Well done." - Sebastian L.