Screenwriting : Estimated budget? by Shawn Carlson

That's an unanswerable question the way it's ask. Are you talking FL or short, tv or silver screen? What genre? Location or studio? On and on...

https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/getmedia/f33f81d8-f891-4e1d-87b9-179c52c18236/A-z-feature-budget.xlsx

Have a look at this.

Wow okay....So as a writer there is no true way to estimate a FL, Silver screen, action/adventure, location for most all shooting....beyond that i would have no idea.

The only time that this is going to matter is on a low budget. And after the common sense things, the other things that matter are number of individual locations (around 10 or fewer), number of speaking parts (20 or fewer), only 1 small crowd scene, no kids, no animals, no weather, try to avoid night exteriors, and then - make the film as exciting as an A movie without those things.

well, no kids, no animals and no weather...other than that I'm i have the others! So much great information from everyone. I truly appreciate it.

I say this a lot, so sorry if you have heard it before. Make a short film. You’ll learn what is hard to do, which normally costs more.

You can the write more affordable without comprising your story.

You guys are great!

Without some recognizable actors your film has little chance of distribution and/or recouping its budget. Their salaries can vary widely. On IMDbPro you'll find something called the STARmeter, which numbers actors from #1 through infinity according to their perceived importance. Tom Hanks, for example is Number #32. If you want a given actor, you usually pay their going rate plus 10% - 15% additional for the services of their agent/manager.

Whew! What a question! I talked to a producer that told me all he needed was 5 million to produce a movie. With that being said, here is the little I know. Budget is dependent on the route. For example: Union workers (grips, electric, etc.) and SAG actors are usually considered the big leagues. Non-union and non-SAG are more congruent to Indies. But the lines are always blurred. Not all SAG actors are recognized, while some non-SAG actors may have a large fan base from Instagram, youtube, etc. SAG actors will work Indies and non-SAG will work union shows. Now the rest of crew: art department, construction, greens, grips, electric, medic, special effects, crafty, hair and makeup, costumes, locations, security, permits, camera ops, sound, production office, etc. are to be factored in, but again if falls into the route, Union or Non-Union. So your budget can range 60K (Blair Witch-indie film) to 1 billion (Avengers Infinity and End Game).

Its a chicken and egg scenario. Could be any amount depending on statistics/logistics. After all insurance policies are in place its down to the price of locations, technical crew, line manager and required wage of actors. (If necessary catering and transport.) People are making films for thousands and others millions.

I was talking to an indie producer and he said he is sick of writers saying they have a low budget film and then there is car chases and crowd scenes.

I think if you can educate yourself in what things can drive up costs it is good knowledge to have.

Like I always say, “make something and see all the problems, and how to write around them”.

"Do I get a percentage of the neto gross." "Sure"... How Hollywood Accounting Can Make a $450 Million Movie 'Unprofitable'. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/09/how-hollywood-accou...

Hi Shawn,

Bigger films - and even films in all categories - usually have a professional make the budget. One of the duties of a "line producer" is to do that, and there are other professionals involved as well. I saw a budget for a film once, and the book was almost 100 pages. You really need to know how much everything costs in order to make a budget as close as accurate as possible.

MovieMagic is the industry standard, and there are a couple others out there , too. You can find some free budgeting templates on studiobinder.com, and there are some real high-quality budget pros here on Stage32 as well.

I did a project once, and had a budget of $60,000. I had a six-person union crew, eight actors, props, a theater/stage rental, videotape copies, meals, post-production and other things to pay for. I had a pretty accurate budget until the day of the shoot, and it rained. The rain put me three or four hours over budget because some of the actors were late. Having an open bar for the after-party put me over budget, too. Never have an open bar for actors and crew! Heh-heh.

Best fortunes in your creative endeavors, Shawn!

Hey @Bill You spot on about LINE PRODUCER. (HEH Heh as long as its one you trust with a track record) I did a couple of budget shoots with a guy who really knew his salt. I actually avoided problems you had cos line manager had second option of shooting indoors when it rained on hand (included in cost of shoot per minute) AND painted a floor black for lighting effect AND sprayed a garden with water. (Spraying water outdoor night shoots creates more light). Now I can do these moves myself but I learned on hand creative budgeting from a good pro line producer. Do not forget lighting guys charge double or treble out of hours. A cool line producer does not just work out funds on paper, they on set to make sure sums work out.

I think we have wondered off the road here.

How do we “estimate”. Perhaps look at movies that are similar in nature and find there budgets.

I can see value in knowing if it is a $5m or $50m movie. Even just to develop professional knowledge.

Listen to podcast from the Bafta, Director’s Guild and anything else that focuses on production. You’ll here things like “there was a bucket load of visuals. That sent the budget skyward”.

@Rutger has a point with the Warner Brothers Memo. I was talking before mainly about low budget films where line producer wears many hats BUT in Main Studio territory they have a team of accountants to work out sums. (And liaise with agents etc). The paperwork is an endless stream of costs, (outside general production for making film) estimates and legal clauses including distribution deal memos, royalty sheets , release expenses, contract licensor’s shares etc. I once witnessed a meeting that lasted a whole day about “supposed” costs and there had not even been a rehearsal yet. It’s a world I admit I do not understand because I am not a numbers person and not business minded, although its a necessary pre requisite in the dog eat dog film world.

An old book with many different kinds of production budgets:

Film & Video Budgets - Michael Wiese and Deke Simon