Any seasoned Line Producers in the thread that can answer budget build questions? How do you know what to place in line items for such things as Post Editing, Color, Sound, Visual FX houses? Specifically for episodics whose episodes aren't all written yet.
Producing : Seasoned Line Producer by Kesha Ya
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Have you built out your schedule yet? You'll need that first. I go directly to the source - a post supervisor could tell you how many people you'd need on your Post Editing Team, color, sound, etc. And a staggered schedule is pretty common for television, so it's fine that your post team wouldn't start until after production has started so long as your writing team is keeping up with your production schedule. Also, you may have to answer whether or not they are in-house (working in-office) or working remotely. I would not risk leaving too much time between editing episodes as contractors will find other work if there is too much downtime.
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Yes the schedule is set. We have a writers room and once that has finished the pre pro begins. We want to go into post staggered as you have suggested and would want to keep a steady post schedule with no breaks between editing episodes. Your response thus far is so incredibly helpful and I'm grateful Karen Ross!
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Hi Kesha! Make sure to upload your photo so you can continue to have access to Stage 32. Glad to have you here.
I'm so glad, Kesha Ya! I think the big variables you may have to factor in are - additional time (should you have reshoots or any other delays), shots/scenes requiring VFX, and music (both composing and securing the rights - as both of these are part of the Sound Design budget). For additional time, I would suggest adding a 10% contingency to ensure you have the cushion in your budget. For music, I would consult with a sound designer for pricing. For potential VFX for scenes not yet written - maybe hold a meeting with your showrunner and lead writer to go over your pitch deck/bible to see if there are any set pieces in your series that you know will require more attention as a kind of placeholder for your VFX team. Did that make sense? I hope that helps!
OK I will adhear to all you have written Karen. I so appreciate it !!
You are most welcome! Actually, one of our Community Leaders in the Post-Production Lounge just posted about what you need to know in order to accommodate a VFX team in your post-production workflow - definitely work checking out: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/post_production/What-is-a-VFX-Editor
I would check in the post lounge as Kay mentioned - and - personal 2 cents, planning the budget without having all the details could lead to doing the same work, twice or three times to make budget in money and time fit the now written material. Would you consider doing some research on general costs of the things you need?