How To Budget A Film Production

A budget is like a living document that can change throughout the filmmaking process, but having it as both a guideline for purchases as well as a method for keeping track of expenses is a huge life saver for any filmmaker, especially if you’re self funding your film. So let’s get into how to make a budget so you can hold on to as much cash as possible.

There’s really two steps to making a budget. First is creating the estimated budget, which is made up of estimated costs and should be done before making any purchases. Creating this version of the budget will help give you the overall bigger picture of how much your film might cost and can often be eye opening to first time filmmakers.

This step is also important because it can help you set limits for how much each department can spend. This way it’s clearly communicated and there’s no expensive surprises down the road. In order to make your estimated budget, you’ll need to research how much each item will cost so your budget can be as accurate as possible.

Once you’ve collected all your estimated costs, it’s time to put them in your budget. To make your budget, first make a column along the top for categories. The first is Department and this is where you’ll list which department the cost is associated with.

The next category along the top is Item. This is where you’ll list the item being purchased. If it’s a cast or crew member, you’ll list the character or crew member’s role.

Next to that is the description category. This is where you’ll list either a description of the item if need be, or if it’s a cast or crew member, you’ll list their name.

After that is the cost category and this is where you’ll put either your estimate or the actual cost for the item. Then you want a Department Total category, where you can add up the totals for each department. And finally, you can optionally have a notes category if you feel you might need to enter any notes.

Along the left side of your budget, you’ll want to have sections for each department. Generally speaking, your departments should be cast, crew, transportation, camera and lighting, props, location, wardrobe and makeup, crafty and meals, post production, marketing, and insurance.

Also pro tip, don’t forget to add film festival and distribution costs which you can include in your marketing category.

Once you have your estimated budget filled out, make sure you add a total for each department as well as a divider so you can clearly see what each department costs and it’s section in the budget.

And of course finally, add up the total for each section into a grand total at the very bottom. This is your estimate for how much your film will cost.

Once you’ve made your estimated budget, the second step is updating it every time you make a purchase for the film. And pro tip, make sure you hold on to all of your purchase receipts for tax and reference purposes.

Updating your budget is critical to figuring out how much your film will actually cost, because sometimes things can cost different amounts than what you estimated. Hidden fees like taxes or shipping costs might raise the price, or on the flip side maybe some of your departments were able to come in under budget.

It can also help you with future projects, as now you have a pretty good estimate for what a film that size might cost, so you can use this data to help build other film budgets.

By constantly updating the budget to get the most accurate financial information possible, you’ll know exactly where your money is going and be able to hold onto as much of it as possible!

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