One of the most essential steps in the filmmaking process is to create a final movie budget. Your movie budget will outline the size of your movie and dictate how each dollar will be spent. From this information, you can finalize your business plan, raise money, hire cast and crew, make a movie and hopefully have enough money left over for marketing, sales and distribution.
How To Create a Final Movie Budget (For Indie Filmmakers)
Many motion picture professionals make a living just breaking down, scheduling and budgeting movies. So this is a pretty complicated and creative area. As a first time feature filmmaker, it would be great to partner with a seasoned Production Manager or Line Producer who could guide you through the process.
But if your budget will not permit this, you will have to put on another hat and complete your final movie budget!
Revisit Your Movie Schedule
During your scheduling process, you highlighted the various elements necessary to produce your movie such as actors, props, wardrobe, stunts, transportation, insurance and craft services, et al.
Your next step is to select these elements, import the list into your budget and assign a price to each element. Once you have each element budgeted, you will add up the costs and this will give you a total for your movie.
Create A Final Movie Budget
Once you know how much money you need, compare these figures with your initial movie budget. If you find you do not have enough money to make your movie, you have three choices.
You can either get more money. You can modify your script and schedule. Or you could go through each line item in your budget and figure out where to cut costs. Each choice will have creative consequences.
Later you will utilize this information to write your Film Business Plan. Your plan will serve as a marketing document that outlines to prospective investors how you plan to spend their money and hopefully recoup it. And if you’d like some additional tools to help you schedule and organize your shot lists, make sure you grab a copy of the shot list tool kit.
