After finishing the series about pre-production cost saving tips, I thought that I should next cover easy post production cost saving tips before production saving tips. My reasoning is that filmmakers focus the most on their production film budget but throw caution to the wind during pre and post production. The bottom line is that a dollar over budget is the same during production as during post production.
So, my first tip for post production is to focus on the end goal. You must be truthful with yourself as to what the real goal is for your film. Most filmmakers say they want a theatrical but do not realize the financial implications to that deal. I encourage everyone to make the best film possible. I also encourage filmmakers to keep in mind the economics of a business where the goal is to make a profit. If you are selling your film for a theatrical release, make sure that you test screen your film in a theater, even if it's a small theater filled with friends. Movies play differently in a theater as opposed to a big screen tv. You won't know how scenes play in a theater so you can edit accordingly.
However, if you believe that your best case scenario is a direct to dvd sale, then you should keep that in mind during the nit-picky decisions that would only impact the large screen movie theater experience. For example, check if the small Canadian leaf on the airplane wing that is only visible for a half second is really worth paying for an optical. Audiences will probably not notice that in a movie theater and definitely not notice it on dvd because.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Easy Pre-Production Cost Saving Tips p.5
One of the most exciting parts of moviemaking is when a film finally enters pre-production. Everyone is so happy that they are making the movie that everyone is afraid to say "no". Of course, everyone should play nicely but they should always keep in mind what's best for the film- the creative vision and the budget.
If the film is being shot on location in a different city or state from where the producers, writers and director live, that means that they will have to stay at a hotel during pre-production for location scouting. Each hotel room costs money, plane tickets are expensive and everyone usually submits their receipts for reimbursement or receives a per diem. Interestingly, usually only the director and one producer have a say creatively (the rest serve a vital purpose but probably not creatively related). Keep things simple by scouting with only people who are vital to the creative vision.
Remember that money saved in the film budget during pre-production is just as important as staying on budget during post-production.
If the film is being shot on location in a different city or state from where the producers, writers and director live, that means that they will have to stay at a hotel during pre-production for location scouting. Each hotel room costs money, plane tickets are expensive and everyone usually submits their receipts for reimbursement or receives a per diem. Interestingly, usually only the director and one producer have a say creatively (the rest serve a vital purpose but probably not creatively related). Keep things simple by scouting with only people who are vital to the creative vision.
Remember that money saved in the film budget during pre-production is just as important as staying on budget during post-production.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Easy Pre-Production Cost Saving Tips p.4
I once worked with a great DP on a short film where for sake of saving money, he agreed to do the camera test with the film stock on a still camera instead of the motion picture camera. This was supposed to save our 35 mm film for the shoot and would also save us a weekly rental fee on the camera package. Well the film developed beautifully so our lighting and film selection was correct; however, after we watched the first day of shooting's dailies, we noticed a blur on the film. After inspecting and checking everything, we realized that one of the lenses was damaged. By trying to save a few hundred dollars in our film budget during pre-production, it ended up costing us thousands of dollars during reshoots and post production. I have always found that when I tried to cut corners to save money in my movies that it always ended up costing more. However, if I often saved money by planning and coordinated as much as I could.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Easy Pre-Production Cost Saving Tips p.3
One of the first costs that a film project incurs is legal fees. Finding an entertainment lawyer is not tough but finding a good entertainment lawyer is very hard. The balancing act a filmmaker must walk is to find a lawyer who does quality work but is not too expensive. Most contracts do not need to be written from scratch since most experienced lawyers have written them before. So be cognizant of the number of hours he/she is billing for each contract. This is also a good reason to use an experienced entertainment lawyer instead of a general lawyer or one who has experience in another field. Another benefit to using an experienced lawyer is that they will probably have done business with other lawyers in the industry and will have a shorthand in knowing how to negotiate with each other.
One last thing to remember in legal fees is that the best way to save money is having a lawyer who only has to perform each duty once as opposed to constantly correcting mistakes.
Lawyers are a necessary part of your film budget. Make sure that you only have to spend it once.
One last thing to remember in legal fees is that the best way to save money is having a lawyer who only has to perform each duty once as opposed to constantly correcting mistakes.
Lawyers are a necessary part of your film budget. Make sure that you only have to spend it once.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Easy Pre-Production Cost Saving Tips p.2
My second tip for ways to save money in your film budget during pre-production focuses on locations. While you breakdown your shooting script, you should be creating a list of all the locations. Hiring a location manager is usually worth the expense but remember that beyond a certain point the benefit of a more expensive location manager is negligible. Instead of immediately hopping in a car and driving aimlessly, first go to your state film commission. The commission and probably commissioner usually has a database of filming locations for any need. This databases is useful not only because it makes your search easier and more organized but also because these locations have owners who have allowed filming on their premises in the past. Hopefully, they had a good experience so they want to rent out their location again. A veteran location owner understands what filming requires and has less of a chance of freaking out unexpectedly and throwing your film off his/her property. You run this chance when dealing with a property owner who has never let filming take place and thinks that filming is glamorous, quick and easy.
Once you have compiled a list of locations from the database, call the location owners and schedule a time to visit. When you get to the location, think about how versatile the location is and whether you could film more than one film location on the property. A rookie filmmaker mistake is to schedule a film shoot with too many company moves. This kills your production because you spend too much time and money on gas, moving and wrapping instead of actually shooting.
Hopefully, you have found as few locations as possible to accommodate all your filming. My last suggestion is to be cognizant of how long it will take your actors to travel to each location from where they are staying during production.
For a guide on how to much to budget on locations and location managers, visit www.quickfilmbudget.com
Once you have compiled a list of locations from the database, call the location owners and schedule a time to visit. When you get to the location, think about how versatile the location is and whether you could film more than one film location on the property. A rookie filmmaker mistake is to schedule a film shoot with too many company moves. This kills your production because you spend too much time and money on gas, moving and wrapping instead of actually shooting.
Hopefully, you have found as few locations as possible to accommodate all your filming. My last suggestion is to be cognizant of how long it will take your actors to travel to each location from where they are staying during production.
For a guide on how to much to budget on locations and location managers, visit www.quickfilmbudget.com
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Easy Pre-Production Cost Saving Tips p.1
Storyboards are an extremely helpful tool to everyone on the film set during production. To enter production without storyboards is to your entire film budget at risk! An architect wouldn't expect builders to build a building without blueprints and a military general wouldn't start a war without mapping out a plan for the soldiers. Using the same logic, directors should not enter into production without fully storyboarding out the entire script. Of course, every plan is subject to change. But at least, you should start out with a thought out plan.
My first tip for saving money during pre-production is to storyboard the entire shooting script. This will save lots of money during production and help keep your production within your film budget because the crew can look at them to be on the same page. There is less of a chance of lights being placed wrong or production design going wrong if the crew can see the director's creative vision. Don't worry so much about making each cell a beautiful masterpiece. First and foremost, make sure that it's easy to understand and looks like how you want to shoot each shot (angle, POV, camera direction, framing, etc).
Studio films must abide by the guilds which include storyboard artists. These storyboard artists frequently consult with the director to understand and most accurately draw his/her vision. On independent films, the director will usually hand draw the first set of storyboards to capture all of the above mentioned purposes (angle, POV, etc.). If the director wants a professional version or maybe the crew can't easily understand the storyboards, then you can hire a storyboard artist. Like I said above, guilded storyboard artists can cost thousands of dollars. However, you can find much less expensive artists, like recent art school grads will do them for significantly less. (This is pretty common since art school students usually do this work on the side to pay the bills). Another even less expensive option that was recently introduced to the industry is storyboard software, like Storyboard which costs a couple hundred dollars usually.
To see how much money to allocate in your film budget to storyboarding, check out www.quickfilmbudget.com
My first tip for saving money during pre-production is to storyboard the entire shooting script. This will save lots of money during production and help keep your production within your film budget because the crew can look at them to be on the same page. There is less of a chance of lights being placed wrong or production design going wrong if the crew can see the director's creative vision. Don't worry so much about making each cell a beautiful masterpiece. First and foremost, make sure that it's easy to understand and looks like how you want to shoot each shot (angle, POV, camera direction, framing, etc).
Studio films must abide by the guilds which include storyboard artists. These storyboard artists frequently consult with the director to understand and most accurately draw his/her vision. On independent films, the director will usually hand draw the first set of storyboards to capture all of the above mentioned purposes (angle, POV, etc.). If the director wants a professional version or maybe the crew can't easily understand the storyboards, then you can hire a storyboard artist. Like I said above, guilded storyboard artists can cost thousands of dollars. However, you can find much less expensive artists, like recent art school grads will do them for significantly less. (This is pretty common since art school students usually do this work on the side to pay the bills). Another even less expensive option that was recently introduced to the industry is storyboard software, like Storyboard which costs a couple hundred dollars usually.
To see how much money to allocate in your film budget to storyboarding, check out www.quickfilmbudget.com
Monday, January 4, 2010
Avatar Budget
The New York Times reported that the budget for the James Cameron film Avatar is approximately $500 million. The articles explains that it is estimated to actually cost $300 million to produce the film, and approximately $150 million is attributed to Fox's plan to spend on global marketing alone, with the remaining $50 million being a cushion for the cumulative costs some of the film's partners have already ponied up (such as Avatar Day, whose bill was footed mostly by IMAX).
Since this blog focuses on film budgets, let's discuss the $300 million to produce the film. Cameron is a unique filmmaker in that he usually works with actors that are not stars. Keep in mind that Cameron made Arnold Schwarzenegger a star in Terminator and then used him in other films. The same applies to Sigourney Weaver. Despite not using a star actor, the usual positive correlation between the size of the budget and the above the line costs remains intact because James Cameron is the star! He has a fan base and awareness level of his name alone that rivals most major movie stars. I wonder if any star actors offered their services below their quote just to work with Cameron.
Whether you liked Avatar or not, audiences were treated to a glimpse of the future of cinema as Cameron introduced them to cutting edge digital and 3D technology.
Since this blog focuses on film budgets, let's discuss the $300 million to produce the film. Cameron is a unique filmmaker in that he usually works with actors that are not stars. Keep in mind that Cameron made Arnold Schwarzenegger a star in Terminator and then used him in other films. The same applies to Sigourney Weaver. Despite not using a star actor, the usual positive correlation between the size of the budget and the above the line costs remains intact because James Cameron is the star! He has a fan base and awareness level of his name alone that rivals most major movie stars. I wonder if any star actors offered their services below their quote just to work with Cameron.
Whether you liked Avatar or not, audiences were treated to a glimpse of the future of cinema as Cameron introduced them to cutting edge digital and 3D technology.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
