Extras Extras Read all about it!

As a young producer I thought I could always trims a budget by cutting a few extras in some scenes. True, I saved money by not hiring those extras because extras have daily wages, require being fed and require extra attention by the 1st AD or even require hiring an additional AD to direct them.

What I quickly learned was that yes I saved money but the film's sales value was less because the production value dropped. Extras are supposed to simulate real life because when was the last time that you walked into a coffee shop in a decent sized city during normal business hours and it was empty? Audiences know that there are going to be people in the coffee shop or something is wrong or it looks not real.

It's a tough lesson to learn but sometimes extras are a cheap way to add production value. A win-win solution to this issue is filming in a smaller location that requires less on-screen actors to fill it.

For guidelines on how much to budget for extras in your film budget, check out www.quickfilmbudget.com

Low Budget Films and Locations

Film locations have a multiplying effect on a film's budget. Even if you can get all of your film locations for free, the more film locations you have the more time will be wasted on company moves, transportation costs (ex: gas), set-up time, construction and set design costs. Movies like Paranormal Activity and Saw not only saved money on using fewer locations but made their film better by focusing all of their time and money on a couple locations which gave them high production value and gave the director more time for the actors as opposed to waiting for the crew to constantly build sets and make company moves. Too often do I see low budget movies trying to act like studio films by picking stories that require many locations which all end up looking cheaply done.

Check out www.quickfilmbudget.com for a guide on budgeting for locations on low budget films.