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The Ultimate Film Budgeting Guide [FREE Film Budget Template]

There are so many elements to consider when calculating your film's production budget.  this comprehensive guide and free film budget template will get you started. .

So, you’re planning to make a film. That’s great, perhaps you are a producer or maybe an independent filmmaker. On larger film sets it is the line producer or unit production manager who prepares the film's budget, and to do this they may use film budgeting software such as Movie Magic .

But budgeting software can be expensive and for many projects, it makes sense to use a free template like the one we're going to provide here :

All you need in addition to the template?

Just some fundamental knowledge on how to use it effectively!

Whatever your job role and desired budget, this following guide will go through all of the areas of budgeting that you need to examine from pre-production to distribution.

But first things first…

What Type Of Film Are You Making?

The expectations of your film will help determine what type of budget you are looking for.

For instance, perhaps you are hoping to make a micro-budget collab with friends, or maybe you are aiming to attract stars and cinema distribution. Not to mention that the schedule of a film with a budget will look a lot different from that of a DIY venture.

As such, your desired outcome for your film can help determine what range of budget you need when you fill out your film budget template. Netflix, for example, has camera requirements and even self-distribution can prove to be very expensive. I am not saying that you can’t make a hit micro-budget film. Just that it’s wise to plan what type of film and schedule you are hoping to create before you draft your budget.

Some questions you need to consider are - How are you hoping to fund your film? And how much time are you willing to spend acquiring that funding? You might also like to check out our podcast episode – 100 different ways to get your film funded

Breaking Down The Script

In order to estimate your film's budget, you need to decide how many days you aim to be in production. Studio films get by on shooting only one page of script a day. The majority of films average about five pages, and a low-budgets can plan to shoot as many as ten.

In general, the more days of filming the more your film will cost however, a larger budget will attract more experienced crew and arguably the more professional your film will look.

This brings us back to the last section, you need to decide what type of film you are hoping to make, and what type of filming experience you want to have.

If you are clueless on how to determine a shooting schedule you could always hire a line producer to help you. If you are low-budget, you can still ask producers with experience on shooting with budget restrictions for advice.

To break down your script first list all of your scenes then next to them list their locations and a brief description of the action taking place in each scene. The majority of films are shot out of sequence. You may have several scenes in the same location that can be shot on the same day. Determine how many pages you will be shooting each day, and create a basic shooting schedule . This can be re-drafted as you get closer to production. For more on schedules, we break it all down here .

Also, keep in mind that some scenes such as dialogue scenes will be a lot easier to shoot than stunt sequences. Having an idea of how many production days you need will help a great deal with your film budget breakdown.

You can find our more detailed advice for breaking down a script here .

Now that you have an idea of how many days you will be filming, you can begin to break down your film production budget. You also now have an estimate of how many days of filming you need for each actor. Start by jotting down the number of days you need for each actor in your film budget template.

How much are you going to pay your actors? Most actors will be getting paid by the recommended union rates in their country (typically SAG in the USA). Well-known or famous actors will have a rate to be negotiated by their managers. Some actors will also have their own going daily rates. For low-budgets, you need to have an idea of how much you can afford to pay each actor.

Plan to be shooting for a few more extra days than expected, in case pickups any are needed. You may also be required to pay for several rehearsal/prep days. For example, a musical feature will have a longer prep time for actors to learn songs and dance sequences.

You might also wish to book your actors in for a few extra days of promotion. Such as photography for the film's movie poster, or to shoot some interviews to be used in marketing. If your script requires it several supporting artists may also be needed.

Above-the-line Crew

The Above-the-line crew is the essential members of your crew that you will need to hire before pre-production can begin. Film crew might be members of unions, they might also have agents or their own daily working rates.

If you are low-budget check out our article - What to do if you can’t afford to pay your crew?

Screenwriter - Firstly you need to pay your screenwriter. Typically screenwriters get 2% of the film's production budget, their payment will need to be negotiated before you start work on the film. Depending on the project, story rights may also need to be obtained (for example, if you are making a film based on an adaption of a book, video game, or play).

Producer – The producer can be the highest paid crew member, they are typically the first person to get hired and the last to leave a project. As such, they can receive up to 5% of the production budget. In short, the more experienced the producer the more they will charge.

Director – Your director is the creative force and vision behind your film. You will need to decide how many prep days you will be paying them for and what their rate will be during post-production where they will supervise the edit.

Director of Photography – The DOP is traditionally put below-the-line, however, they are an integral part of the production. They also tend to have higher wages than the rest of the crew and need to be hired during early pre-production.

Below-the-Line Crew

After hiring your key crew members you can begin to find the rest of your team. Your director and DOP might also have recommendations on who to hire at this stage. Whilst hiring your crew consider if additional prep time is needed for each role during pre-production. The size of your budget will determine how big a crew you can afford to have. Also, keep in mind the larger the crew, the slower the shooting days can become.

Check out our list of film crew positions , and our corresponding infographic.

This list is a list of key crew members you should consider -

• Camera Department – Camera assistants, Key Grip, Grip assistants, Continuity
• Lighting Department – Gaffer, Lighting assistants
• Sound Department - Sound Mixer, Sound assistants
• Art Department - Production Designer, Art Director, Art Department assistants
• Assistant Directors – 1st AD, 2nd AD, on set Runners
• Production Department – Line Producer, Production Manager, Production assistants
• Makeup Department – Make-Up Artist, Makeup assistants
• Costume Department – Costume Designer, Costume assistants
• Additional – special effects supervisors, stunts coordinators, transport, drivers

Remember you can download our free film budget template to help you work through these job roles. Film crew members might have their own daily working rates and guidelines can be found on union websites. You also will need to consider what you will pay if you shoot overtime. A typical film production day is 12 hours long, for overtime you will need to pay additional wages. At the very least you need to be honest with your crew on what they should expect in terms of working hours and breaks.

Pre-Production Costs

Now you have a basic layout of how many days you will be shooting, how many actors will be needed, and what crew you are going to hire. There are also some extra costs that might arise during pre-production. These will depend on your budget and scale of your production.

For example, a low-budget film can hold it’s production department in a crew member's house. A contemporary drama will cost less in production design than a sci-fi.

• Production Department Costs – such as hiring out an office, internet, general paper and printer costs, you will also need to ideally print out script copies and call sheets
• Reconnaissance and Prep – likely several key crew members will be attending recon/tech scout meetings. You will also need to consider paying for any prep days for key crew members.
• Rehearsals – The director might need several rehearsal days with the actors
• Production Design - depending on your shoot type you may need to book extra time during pre-production for the visuals in your film to be sourced and gathered.

Production Costs

The bulk of your budget (unless you are shooting a CGI-heavy film), will go towards the production costs. The most expensive costs are likely going to be your cast and crew wages. Your crew will be able to help guide you on what they will need to be hired and sourced. This following section will go through some of the key areas you need to be thinking about during this stage in your budget breakdown.

Equipment/Insurance – Film equipment is expensive as such make sure you get the proper insurance needed to cover you if anything breaks. You might be renting, buying or hiring crew with their own equipment. You will need to find camera, lighting and grip equipment. You will also need to make sure you have high-quality sound equipment.

Locations – Obtaining and gaining permission for locations can be expensive. Unless you are on public-owned land you will need to seek permission. For low budgets and student films, you will be able to get away with more, especially if you have a small crew. Seek in advance what permission you need for filming in each location. If using fake guns and weapons in a public space you will need to inform the local police before you shoot. Here is our in-depth piece on locations and location agreements .

Production Design – Set design is often overlooked on indies but can make all the difference on screen. Consider each scene in your film and how much money you be dedicating to set design. Are there any notable props in your film that need to be created or bought.

Costume – Every actor appearing in your film will need costumes bought or made for them. The cost of costume will once again depend on the genre of the film. For lead actors, several identical copies of the same costume may need to be bought. On low-budget films, you can ask actors to bring their own clothes, but it would be ideal to have copies for lead roles.

Hair and Make-up – Depending on your genre you might have a large budget towards make-up. You will need to reimburse make-up artists for the cost of any specialist make-up (such as fake blood). Even on a low-budget contemporary film, you will need a make-up artist for applying basic cover-up and for keeping the actor's continuity in check.

Catering – How many heads are you feeding? What will be the allocated budget for food each day? On low budgets, this can be done cheaply by having friends help out. On larger sets hire a professional catering service. Like an army - a film crew marches on its stomach. Check out our basic guidelines to help make sure you don't run afoul of your team on this.

Transport and Accommodation – You will need to pay for any transport costs of cast and crew. This includes fuel if crew members make long trips back and forth during production. On larger film sets all expenses will be covered, on low-budgets, you will need to discuss fuel expenses with crew before production. Accommodation might need to be paid for several cast and crew. For low budgets hire locally to avoid these additional expenses.

To figure out how much all of these elements cost you will need to do some research. Have a look at costs for camera hire, check out the cost of a local catering service. During the early stages of pre-production, your budget breakdown is an estimate, you can re-draft later with the help of your crew and production staff. It’s likely there will be several re-drafts of your budget during the making of your film. Always overestimate the cost, so that you don’t get caught out later, additionally have some cash leftover for petty cash expenses during filming.

Post-production Costs

As mentioned production is likely to be the most expensive phase of filmmaking. During post-production the costs will vary depending on genre and if any computer effects are needed. Ideally, you will want to hire your editor in advance even during the pre-production stage.

On many sets, the editor or assistant editor will be cutting footage alongside the shoot. They will also be creating dailies (rushes) for the producer, director and DOP to look over every night. With digital technology, this process has become easier and you can get part of the edit complete even before post-production begins.

• Editor – Your editor's wage will likely be the largest cost during post-production. The editor might work independently or as part of a company. Editors are paid union rates, they may also have own desired daily working rates. The editing process will likely take several months even for a low-budget - you will have to discuss the turn over with your editor to have a more clear idea of how long this process will take.
• Assistants – Depending on the scale of your production assistant editors and other post-production personnel such as visual effects editors and colorists may be needed.
• Hard Drives/Office – You will likely need to purchase several hard drives for your film. You may also need to hire out an office space for your post-production team
• Music Composer/Music Rights/Sound Design – Even if your film is low-budget you will need to have permission for all music used. Music composers can be hired as well as sound designers. Gaining the rights to well-known songs and music is expensive.

Distribution Costs

Typically, the distribution costs of a film are not included in the budget breakdown. However, if you are an independent filmmaker you don’t want to get caught out later on in the filmmaking process. Having a distribution plan before making your film is ideal, perhaps surprisingly the costs of making a film don’t end once the film has been completed.

Film festivals have fees to enter, you might also wish to have key crew and cast attend film premiers. For larger budgets hire a PR team, major festivals recommended that even smaller productions hire a sales agent. Then there is self-distribution, you may wish to organize your own cinema screenings or DVD sales. Making money in film costs money and you can find a great film budget example of a $1 million independent feature film on Stephen Follows blog .

So, there you have it. This guide is here to show you the important elements that you need to consider when estimating your film's budget. No matter what type of film you hope to make , or budget you wish to work with. Creating a budget breakdown, and revising that breakdown throughout the filmmaking process will help keep your expenses under check. Next up, check out what you need to know about prepping your script for production !

Of course, we don’t know everything and if there are any areas you wish to expand upon, or tips for budgeting you wish to share, please do so in the comments section.

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Unsolved mysteries unravel in “The Jinx – Part Two”

In a six-episode continuation of the groundbreaking, emmy®-winning docuseries “the jinx: the life and deaths of robert durst”, from acclaimed director andrew jarecki, “the jinx – part two” aims to bring more details behind this captivating story to life through prison calls with robert durst, interviews with new witnesses and previously hidden material..

This post was written by Michelle Gallina and originally appeared on the Adobe blog on June 6th, 2024.

Behind the scenes, there was an editing team of more than ten editors and assistant editors working to organize archival clips, sift through footage, and carefully edit each episode. The team relied on Adobe Creative Cloud including Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects as well as Frame.io to create a gripping part two docuseries surrounding the life of Robert Durst. We heard from one of the editors, David Tillman, along with the lead assistant editor, Pedro Vital, who took this feat head on.

Read on below to learn more about the post-production workflow, and check out the series on MAX .

How and where did you first learn to edit?

Tillman: As a child of the 90’s, I was probably one of the last people to learn how to edit tape to tape in my high school’s TV production class in Maplewood, NJ. We also had an elective film class where we learned to shoot and splice 8mm film together. Then, my sophomore year of high school, the TV production class received a bunch of new computers equipped with some early prosumer digital editing software. I was hooked immediately.

Vital: My parents gifted me a camera, and I started trying out different softwares. I had a neighbor that used to edit his own films using both Adobe Premiere Pro and Sony Vegas, and I started learning from him. Eventually, I started editing myself and took a university degree in film editing.

How do you begin a project/set up your workspace?

Tillman: When starting a new project, I want to watch as much of the footage as possible before I begin editing. In documentary editing, it often makes sense to look at footage chronologically if you have that benefit. But whether it’s selects or raw footage, I always want to dig into the major beats of the material to get my mind around those scenes first.

Vital: I transcode all the footage to Apple ProRes Proxy and add a conversion LUT if needed. After that, I import it into Adobe Premiere Pro, sync the video and audio, and then proceed to organize it in a way that makes it efficient for the editors to find it and work with it.

Image source: David Tillman, editor on “The Jinx – Part Two”.

Tell us about a favorite scene or moment from this project and why it stands out to you.

Tillman: Hearing the Susan Berman phone call recording in episode 3 in “The Jinx – Part Two” is such a powerful moment, and Charles Olivier’s brilliant editing just really sticks with you — It’s so visceral. When I listened to that audio recording for the first time, it was such a profound revelation, it almost felt like Part Two’s version of Bob’s famous bathroom confession.

In terms of working on this project, the quality of creative collaboration was second to none. We had an amazing team of editors on this season with Sam Neave, Camilla Hayman, Charles Olivier, Lance Edmands, Sean Frechette, Jesse Rudoy and Richard Hankin, and we often passed scenes from one editor to another as we tried different structural changes across the season. It was always inspiring to watch the other editors’ work and fun to collaborate with each other as well as with the executive producer, Zac Stuart-Pontier. Our lead AE, Pedro Vital, was basically a superhero/Adobe Premiere Pro shaman and was truly indispensable to the editorial process.

Vital: The Houston apartment archival footage in episode 201. It stands out for me, since I had to go through all the different cameras to not only find Bob, but also find the Lovells, who were helping him plan his escape.

Image source: HBO Max.

What were some specific post-production challenges you faced that were unique to your project? How did you go about solving them?

Tillman: We used Productions in Adobe Premiere Pro , which was a first for me. It worked really well, and I hope to use it again on future projects. One issue we ran into was searching the Production for a file name — you could only search individual projects. So to get around that, we created ALL projects for our photos, video and audio clips so we could search those for a specific file by name.

Vital: We ran into an issue with merged clips when trying to finish the show — the initial assistant editor had synced the various interviews and verite sequences we had with merged clips. We ended up using an external software to break the merge in order to send our sequences to the Sound Design facility.

What Adobe tools did you use on this project and why did you originally choose them? Were there any other third party tools that helped enhance your workflow?

Tillman: When working on documentaries, especially ones with tons of interviews and archival footage that span years, transcripts are an invaluable tool to help find relevant material. When we discovered the transcription feature built right into Premiere Pro , it was a boon to our workflow. Not only did it help us quickly transcribe archival material, but it also helped us easily make transcripts of our cuts as well, which was very helpful in the editorial process.

Vital: We used Premiere Pro (offline editing), After Effects (for some cleanups and temp VFX), Adobe Photoshop (for graphics and still cleanups) and Adobe Illustrator (for converting PDF documents into stills) for this project.

If you could share one tip about Premiere Pro, what would it be?

Tillman: Make proxies. For everything. There’s no reason to be editing anything at full resolution, especially when Premiere Pro gives you the ability to toggle proxies on and off . Using proxies makes a huge difference in overall performance, and unless you’re editing on a huge monitor, the difference in quality is negligible.

Vital: Spend the most time and attention to detail on the setting up part of the project.

How did your team use Frame.io on this project?

Tillman: Frame.io was a very important cog in our workflow. We used it to review cuts, leave notes and house raw footage. The best part was when the supervising editor Richard Hankin would leave jokes interspersed with notes. The jokes would inevitably resurface during Zoom meetings and get a second life. It sounds like I’m making a joke, but Frame.io genuinely helped bring a little humanity to what could have been an impersonal remote workflow (or maybe that was Richard).

Vital: We also used Frame.io for stringouts, VFX reviews, screeners and storage for the investigative team.

What were the features you relied on most?

Tillman: When I’m reviewing a cut and doing notes, most of those notes are added to Frame.io. Since I was working remotely, it was incredibly helpful to be able to communicate using Frame.io notes — checking them off, making replies, giving a ‘thumbs up,’ all had their place in helping address notes expeditiously while keeping everyone on the same page.

Vital: Inside Premiere Pro, we relied mostly on Productions, since that was the base of our project. On Frame.io we relied a lot on the note system on the links, and the "export to CSV" feature. That's how we made notes and brought all of them into a shared document so we could all discuss in a meeting.

Can you describe how it helped you logistically or creatively or can you quantify how much time or money you saved by using it?

Tillman: Frame.io is definitely a lifesaver in its ability to make something so complex as the editorial review process more simple and streamlined. I’ve been using it since the company first started, and it’s just gotten better and better with each update. As an editor, it is always helpful to watch your work back outside of Premiere Pro, in a place where you can’t stop to make a quick trim or fix an audio edit. With Frame.io, you are forced to watch from the audience’s perspective. Sometimes I will even watch scenes using the Frame.io app on my phone as I’m walking my dog, and then leave a comment for myself with an idea of something to try later. I’m not sure I can quantify the amount of money we might have saved, but I will say, although there may be ways to accomplish the same tasks outside of Frame.io, it simplifies the process so much, and so elegantly and effortlessly, it has become essential.

Vital: I think it dramatically helped and provided the base for our project and collective effort to make the show. Being able to work remotely and share our work was vital to the team. I have no idea how much money we saved by it, but I'm sure we saved a lot of time in the process.

Who is your creative inspiration and why?

Tillman: I’ve been incredibly inspired by Brett Morgen’s documentary films — he has managed to take historical subjects and make them feel incredibly fresh by showcasing incredible archival footage in creative ways and really taking the concept of “montage” to the next level. His editing techniques are always pushing the boundaries of the documentary form while dazzling the eye.

Vital: Walter Murch and Thelma Schoonmaker. As someone from a completely different generation, it makes me very happy that these people have dedicated their life to editing and are still working.

What’s the toughest thing you’ve had to face in your career and how did you overcome it? What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers or content creators?

Tillman: I’ve worked on a lot of archival-driven documentaries, which are fascinating to work on and a massive amount of work to put together. But one other huge challenge is telling the story, while also adhering to the archival budget. Often at the late stages of a project, it will become necessary to cut out or replace archival footage in order to save money. That’s often a very challenging task, requiring you to sacrifice some of your favorite images or soundbites, or replace them with something cheaper, which can sometimes feel like a downgrade. Instead of getting discouraged, I try to mentally flip the switch and use these replacements and substitutions as a pass to make the show better — rediscover material that may have been overlooked, reimagine certain segments, anything to improve the film in new ways, while also making the budget work.

Vital: I think working 100 percent remotely and outside of the US is really hard. Consistency, passion and great connections have been the base for my career so far.

Share a photo of where you work. What’s your favorite thing about your workspace and why?

Tillman: I’m lucky to have a home office with its own separate entrance and enough space to screen my work on a television adjacent to my edit bay. I’ve also adorned the room with some posters of my previous projects, which gives me inspiration as I edit. It’s nice to be reminded where all the work will eventually lead.

Vital: I think having a big mousepad and some natural light is quite nice, but it’s definitely not my desired workspace yet. The view outside is nice though!

Image source: Pedro Vital, lead assistant editor on “The Jinx – Part Two”.

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Mastering Film Budgets: A Comprehensive Guide for Filmmakers

Understanding film budgets, types of film budgets, common budget elements, budgeting software, pre-production budgeting, script development, location scouting, hiring crew, production budgeting, equipment rental, cast expenses, post-production budgeting, editing costs, sound design, visual effects, marketing and distribution, film festivals, promotional materials, digital distribution, budgeting tips and tricks, contingency planning, securing funding, collaborative budgeting.

Creating a film is an exciting journey, and one of the most important aspects to master is the film budget. A well-planned budget ensures your project stays on track and helps you avoid unexpected financial surprises. In this comprehensive guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about mastering film budgets, from understanding the different types of budgets to tips and tricks for successful budgeting.

Before diving into the nitty-gritty of budgeting, let's first get a clear understanding of film budgets and their purpose. A film budget is a detailed financial plan that outlines the estimated costs of every aspect of your film, from pre-production to distribution. Having a solid grasp of your film's budget allows you to allocate resources effectively and make informed decisions throughout the filmmaking process.

There are various types of film budgets, each catering to different stages of the filmmaking process and specific project needs. Here are three common types:

• Development Budget: This budget covers the initial stages of a film, including scriptwriting, research, and pitching to potential investors.
• Production Budget: This budget accounts for the costs incurred during the actual filming process, such as equipment rentals, crew salaries, and set design.
• Post-Production Budget: This budget includes costs related to editing, sound design, visual effects, and other post-production tasks.

Regardless of the type of film budget, there are several key elements that you should include to ensure you have a comprehensive and accurate financial plan. These elements are:

• Personnel: Salaries and wages for your cast and crew, including both on-set and behind-the-scenes personnel.
• Equipment: Rental or purchase costs for cameras, lighting, sound gear, and other necessary equipment.
• Locations: Fees for securing filming locations, permits, and related travel expenses.
• Post-Production: Costs for editing, sound design, visual effects, and other post-production tasks.
• Marketing and Distribution: Expenses related to promoting and distributing your film, such as film festival submissions, promotional materials, and digital distribution costs.

Creating a film budget can be a complex task, but thankfully, there are many budgeting software options available to help streamline the process. Some popular choices include Movie Magic Budgeting, Celtx, and Gorilla Budgeting. These tools offer user-friendly interfaces, customizable templates, and helpful features like automatic calculations and currency conversion, making it easier for you to create a detailed and accurate film budget.

Pre-production is a crucial stage in the filmmaking process, as it sets the foundation for your entire project. Proper budgeting during this phase ensures you have the necessary resources to bring your vision to life. Let's explore some key aspects to consider when creating your pre-production budget.

Developing a strong script is the backbone of your film, and it's essential to allocate funds accordingly. This may include costs for scriptwriters, script consultants, and research materials. Keep in mind that the script may go through multiple revisions, so budgeting for additional drafts can help you avoid unexpected expenses down the line.

Finding the perfect filming locations can make a significant impact on your film's overall production value. When budgeting for location scouting, consider costs such as travel expenses, accommodations, and permits. Additionally, don't forget to factor in potential weather-related issues, as unexpected changes can have a direct impact on your film budget.

A talented and dedicated crew is essential for the successful execution of your film. When budgeting for crew members, be sure to consider salaries for various roles such as producers, directors, cinematographers, and production assistants. Additionally, plan for any potential overtime pay or additional expenses, such as meals and transportation, to ensure your crew is well taken care of.

Once you've got your pre-production budget in place, it's time to move on to the production phase. This is when the actual filming takes place, and it involves a wide range of expenses. Let's discuss some key factors to consider when creating your production budget.

High-quality equipment is vital for capturing your film's visuals and sound. When budgeting for equipment rentals, take into account costs for items such as cameras, lenses, lighting gear, and audio equipment. Additionally, consider the duration of your rental period and any potential discounts or package deals that may be available from rental companies.

A talented cast can bring your film's story to life, so it's essential to budget for their salaries, as well as expenses like travel, accommodations, and meals. Keep in mind that union actors may have specific wage requirements, so be sure to research and adhere to any necessary guidelines when creating your film budget.

Creating visually stunning sets can greatly enhance your film's overall aesthetic. When budgeting for set design, consider costs such as construction materials, props, and set dressing. Additionally, don't forget to factor in expenses for set designers, carpenters, and other crew members who contribute to bringing your sets to life.

After the filming is complete, it's time to polish your project in post-production. This stage involves tasks like editing, sound design, and visual effects, each of which requires careful budgeting. Let's explore the key aspects of post-production budgeting.

Production is the phase where the magic happens, and your film comes to life. Properly budgeting for this stage is crucial, as it includes a variety of expenses related to filming. Let's dive into the key elements to include in your production budget.

Editing is an essential step in refining your film and crafting a cohesive narrative. When budgeting for editing costs, consider expenses such as editor's fees, software licenses, and additional equipment like high-resolution monitors or editing consoles. Remember that editing can be a time-consuming process, so allocate sufficient funds to cover the entire duration of the editing process.

Sound design plays a crucial role in immersing your audience in your film's world. Budgeting for sound design should include costs for sound editors, foley artists, and composers, as well as expenses for sound mixing and mastering. Don't underestimate the importance of high-quality sound in elevating your film's overall impact.

If your film requires visual effects (VFX), it's essential to budget for this specialized work. VFX costs can vary greatly depending on the complexity and scale of the effects needed. Be sure to factor in expenses for VFX artists, software, and any additional rendering or processing power that may be required.

Once your film is complete, it's time to share it with the world. Proper budgeting for marketing and distribution can be the difference between your film reaching its target audience or going unnoticed. Let's take a closer look at the key aspects of marketing and distribution budgeting.

Film festivals are a great way to showcase your work and potentially secure distribution deals. When budgeting for film festivals, consider costs such as submission fees, travel, accommodations, and any promotional materials required for your screenings. Research which festivals are most relevant to your film's genre and audience to maximize your chances of success.

Creating eye-catching promotional materials is key to generating buzz around your film. When budgeting for promotional materials, factor in costs for items like posters, trailers, press kits, and social media marketing campaigns. Remember that effective marketing can greatly impact your film's visibility and overall success.

In today's digital age, online platforms can offer your film a wider audience reach. Budgeting for digital distribution should include expenses such as platform fees, encoding costs, and potential marketing partnerships with streaming services. Expanding your distribution channels can help your film find its audience and maximize your return on investment.

Now that we've covered the main components of a film budget, let's explore some tips and tricks to help you make the most of your available resources.

Unexpected expenses can arise during any stage of film production, so it's vital to include a contingency fund in your budget. This fund can help you cover unforeseen costs without derailing your project. A general rule of thumb is to allocate around 10% of your total budget for contingencies.

A well-prepared film budget can be a valuable tool in securing funding for your project. When approaching potential investors, be prepared to present a clear, detailed budget that demonstrates your understanding of the production process and your commitment to financial responsibility. Exploring multiple funding sources, such as grants, crowdfunding, and private investors, can increase your chances of securing the funds you need.

Working closely with your production team during the budgeting process can help you create a more accurate and realistic film budget. Collaborating with key department heads, such as your director, cinematographer, and production designer, can provide valuable insights into potential cost-saving measures, as well as help identify any overlooked expenses. Remember, a well-crafted film budget is the foundation for a successful production.

With your film complete and ready to be shown to the world, it's time to focus on marketing and distribution. Proper budgeting for these aspects can make a significant difference in reaching your target audience and generating interest in your film. Let's dive into the key areas of marketing and distribution budgeting.

Film festivals provide an excellent opportunity to showcase your work and potentially secure distribution deals. When budgeting for film festivals, consider expenses such as submission fees, travel, accommodations, and any promotional materials required for your screenings. Research festivals that align with your film's genre and audience to maximize your chances of success.

Captivating promotional materials are essential for creating buzz around your film. When budgeting for promotional materials, factor in costs for items like posters, trailers, press kits, and social media marketing campaigns. Keep in mind that effective marketing can significantly impact your film's visibility and overall success.

Online platforms offer your film a broader audience reach in today's digital age. Budgeting for digital distribution should include expenses such as platform fees, encoding costs, and potential marketing partnerships with streaming services. Expanding your distribution channels can help your film find its audience and maximize your return on investment.

Now that we've covered the main components of marketing and distribution budgeting, let's explore some tips and tricks to help you make the most of your available resources.

Targeted Marketing

Identify your film's target audience and focus your marketing efforts on reaching that specific demographic. This approach can help you allocate your marketing budget more effectively and increase the likelihood of your film resonating with viewers. Use tools like social media analytics and audience research to refine your marketing strategy.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Partnering with relevant organizations, influencers, or other filmmakers can help expand your film's reach and visibility. Collaborations can also lead to cost-sharing opportunities, allowing you to stretch your marketing and distribution budget further. Be creative and explore unique partnerships that align with your film's message and goals.

Measuring Success

Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing and distribution efforts. Analyzing metrics such as ticket sales, streaming views, and social media engagement can provide valuable insights into what's working and what needs improvement. Use this data to make informed decisions about where to allocate resources and how to refine your marketing strategies moving forward.

Remember, a well-planned marketing and distribution budget is crucial to your film's success. By understanding the various components involved and utilizing the tips and tricks provided, you can maximize your film's potential and create a lasting impact on your audience.

Creating an effective film budget can be both challenging and rewarding. With the right approach, you can maximize your resources and ensure a smooth production process from start to finish. Here are some tips and tricks to help you master your film budget.

Unexpected expenses can and will arise during the filmmaking process. To prepare for these unforeseen costs, set aside a contingency fund in your film budget. A general rule of thumb is to allocate around 10% of your total budget for contingencies. This safety net can help you address unexpected challenges without compromising the quality of your film.

Funding your film is a critical aspect of the budgeting process. Consider various sources of funding, such as grants, crowdfunding, private investors, and even in-kind contributions. Research and apply for funding opportunities that align with your film's genre, subject matter, and target audience. Securing a diverse range of funding sources can help reduce financial risks and bring your film vision to life.

Involve key members of your production team in the budgeting process. Their input and expertise can help you create a more accurate and realistic film budget. Collaborative budgeting also promotes a sense of ownership and responsibility among team members, leading to greater accountability and efficiency in managing resources.

Prioritizing Expenses

Not all expenses are created equal. Identify the most critical aspects of your film and allocate resources accordingly. Prioritize spending on areas that have the most significant impact on your film's overall quality and success. This approach can help you make the most of your available budget and ensure that you're investing in what truly matters.

Flexibility and Adaptability

Be prepared to adapt your budget as your project evolves. Revisit and adjust your film budget regularly, taking into account changes in your production schedule, creative direction, or available resources. A flexible and adaptable approach to budgeting can help you navigate the unpredictable nature of filmmaking and keep your project on track.

With these tips and tricks in mind, you're well-equipped to create a comprehensive film budget that effectively supports your filmmaking journey. By planning ahead, collaborating with your team, and adapting to challenges, you can bring your creative vision to life and produce a film that captivates audiences.

If you're looking to create an amazing music video without breaking the bank, check out Jessy Moussallem's workshop, ' How To Develop A Music Video On A Budget '. This workshop will provide you with the essential tips and tricks to bring your creative vision to life without overspending.

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• Film Budgeting

The professional craft of creating a film budget, movie budget, or tv budget for entertainment content production

What is film budgeting.

The skill of creating a film budget , movie budget, or tv budget for entertainment content production is the process of film budgeting. This entails generating the key financial documents which enable and guide the financial and logistical expense of an entertainment, commercial or artistic production.

Film budgeting is critical for obtaining film financing and to launch tv pilots and tv series. For both large Major Hollywood Studio and indie film budgets the process entails similar attention to detail.

Film Budgeting and Scheduling

The production shooting schedule is of critical importance to the film budgeting process. The two terms are therefore somewhat interchangeable. More on scheduling below.

What is Required for Film Budgeting?

Film budgeting requires knowledge of film, movie and tv series production. This can be obtained through producing entertainment content. It’s important that a producer is experienced working for independent production companies, major studios, networks, cable television, and streaming platforms.

Understanding how a film is prepped, filmed, completed, and delivered is a skillset required for successful film budgeting. Indie film budgeting and big budget movies require similar, but different, skills and experience. A producer or line producer with knowledge all levels of filmmaking is essential to successful budgeting for a wide range of productions.

Who Creates the Film Budget or TV Budget for a TV Series?

Film budgeting, tv budgeting, and movie budgeting are executed by a producer, line producer, production manager, Directors Guild of America Unit Production Manager (DGA UPM ) or production accountant. It is most often the role of the Line Producer to create the film budget . However, each of these crew members are capable if experienced. Line producers are highly experienced veteran producers or production managers with many years completed working in the film and television industry.

How Does Film Budgeting Work?

Film budgeting is an intensive process of calculating the costs associated with the above mentioned types of shows. A seasoned line producer uses all of their understanding of production gained over many years. The producer creates indie film budgets, major studio, and streaming movie budgets by carefully crafting a document which contains all of the amounts of funds required to ultimately deliver the picture to a distributor. It is critical that they know what they are doing, how to do it, and how to deliver the production to a distributor.

The Final Result of Film Budgeting

The final result of film budgeting is the film budget or tv series budget, indie film budgets, or large movie budgets from which a production can be produced with confidence, accuracy, and reliability. Film financiers and distributors rely upon the film budgeting by the producer to guarantee successful results. Producers are vetted and trusted by those financing or commissioning the project. 

What Does the Process of Film Budgeting and Scheduling Entail

The process of film budgeting and scheduling entails the producer envisioning the production mentally in advance of its physical creation. Meticulous attention to detail is utilized to ensure all manners of costs are included, the correct amounts, and time frames. The producer utilizes their understanding of physical production, talent fees, costs, film financing, and other expenditures required to account for each production element. 

Screenplay Reading For Film Budgeting

First, the producer reads the screenplay or teleplay for the show. The producer must take into account the creative and the practical factors associated with the intent of the screenwriter. This process may include interaction with the director toward realizing the creative vision. A producer may read the script twice, once for a creative read and a second time for a physical production read.

Screenplay Breakdown

The producer or production manager will then create a screenplay breakdown in which they organize and categorize the particular elements of the production which are needed to be hired, rented, or purchased for the prep, shoot, and post production. A script breakdown, as it is also known as, involves analysis and documentation of all required pieces of equipment, specific personnel, and materials needed. 

Each page of the script breakdown corresponds with a scene in the film, movie or television show.

Scene numbers, scene page length, slug lines, and scene description summary are included in the breakdown to identify each scene.

Production Elements

Production elements include: stunts, stunt equipment, special camera rentals, camera platforms, cranes, autos, trucks, specific picture vehicles, props, set dressing, water unit equipment, lighting requirements, locations, construction, atmospheric requirements: smoke, fog, air conditioning, heating, etc., animals and trainers, holding areas for extras, specific wardrobe, special make-up effects (FX), etc.

Scheduling – Production Scheduling and The Shooting Schedule

Once the screenplay breakdown is complete and the production elements are categorized, the work of scheduling commences to create the shooting schedule. 

The Strip Board Shooting Schedule 

Each page of the screenplay breakdown is converted to a strip (a thin 8” wide row in a strip board set) representing each scene on the board. This time honored tradition is referred to as Strip Board, and once completed the Strip Board Shooting Schedule. 

Traditionally this work was created by hand on cardboard, with strips inserted into a hard board with slots for the strips – hence the strip board name. Computers have long since made this function easier by allowing for digital representations of this physical process.

Production Scheduling

Production scheduling can begin with all of the strips are in place. While a First Assistant Director is generally responsible for the shooting schedule for the duration of filming, the line producer must use their experience to create it for the film budgeting and scheduling process (unless this task is undertaken with the assistance of a First A.D. which can be a luxury not often available.)

The producer, line producer, or production manager has in addition to film budgeting experience a solid understanding of the shooting schedule requirements. They bring all of their know how to bear upon arranging the strips on the board to coincide with how they understand best to shoot the film or television production.

Factors taken into consideration in generating the scheduling include but are not limited to economy of filming at sets, locations, studios, weather, talent availability, government restrictions, and finance requirements which might affect the order of filming. 

Scenes which are set in the same location are grouped together to be filmed efficiently. Those scenes in which the lead talent appear are considered to likewise be organized with an eye to minimize their time, and cost, on the production.

All of these considerations are balanced to create the schedule for filming. The amount of work to be completed each day is affected by the length and specific filmmaking to be produced, allowing for the ultimate goal of the schedule – knowing how many Shooting Days are required to complete the production.

Once completed, the scheduling allows the producer to now see clearly which cast members and which production elements are required. Most importantly it can now be clearly determined for how long each of these elements are needed, affecting both time and money.

Film Budget and Schedule

Film budget and schedule work can now be refined to consider each of the elements and the time frame for which they are needed. This process estimates the costs of the location(s) for filming which have been determined (the country, city, neighborhood, etc.) as well as the specific Location requirements (commercial and residential buildings, homes, businesses, restaurants, bars, etc.)

Likewise each and every production element goes through the costing process. Crew members, rentals, purchases, and contractual costs are detailed.

Film Crew Rates

Production crew rates are determined based upon the level of the movie budget (budget thresholds) and the geographic region, as dictated by the local union or customary crew rates for that particular area.

Film Tax Credits and Film Tax Incentives

Film tax credits and film tax incentives utilization in connection with the movie budget are taken into consideration for each and every purchase or expense. These decisions impact the financing of the production and must be adhered to for the film finance structure to be maintained and ideally to maximize the net benefit to  the production, and for the financiers or distributor.

Film Budget 

The film budget is the financial document financiers and distributors look to for the associated costs of the production and is arranged by accounts and categories. A Chart of Accounts is created which is numbered and corresponds with the production elements generally required. Within the accounts are Categories of items needed. Below each category are levels of Detail which further delineate the costs of production and specific expenses.

The producer goes account by account and line by line, calculating each cost and expenditure. Union or guild rules and regulations are considered and adhered to. Associated costs with each production element is likewise added (ie., shipping, taxes, permits, etc.)

Above The Line

Above the Line, customarily known as ATL refers to costs not included as production elements nor contractual charges, and primarily represent talent: director, producers, actors and their associated costs.

Below the Line

Below the Line, customarily known as BTL refers to costs associated with the production elements. This is generally the physical production costs of producing the television show, series or movie. 

Production Period

Production Period refers to those costs associated with the preparation (prep) and shooting (filming or capture) of the production.

Post Production

Post Production refers to the expense of finishing the movie or tv series. This section contains all costs of post production supervision, editing, sound, music, conforming, color correction, manufacturing of deliverables, and creation of assets which allow the distribution of the entertainment content.

Contractual Charges

Contractual Charges are calculated and described. These are costs that do not fall under production elements.

Contingency

The Contingency, is a set aside amount of funds which are attributable and only used for unexpected emergency expenditure. This is generally recognized as an untouchable, set percentage of the overall movie budget. 

Completion Guarantee Bond

The Completion Bond, Completion Guarantee , or the Bond, is a form of specialized insurance provided by a bonding company for the entertainment content production industry. This fee is allocated to the Completion Guarantee Company as a percentage of the overall budget. The completion guarantee ensures the production will be completed and delivered for the agreed amount detailed in the film, movie, or tv series budget. 

Film Finance Expense

Film Finance Expense is listed as a contractual charge, if included in the movie budget. This can be a percentage of the movie budget or a set fee amount in connection with the financing of the picture.

The Overall Result of Film Budgeting 

All of the above factors are taken into consideration in the film budgeting process. Each item is determined as necessary or not, its amount of time needed, and its cost calculated and detailed. Once completed the sum of these calculations and considerations provide the principles involved in the production the overall cost, or the movie budget, or tv budget.

Movie Budget

The movie budget generally refers to the overall figure calculated and generated by the film budgeting and scheduling process used to create the film budget. The movie budget is commonly referred to as the precise figure that emerges as the cost of the production of the movie, film, or tv series production. 

This can likewise be referred to as the film budget when quoted as a single figure, as opposed to referring to the underlying document supporting the overall budgetary figure. 

The tv budget refers to the budget of a television production. This can be a tv series, a tv pilot, or a tv movie for television networks, cable tv stations, or streaming services (ie., Netflix, Amazon Studios, HBO Max, etc.) TV budgeting is required to convey the cost of a tv program.

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How to Budget a Film (with Free Film Budget Template)

Original publish date: March 18, 2022

Budgeting an independent film is not for the faint of heart, especially when trying to raise production funds to pay for that budget. Finding money isn’t easy!

Yet, a film budget is your best tool to obtain the capital you need to make your independent film a reality.

When you combine elements like shooting location, script breakdown and film budget, you will gain a deep understanding of what your film needs to be successful. When you know what your independent film needs, it becomes easier to pitch realistic expectations to potential investors.

Investors, banks and finance professionals love grounded, realistic expectations. Trust us, we help finance movies!

Once your film is fully funded, a budget will serve as your roadmap, guiding you from prep to exhibition.

In this article we focus on budgeting an independent film. We’ll cover the why and how. We will even talk about the effect shooting location and film tax incentives have on your bottom line as well as the software available to create breakdowns, budgets and actualizations.  

Included is a free sample production budget for a typical independent film so that you can make your own production budget mockups. 

Why is a budget important for my independent film?

An independent film budget lays the groundwork for financing and completing a film. The film budget is an indispensable document after which everything follows, with few exceptions. It will become your trusted and reliable friend from start to finish. You cannot make a film without one.   

A thoroughly built film budget should be capable of providing a macro and micro view of a film’s essential details simultaneously.

It will allow you to start making decisions, pitching to financiers, filling your coffers with cash, sending purchase orders, hiring employees and paying wages, renting kits and locking down locations. 

When you have actualizing budgeting software, such as Showbiz Budgeting , you can track your costs live. A line item or expense will never catch you by surprise, and it shouldn’t.

Understand Your Film’s Finances

You must know where you stand financially at any given moment. This will empower you to continue making decisions for the benefit of the film’s creative success.   

Producers and accountants will insist on having this information handy. It will simplify payroll and keep your film solvent.  

If you plan on bonding your film , the bond company will require these reports weekly and sometimes daily to guarantee banks and investors your independent film is meeting its financial goals.  

Even without a bond company, you need to know where you stand financially. You need to know if you can keep paying the bills.   

Can you feed everyone tomorrow? Pay overtime on wages? Are there overages, and by how much? How are those overages getting covered? Are you taking money out of post-production? Do you need to raise more money?

These questions may surface, and you need to be ready to answer them.  

Overall, a film budget is the only way to map out your film’s financial needs, show financiers you know what you’re doing, stay grounded financially during production and evaluate the total cost and value of the film when all is said and done. 

When should I write a film budget? 

Write a film budget after you break down the script, create a schedule specifying pages-per-day and always before you start pitching to financiers. Ground your budget in actual costs, based on standard wages, fringes, kit rental fees and other important line items. 

Two film budgets will be necessary, intended for separate uses.  

The first iteration of your film budget will be an early simplified document detailing major line items. The preliminary production budget will be used to pitch your film to investors, to display your professionalism and win funds. 

The second iteration of your film budget will be in full detail. The detailed production budget is what you will rely on to carry you through to delivery to festivals and distributors.

To get an idea of what a budget should look like and to create your own mock-ups, check out our free sample film budget breakdown !

Build a Preliminary Film Budget for Financing

The first set of numbers you mark down in your preliminary film budget should be as detailed as possible with the limited information you have. You will need this early, more generalized film budget, to pitch the film to investors. It’s your first chance to build trust and raise the money you need.  

Include realistic, down-to-earth numbers based on quotes from vendors, location or permit fees, standard crew wages, fringes, equipment rentals and more. Always pad your figures to cover financing fees and unforeseen expenses.  

This first iteration of your film budget is your chance to show the investors the honest nitty gritty financial details of your film. They’ll be more apt to trust you with their investment if they know you’re going to spend it appropriately. 

Prove You Can Pull It Off

Even when you hire a sales agent to sell foreign territories, they and the distributors will want to know if you can pull it off. They will evaluate aspects of your film including script, art, attached talent, hired lawyers or line producers and, of course, your film’s budget.  

If you plan on seeking fiscal sponsorship , applying for grants or both, a budget is a common application requirement among non-profits that support films.  

They will ensure you have realistic figures and have properly allocated funds based on their experience of what success looks like. It’s important to focus on all your film’s needs and never leave out post-production or marketing costs, as so many filmmakers do.  

Impress banks, financiers and film offices with a professionally built budget using a template. Better still, use industry-standard software to do it for you.  

A film finance professional or bank will recognize a budget created using Movie Magic or Showbiz Budgeting at first glance and they’ll be inclined to keep reading. 

Once you’ve won over the financiers, banks, a fiscal sponsor, sales agents and distributors with your next hit indie film, it’s time to start spending money. Get the ball rolling by hiring a professional to help build a detailed production budget.

Build a Detailed Film Budget for Production

When you are ready to start pre-production, it’s time to hire the necessary personnel to write a detailed production budget that covers every line item necessary to plan, shoot, edit, deliver, market and sell your independent film. 

That’s right, if you want your film to get noticed on the festival circuit or during awards season, you’ll want to put money aside for festival entry fees, marketing materials and a publicist! The key here is to think far ahead about what you need. 

Depending on the size of your film, you may want to hire another producer, line producer or production manager to help build a detailed production budget, using your preliminary budget as a guide.  

See our detailed film budget sample where we cover every line item you need to get your independent film made. More samples are available here .

Before you can build that detailed film budget, you need to have an in-depth knowledge of your script and all the moving parts necessary to get the film done. Enter: the script breakdown.  

How do you make a script breakdown for a film budget?

To create a detailed film budget, you need to break down your script into its basic components. There are two things you need to get to the bottom of; how long it’s going to take to shoot the film and everything else that will cost you money or slow you down. 

You have two options for conducting a breakdown; You can use professional breakdown and scheduling software or get out those colorful highlighters and pens and do it by hand.

Typically, a line producer or 1 st  Assistant Director will create the script breakdown. On a small budget, you might be doing it yourself. If you have the funds raised and ready to be spent, it’s time to hire that 1 st AD or line producer and commence pre-production. 

How a Breakdown Works

The result is a series of documents, a breakdown, that express clearly what every scene in the script requires to get made.  

Every page should be divided into eighths so that you can quickly calculate how many pages there are in a scene. For scenes that require the same location, page numbers can be tallied.  

Generally, you should be shooting 3-5 pages per day. If you are shooting a low-budget indie film that is lean on complexity, you can certainly push for more, within reason. 

Now, equipped with total pages you need to shoot in a particular location(s), you can estimate how long you will need that location for.  

Finally, you have arrived. You can estimate cost and begin balancing priorities to create a schedule and a film budget.  

Don’t forget everything else!  

The other major part of a script breakdown encapsulates everything else that is going to cost you money or add days to your schedule. The typical breakdown software, such as Movie Magic Scheduling, will ask you to fill in the following categories.  

Cast and Background Actors

Whether you work with SAG-AFTRA actors will have a significant effect on the cost of this category. Depending on the size of you independent film, you may not hire union talent and that will save you a hefty chunk of cash. Though, in many cases it is unavoidable. A big name or two will help you sell the film and get distribution and they’ll cost you.

If background actors are more that just your friends, you may end up using a service such as Central Casting. That service will cost you on top of standard SAG wages. Don’t forget fringes – more on that in a moment.

Practical effects and stunts can cost serious money. Safety is the name of the game in this category, and you will pay for it. Stunts can run the gamut, from a car chase to a fist fight. It all needs to be choreographed professionally and executed safely with the proper equipment.  

Special Effects

Elaborate practical effects including squibs or pyrotechnics land in this category. Again, safety is key. You’ll need to hire a professional to oversee the equipment and choreography of setups requiring practical special effects.

Art, Production Design, Set Dressing and Greens

Considering the environment of the scene, is there anything particularly expensive put forth in the script that warrants jotting down? The look of your film depends on the physical materials and artisans that shape those materials to bring the world to life. Don’t underestimate art, it’s going to fill the screen the entire movie.  

Pay attention to any special props that pop up in the script. These are things that actors will have to interact with, distinguishing them from set dressing. Often props will have to be in working order and rented from a prop house or purchased from another source. 

Wardrobe, Hair and Makeup

Often genre determines the needs of wardrobe, hair and makeup. Are you creating a slasher film that requires lots of bloody practical special effects makeup? Maybe it’s a period piece that has actors in fantastical vintage coats and enormous rolled hair. It could be subtle things too, like acne, a scar or sweat requiring upkeep by a specialist and the purchase of lots of product.  

Specialty Equipment

You can start to get an idea of the type of equipment you might need that lies outside the norm here. Any special dolly shots you have in mind, for example, may run up your bill with a Fischer dolly, crane or drone rental. Certain pieces of equipment also require a specialized crew member to operate.  

Animals and Animal Wranglers

Using live animals can be costly but is sometimes unavoidable. Know that animals have their own set of working rules and best practices and require a trainer or wrangler to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the animal as well as the cast and crew members that need to interact with them.   

Visual Effects

You might be surprised to see visual effects show up so early. Don’t be. If your script requires any amount of CGI or digital fluffing, plan to pay for it during production and in post-production. For the best results, you’ll need to hire a visual effects supervisor to work on set with your DP to plan certain shots and obtain “plates” to be used in post-production. 

How will a schedule effect my budget?

Once you have a full breakdown of all of the moving pieces necessary to breathe life into your independent film, it’s time to create a schedule. A film’s schedule is a balancing act of priorities that will inform your production budget by tracking who and what needs to be where and when and for how long.

For example, if you know how long a particular actor needs to be in a certain location, you can more easily calculate the cost of those line items.

This process only gets infinity more complex, adding in all the elements necessary for a particular scene set in a certain time and place. Ultimately, by combining a budget and schedule, you can calculate cost.

Budget More Than The Bare Minimum and Track Spending

Always pad these figures and anticipate the unknown. You never know when a storm could roll in or a COVID delay might strike.

A schedule will also allow you to track spending over time. Tracking spending is called actualization.

You can efficiently compare how much you planned on spending each day and up to any point in the production process with how much you’ve actually spent.

If there are overages, you better know about them and get ahead of them. If there is excess money, great! Put it somewhere useful or add it to your contingency. 

Once you have the breakdown in hand and are starting to sketch up a schedule, you need to break the budget into its appropriate parts – organize it for production.  

How is a film budget organized?

A budget is divided into two parts over three sections. Above-the-Line (ATL) and Below-the-Line (BTL) make up the two parts and the three phases of production make up the sections.  

Your film budget should flow naturally from one priority to another. Keeping your budget organized this way signals to investors you know what you’re doing.

Priorities that are grouped together should make sense together. Which group an expense lands in often signifies when the money needs to be spent or demarcates percentage of budget overall. Hence the split of line items between ATL and BTL.  

Wages will be a major factor in your budget, often responsible for approximately half of an independent film’s expenses overall.

Above-The-Line (ATL)

Above-the-Line line items include expenses that are necessary before you ever roll camera. Many of the deals you need to complete during pre-production are contained ATL.

Major talent and department heads are generally part of this section. That includes screenwriters or the purchase of a script, producers, actors, the director, the cinematographer and other major players responsible for the logistical or artistic integrity of the film.

For certain major actors and even some directors, a guarantee fee is the expectation. Don’t be surprised if you have to pay this fee upfront before anybody arrives for rehearsal.

This section can easily become your most expensive thanks to it’s heavy-hitting line items. This is also where you would consider adding line items for financing, paying that 1st AD for the breakdown and schedule and any other prep that is necessary to get your film on its feet.

Below-The-Line (BTL)

Below-The-Line expenses can cost a hefty sum in their own right. This section generally involves jobs, rentals and materials necessary for production and post-production.

Labor will typically outweigh all other expenses.

These costs may not be obvious in your script breakdown. That’s because they are not always unique to the script. Rather, they are the wages and equipment you need to pay for when you are ready to get the job done. Without these craftspeople, you wouldn’t have a picture.

How do I budget for crew wages and fringes?

Wages and fringes can make up a hefty percentage of your total budget. As you can see in our example of a typical film budget , labor can cost as much as half of the budget. 

Some fees, like those paid to talent or a director, will have to be paid up front, or a portion of which will have to be paid up front as a guarantee before you even roll camera on your independent film.

Before you can calculate the cost of labor, you need to decide whether your crew will be union or non-union.

Typically, you’re going to need to hire union professionals. Each craft will have their own local and their own negotiated terms. Many guilds will have standards they won’t budge on, other locals will negotiate terms with you.

Some guilds even have special labor rates for independent films on a sliding scale based on your budget. Another reason a thorough preliminary budget is important and necessary!

To get a gauge of the standard wage rates, check out our Showbiz Labor Guide ! We detail the latest union rates from every guild and local for each position based on the location of your shoot.  

Don’t Forget the Fringes! 

Fringes play an important role in your budget, and can add a decent chunk to cost. Fringes are all the additional costs associated with hiring a crew member on your independent film.

These include employer-paid state and federal taxes, union health and pension plan contributions and other fees that are paid to outside agencies on top of your crew’s wages.

Included in fringes are the costs of hiring a payroll company. This includes payroll taxes, workers’ compensation administration and payroll handling fees.

Ultimately, many of these expenses will be handled by your payroll company. The payroll company then pays out the appropriate percentage amounts to the government and unions.

How do tax incentives and location effect a film budget?

Where you shoot your independent film can have a major effect on how much the film will cost and even how much money you can raise with debt financing .

If you’re shooting location is flexible, choose a handful of states where you could shoot and explore state film tax incentive programs .

Since each state legislature decides on the rules and how well funded an incentive is, these programs vary from state-to-state. Some states don’t have a program at all. In other states, you can earn even more cash back and double down with a local incentive!

Scoring a state tax incentive can provide a guarantee to finance against and lift up your budget.

To get a state tax incentive, film offices need to know if you can pull it off. Offices have a limited amount of funds or credits they can disburse or promise in a year. So, if they earmark funds for your film and you don’t come through, the money is tied up and lost for another film.

To prove you can pull it off, they’re going to evaluate your team, financing, and, you guessed it, your film’s budget. They want to ensure your numbers look legitimate before promising anything.

If you need help deciding on a location best suited for your film, try consulting with a film tax incentive expert. These professionals can help you look for a state that will work for your budget.

What is a contingency and do I need one?

A contingency is like an insurance policy you’re funding yourself. While you should and will almost always be required to purchase production insurance, payroll companies, rental companies, banks and more will expect it, you need to have a contingency as well.   

Always include a contingency in your independent film budget.

Talk about being taken seriously – this is the ultimate way to prove you have the unexpected in mind when pitching your film to investors. It’s responsible and most financial professionals won’t accept your film budget without one.

The contingency should be 8-15% of the overall budget. For example, a $3 million movie with a 10% contingency should budget $300K for a contingency.

This money is usually controlled by a producer, or your bond company and treated like an insurance policy. If unforeseen over time, reshoots, major losses or disaster occur you have to petition this gatekeeper and make a case for why you need to dip into the contingency.

Never underestimate a good backup plan, the success of your film could depend on your contingency. Plus, if you don’t use it, score! You can use those funds to beef up marketing or pay down debt ahead of time.

Use a film budget to raise money and make an independent film

Building a thorough and practical film budget takes time and lots of research. We promise, it’s worth it! With a sophisticated, professionally built budget, you can hit the ground running and start raising the cash you need to begin pre-production.

A detailed script breakdown and schedule are your keys to the budgeting castle. Once you have the money you need and a good budget to boot, you can start hiring employees, paying talent guarantees, locking down locations, and more.

Before you know it, your budget will have paved the way from financing to marketing and distribution. You and your team will rely on it every step of the way. A practical budget paired with actualized costs will provide the backbone you need to get your film on the festival circuit and on the big screen.

Ready for The Next step? Learn about film financing .

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Film Budget Template: A Complete Guide, With Tutorials & Templates

Do you need to know how much it costs to make a film? If so, this article is for you. It will give you an overview of the different budget templates and what they include.

The film industry is understandably a costly business, but how can you know where to start?

In the search for answers, many filmmakers are looking for templates that provide them with cost estimations on things such as props and camera rentals.

This blog post provides an in-depth break down of some of the most common expenses.

FILM BUDGET TEMPLATE

What is a film budget template.

A film budget template is a document that helps filmmakers with the financial planning process of their project.

The template provides detailed information about what production costs are and how they affect the total cost, as well as some important guidelines for when to use certain types of equipment or personnel.

Crafting a film budget is like laying the foundation for a house—it’s crucial for the stability and success of your project.

A film budget template is the blueprint we’ll use to ensure every dollar is accounted for.

We’ll walk you through the essentials of creating a comprehensive film budget that can save you time and prevent costly oversights.

Stick with us, and you’ll be mastering the art of budgeting like a seasoned producer in no time.

The Importance Of A Film Budget

Creating a film budget is a pivotal step in bringing a cinematic vision to reality.

It ensures financial transparency and accountability , which are key to a production’s success.

Managing the funds effectively can be the difference between a project that makes it to the big screen and one that stalls in pre-production.

With a detailed budget in place, filmmakers can allocate resources wisely and anticipate potential financial constraints.

Budgets range drastically depending on the scope of a project.

Indie Film s may operate on a shoestring budget, while blockbusters have millions at their fingertips.

Regardless of the scale, every project requires a tailored film budget that meticulously tracks:

• Production costs – Crew salaries – Equipment rentals – Post-production expenses.

Tracking spending in real-time allows for immediate adjustments should any financial issues arise.

This can prevent a small over-expenditure from ballooning into a major problem.

The film budget also serves as a critical tool for securing investments.

Potential investors or studios want to see a comprehensive budget that outlines where every dollar is going.

A solid budget can instill confidence in these financial stakeholders, reassuring them that their investment is well-managed.

also, the budget is not just a financial tool but also a strategic guide.

It facilitates the prioritization of resources to different departments, ensuring that crucial elements like set design and special effects get their due share of the budget.

Consistent budget review and management can eventually lead to a more streamlined production process.

This results in a finished product that reflects the original artistic vision without unnecessary financial strain.

Filmmakers leverage technology and budgeting software to maintain precision in their financial planning.

Programs like Movie Magic Budgeting and Showbiz Budgeting have become industry standards.

They not only provide templates but also offer features that help manage budgets in detail throughout the filmmaking process.

Effective budgeting is the cornerstone of successful filmmaking .

It allows creative minds to focus on their passion while providing a practical framework to bring their stories to life.

Understanding The Components Of A Film Budget Template

Crafting a film budget requires familiarity with its core elements.

These components are critical in facilitating a smooth production flow while ensuring that every aspect of the filmmaking process is adequately funded.

Pre-Production Costs involve expenses before the cameras start rolling.

This phase includes:

• Script development and acquisition – Storyboarding and scheduling – Location scouting – Casting and crew hires – Equipment and studio reservations.

During Production , the budget must account for the day-to-day expenses.

Key production costs involve:

• Cast and crew wages – Equipment rental – Set design and construction – Costume and makeup – Transportation and catering.

Post-Production is a pivotal stage where the film comes together.

Expenses in this stage typically include:

• Editing and visual effects – Sound design and scoring – ADR and foley recording – Color correction and grading.

Marketing and distribution also play an essential role in the overall budget.

We must earmark funds for:

• Film festivals and competitions – Marketing materials and promos – Distribution rights and expenses – Publicity events and press engagements.

We ensure that the above budgetary elements are carefully tracked and managed in our budget template.

Keeping a close eye on these variables helps in preventing cost overruns and promotes an efficient allocation of resources throughout the project’s life cycle.

Our carefully laid out film budget template differentiates us by providing a granular view of all anticipated costs.

Pre-production Expenses

Understanding pre-production costs is essential for filmmakers.

These costs cover everything before the cameras start rolling.

Script development is where it all starts.

This includes payments for writers, story rights, and script editing.

Salaries for the producer, director, and casting director factor in here.

They’re the visionaries who shape the film’s course.

Securing locations is next on the budget.

Costs involve location fees and travel expenses for scouting trips.

Storyboarding and conceptual artwork lay the groundwork for what we’ll eventually see on screen.

These visual aids are crucial for pre-visualizing the film.

Equipment plays a pivotal role during pre-production.

We’re talking about cameras, lenses, lighting, and audio for tests and rehearsals.

Casting is when characters come to life.

It includes audition space rental, casting assistants, and actors’ initial read-throughs.

Insurance is a non-negotiable expense.

From general liability to equipment insurance, these policies protect our investment.

Legal fees also need attention at this stage.

We’ll need to cover contracts, permits, and licensing issues.

The following list details key pre-production expenses:

• Script development and acquisition,
• Salaries for key personnel,
• Location fees and related travel expenses,
• Storyboard creation and art direction costs,
• Preliminary equipment and test shoots,
• Casting and talent rehearsals,
• Insurance coverage,
• Legal counsel and permit procurement.

Each line item can greatly influence the overall budget.

Our focus is on navigating these costs with precision to lay a robust foundation for our film’s production.

Production Expenses

After laying out pre-production costs, we’ll jump into the crucial production expenses.

It’s essential to understand that the bulk of your budget will likely be consumed during this phase.

Principal photography is the cornerstone of production.

We cover everything from hiring the director of photography to ensuring the gaffer has all the necessary lighting equipment.

Cast and crew salaries form a significant chunk of production costs.

Stars may command higher fees while supporting actor s and extras have different pay scales.

Location fees can’t be overlooked.

Whether it’s the urban grittiness of a cityscape or the serenity of a secluded beach, each location comes with its price tag.

On-set costs are more than just equipment and location fees.

We’ve got to think about:

• Catering services – keeping the cast and crew fueled is a priority,
• Transportation – moving people and equipment from one location to another,
• Lodging – for shoots that require overnight stays or are away from home base.

Production design and set construction bring the script to life.

They are vital in creating the visual aesthetic of The Great Gatsby or the dystopian atmosphere of Blade Runner 2049 .

Camera and lighting equipment rental are major expenses.

We need high-quality gear to capture the desired cinematic feel.

Special effects, both practical and digital, contribute to the narrative.

Films such as Avatar and Inception showcase the power of these tools when used effectively.

Costume and makeup departments create characters that resonate with audiences.

This includes period-specific attire for films like Downton Abbey and the elaborate prosthetics in The Lord of the Rings .

We must protect our project, personnel, and equipment from unforeseen events.

It’s clear that these elements are just part of the complex tapestry that makes up production costs.

Managing them well ensures that our film doesn’t just get made, but dazzles the audience as well.

Post-production Expenses

Once the lights on set go out and the cameras stop rolling, the post-production phase begins.

This period is where all the captured footage is transformed into the final narrative that will grace screens both big and small.

Editing is the backbone of post-production and it’s where raw footage takes on a structured form.

It’s a labor-intensive process that can require a significant portion of the budget.

Special effects, both visual and sound, are another hefty line item.

This is especially true for genres that rely heavily on CGI like science fiction or fantasy films.

Here’s what filmmakers need to consider for post-production costs:

• Editing equipment and software,
• Sound design and mixing,
• Visual effects and CGI,
• Color correction and grading,
• Music licensing or original score creation.

Marketing and distribution are often entwined with post-production.

The early stages of crafting a compelling marketing campaign start as the editing process winds down.

We must account for costs associated with film festivals if that’s part of the distribution strategy.

Entry fees, travel, and promotional materials can add up quickly.

Crew salaries continue to be a part of the financial considerations.

Post-production personnel are crucial and encompass editors, sound mixers, composers, and effects artists.

While physical media may not be as prevalent, we can’t ignore costs for DVD or Blu-ray production if they’re among the planned distribution channels.

Packaging, design, and manufacturing are costs we need to factor in here.

Localization, including dubbing and subtitling, ensures our film is accessible to a global audience.

Rates can vary greatly depending on the number of languages and regions.

Don’t forget budgetary wiggle room for unforeseen post-production expenses.

It’s better to be over-prepared than surprised by unexpected costs.

Tips For Creating An Accurate Film Budget

Creating an ideal film budget requires a meticulous approach and keen attention to every financial detail.

We understand that staying on top of the numerous expenses can be overwhelming, yet it’s imperative for the success of any film project.

Let’s jump into several tips that ensure your film budget stands the test of reality.

Research Extensively before finalizing the numbers.

Filmmaking is a dynamic field, and costs can fluctuate based on various factors ranging from location fees to equipment rentals.

The more informed you are, the less likely you’ll encounter unpleasant surprises.

Start by breaking down your script to identify all potential expenses – from wardrobe changes to set pieces.

Make sure every detail is accounted for.

This is where script breakdown s become invaluable; they help pinpoint specifics that are easy to overlook.

Include a contingency fund that’s roughly 10-20% of your total budget.

Unpredictable costs arise and this cushion allows you to handle them without derailing your project.

Localize potential savings by considering tax incentives and grants.

Many regions offer substantial support to filmmakers, and tapping into these resources can significantly reduce your overall costs.

Make room for Marketing and Distribution early in your budgeting process.

These expenses are often underestimated but they’re as critical as production costs.

Use Budgeting Software crafted for filmmaking.

These tools are designed to handle the complex variables of film production and can streamline the budgeting process.

Regularly Review and Update your budget.

As the production progresses, actual costs will emerge that might necessitate tweaks to your budget.

Ensuring transparency with your funding sources is vital.

Keeps them updated on the financial health of the project.

This establishes trust and could be helpful for any future endeavors.

Build relationships with vendors and crew members.

Often, loyal partnerships can lead to better rates and terms.

By adhering to these tactics, we’re better positioned to draft a budget that reflects the genuine financial scope of a film production.

There’s no foolproof formula for budget creation, but these guidelines serve as a framework for financial discipline and foresight.

With a solid budget in place, filmmakers can maneuver with confidence, dedicating their focus to the art of storytelling and the production itself.

Film Budget Template – Wrap Up

Crafting a precise film budget is crucial for the success of any production.

We’ve shared invaluable insights to help you navigate the complexities of budgeting, from research to software selection.

Remember, a well-planned budget isn’t just about numbers—it’s a strategic tool that ensures you can tell your story without financial hiccups.

By staying transparent and building solid relationships, you’re setting the stage for a smoother filmmaking journey.

Now equipped with these tips and tricks, you’re ready to turn your creative vision into a cinematic reality while keeping a firm grip on the purse strings.

Let’s make movie magic happen within the bounds of a budget that works for us.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is creating a film budget important.

A film budget is essential for planning and managing production costs, securing funding, and ensuring that all aspects of filmmaking are financially covered.

It allows filmmakers to focus on storytelling and production without unexpected financial issues.

What Are Key Elements To Include In A Film Budget?

Key elements include pre-production costs, production expenses, post-production work, crew and cast salaries, location fees, set design, equipment rentals, contingency funds, tax incentives, and a budget for marketing and distribution activities.

How Can One Create An Accurate Film Budget?

Creating an accurate film budget involves doing extensive research, breaking down the script to itemize expenses, including a contingency fund for unexpected costs, and factoring in tax incentives and grants.

What Role Does Budgeting Software Play In Filmmaking?

Budgeting software designed for filmmaking can streamline the budget creation process, provide templates and formulas, and facilitate regular reviews and updates, helping filmmakers maintain an accurate and organized financial plan.

Why Is Transparency Important In Film Budgeting?

Transparency with funding sources builds trust and maintains positive relationships, ensuring that investors are informed about where and how their money is being spent, potentially leading to further financial support in future projects.

Matt Crawford

Related posts, 8 best business brokers in 2024 [reviewed & ranked], guide to film budgets: everything you need to know, what is an entertainment lawyer: what they are and what they do, customer relationship management (crm) software – what it is and why you need it, 5 tips for creating an amazing logo for your business, the art of simplicity: why doing less achieves more.

Creating a budget for a film project can be daunting, but this guide simplifies the process. The templates are a real time-saver.

Thank you for sharing these film budget templates and tutorials. They are incredibly useful for indie filmmakers like me.

Thanks for the kind words, Sheena.

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Must-Have Film Budget Templates with Examples and Samples

Deepika Dhaka

Behind the glitz and glamour of the silver screen lies a complex web of calculations, negotiations, and meticulous planning. From securing financing and allocating resources to optimizing production and marketing strategies, film budgeting is the relentless punch that ensures a film's viability. It takes dexterity to balance artistic aspirations with the pragmatic reality of costs, ultimately determining a movie's scale, scope, and success. 

As filmmakers step into the ring of budgeting, they must deliver a knockout blow, weaving together creativity, innovation, and shrewd financial management to produce cinematic marvels that captivate global audiences.

These examples showcase the unmatched power of efficient film budgeting:

Get Out (2017): As mentioned earlier, this critically acclaimed horror film that Jordan Peele directed had a production budget of $4.5 million. It went on to gross over $255 million worldwide, making it a massive box-office success.  The film illustrates the power of smart budgeting in the horror genre.

Crazy Rich Asians (2018): Directed by Jon M. Chu, this romantic comedy-drama was made with a budget of approximately $30 million. It became a cultural phenomenon, and a box office hit, grossing over $238 million worldwide. The film's success was attributed to its vibrant storytelling, talented cast, and efficient budget management.

If you are a film producer or director seeking to master the art of efficient budget planning for your next cinematic endeavor, we have the perfect solution for you:  Film Budget Templates . 

Best Film Budget Templates to Deliver a BlockBuster  

Our PowerPoint Templates are designed to empower you with the tools and resources needed to navigate the intricate landscape of film budgeting. With these templates, you can streamline your financial planning process, accurately estimate expenses, allocate resources effectively, and maximize the potential of your project. Whether you're an industry veteran or a rising talent, our Film Budget Templates are your secret weapon to conquer the financial challenges of filmmaking and bring your vision to life without compromising quality or creativity. 

Get ready to take charge of your budget like a true cinematic champion with these resources. The 100% customizable nature of the templates provides you with the desired flexibility to edit your presentations. The content-ready slides give you the much-needed structure. 

Let’s begin

Template 1: Film Production Budget Planning

Unleash the power of efficient film budget planning with this dynamic PPT Slide. It is designed to perfection and offers a comprehensive structure that optimizes your budgeting process. Seamlessly divided into five essential sections- scripting, scene prioritization, actor budget, salaries, and other expenses - it ensures effective financial management tailored to your film's unique requirements. Take charge of your budget like a true maestro and customize expense categories to align with your vision. Download now!

Download this template

Template 2: Below the Line Film Production Budget Breakdown

Designed with precision and attention to detail, this comprehensive tool breaks down your below-the-line expenses into clear categories, enabling you to allocate resources efficiently. From production design to costume, locations to transportation, our template ensures you have full control over your budget, allowing you to maximize every dollar spent. Streamline your below-the-line budgeting process and unlock the potential for seamless, cost-effective film production.

Template 3: During and Post-Film Production Budget Allocation

Unleash the full force of efficient resource allocation during shooting and post-production with our game-changing template. From equipment rentals to awe-inspiring visual effects, from captivating sound design to strategic marketing expenses, this comprehensive tool keeps you in command of every budgeting aspect. Seize control of your film's financial success and streamline your budget allocation process with unwavering confidence, harnessing the power of this PowerPoint Template. Download now!

Template 4: Film Marketing and Promotional Budget Segmentation

This PPT tool empowers you to strategically allocate your budget across key channels, including the online advertisement, television advertisement, and outdoor advertisement. With customizable categories and detailed segmentation, you can optimize your resources to maximize audience reach and engagement. Elevate your film's visibility, create a buzz, and achieve unparalleled marketing success with this PPT Template. It also includes a separate section to mention highlights for your convenience. Get it today!

Template 5: Independent Feature Film Production Budget Breakdown

Empower your independent feature film production with our feature-packed template. This comprehensive PPT Slide provides a perfect breakdown of your budget, including living expenses, insurance, casting director fees, travel costs, location expenses, music department allocations, and much more. With the added bonus of a visually-appealing donut chart, you can showcase the budget breakdown to stakeholders. Get it today!

Template 6: Film Production Company Movie Budget Proposal

This comprehensive slide provides crucial insights into the funds required to produce an animated movie that promises a higher ROI. From online and offline editors to skilled cameramen, scriptwriters, and visionary directors, it encompasses elements necessary for a successful animated production. Harness this invaluable resource to unlock the financial potential of your animated movie venture and pave the way for unparalleled ROI. Download it today!

Template 7: Film Casting Team Planned and Actual Budget Variance

A detailed description of unit types allocated budget, and variance enables you to track and analyze your casting team's expenses. This template covers everything from leading actors' salaries to supporting actors' compensation, drivers' wages, and casting expenditures.  With this invaluable resource, you can achieve your film's financial success and ensure optimal budget management.

Your Secret to a Blockbuster

In the ever-evolving landscape of filmmaking, mastering the art of film budgeting is paramount to success. It's the driving force behind translating creative visions into tangible realities. To equip yourself with the essential tools and expertise, look no further than SlideTeam's Film Budget Templates. With these pre-designed resources at your disposal, you can streamline your budget planning, optimize resource allocation, and ensure financial prudence throughout the filmmaking process. Take control of your film's financial destiny and unlock the potential for cinematic excellence. Don't miss out - download SlideTeam's Film Budget Templates today and pave the way to a blockbuster production

PS: If you are looking for Film Pitch Templates, here’s a handy guide with the most popular samples and examples.

FAQs on Film Budget

What does film budget mean .

A film budget refers to the financial plan and estimation of costs associated with the production of a film. It outlines the projected expenses across pre-production, production, and post-production of filmmaking. 

What does a film budget include?

A film budget includes components such as pre-production expenses (script development, location scouting), production costs (cast and crew salaries, equipment rental), post-production expenses (editing, visual effects), marketing and distribution expenses, insurance, permits, and contingency funds.

How do you write a film budget?

Writing a film budget involves a detailed process of identifying anticipated expenses and estimating their respective costs. This includes researching industry-standard rates, obtaining quotes, and consulting with industry professionals. A film budget is created using specialized budgeting software or templates that assist in organizing and categorizing expenses. You can use SlideTeam’s Film Budget Templates for the best assistance.

Who pays the budget of a film?

A film's budget is typically funded through a combination of sources, which can include production companies, studios, independent investors, co-production partners, and sometimes even crowdfunding or government grants. The responsibility of securing the necessary funds and managing the budget lies with the film's producers and financiers.

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Create a film budget in 5 minutes

Enter a few details about your film or series and our film budgeting engine will create a professional, extremely detailed 18-page line-item film budget. $179 for an editable Excel version or $149 for just the 1-page topsheet PDF

No film budgeting software required

Until now, if you wanted to create a film budget, or a budget for a series, you had to hire a line producer or be an expert at film budgeting, or buy and learn expensive film budgeting software. Our budgeting engine does away with all that headache and lets you focus on getting your movie funded and produced!

The latest cast/crew rates, including guilds

Your film budget will be based on the latest crew, cast, and line-item costs, and will even factor the minimum wage for the state you’re shooting in, as well as let you know of any available tax incentives. And our budgeting engine is super smart about guilds and which ones you’ll want to budget for.

How film budgeteers creates your film budget

1) You tell us about your film

2) We crunch the numbers

3) We email your budget

(And then you make your film!)

Our film budgeting engine first asks you what you want your budget’s grand total to be. Then, based on that amount, we walk you through a series of questions about your film or series, asking you things like “How big of cast do you have?” and “Do you think your film might need a lot of visual effects?” and stuff like that. After you checkout, we crunch the numbers then email you a fully-professional, extremely-detailed, 18-page line-item budget for your film, plus topsheet.

A film budget can get your production moving

Whether you’re meeting with investors or producers, or launching a crowdfunding campaign, or submitting for a festival, workshop, or fellowship, a film budget instantly transforms you from “yet another filmmaker with a script” into a filmmaker with a script and a plan , which gives you a huge leg up when trying to get that green light. Not sure you need a full, detailed budget? Just get the topsheet (a one-page PDF overview of your budget) for $179.

Watch how easy bo-reezy it is to budget your film with Film Budgeteers

“Film Budgeteers have an immensely valuable resource to filmmakers at all levels. If you’re headed into production, or looking to build an investment package, then the first step in your process should be using their online tools and paving the way for your creativity.” Bryan Edward Hill, Writer-Director (Los Angeles)

“Film Budgeteers is a promising tool, appropriately priced, and worth considering, especially for producers who are just starting out.” Moviemaker Magazine “This is an easy and quick way to get something practical together. Really handy for pitching and getting something off the ground.” Chris Reading , Writer & Director

8 Levels of Film Budgets and Rates

May 29, 2020 by Caroline Brophy

One of the hardest parts of the pre-production process is the film budget. Funding is always hard, especially when making a movie because you have to ask for money before you’ve made anything. You’re asking people and places to finance on the promise of something great afterward. This is why we’ve broken down the different kinds of budgets and offer some helpful tips on how to budget.

The Student Film

Firstly, let’s start with the kinds of film budgets that SAG outlines . SAG has recently updated its budget scales. The first being the Student Film Budget. The student film is defined as a project that satisfies a course requirement at an accredited educational institution and is shooting entirely in the United States with a budget of less than $35,000 and a run time of fewer than 35 minutes.

Student films typically have very low budgets. Often other students work for free, for course credit, or as favors to friends. Many are also funded by film grants from the institutions and students can take advantage of software and equipment, like a 3 point lighting set up, that is provided by the school.

Short Project

Next on the SAG low budget scale is the short project. This is projects that are shooting entirely in the United States with a maximum total budget of $50,000 and a maximum total run time of 40 minutes.  The short film budget can be hard to craft. It’s all about getting the most production value for your money, which will help set it apart from student films and other projects.

Most budget film cameras are going to run around or under 1,000 dollars, and budgeting is all about finding balance. Maybe it’s worth it to spend more on a good camera if you can get some friends to do hair and makeup as a favor.

Ultra-Low Budget

Next up is the SAG the Ultra Low Budget Project. This is a project that films entirely in the United States with a maximum budget of $300,000. This film budget format is one of the ones SAG modified in its low budget rates. In this updated category, projects must be non-episodic and producers will no longer have to declare their intended exhibition market and residuals will be based on the initial release of the project.

Moderate Low Budget

Then there is the Moderate Low Budget Project. With this category we have moved away from low budget films and into medium budget films. This is a new film budget breakdown for SAG and includes projects shooting entirely in the United States with a total budget of less than $700,000.

SAG also outlines budgets for theatrical productions. Its theatrical budget encompasses projects that shoot entirely within the United States with a total budget greater than $2,000,000, as well as films shooting outside of the United States. These are some of the more high-end budgets SAG helps fund.

But within theatrical productions, there are also some low budget SAG rates. The Low Budget Theatrical applies to those films shooting entirely within the United States with a total budget of less than $2,000,000.

Micro-Budgets

So that’s how SAG breaks down budgets, but there are so many other kinds of budgets, like the micro-budget. Micro-budget films are usually cost under $396,000 but there is some disagreement around the world about the difference between micro and low budget film financing.

Then there is the elusive No Budget Film, which involves some equipment you already own, or that you can use for free, and some good friends on the film crew list who are willing to work for free. Of course, even this kind of budget will have costs, like crafty and possibly transportation but it is possible to go No Budget.

Or if you’re a penny pitcher, a crafty-budget might be for you. Take your idea and write as many grant proposals as you can and enter all of the funding contests.

There is some real untapped funding in grants and contests. Of course, there isn’t a movie magic budgeting that will be perfect for your film. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

You don’t need a big budget.

The first step is making a really killer budget. The best thing to do is to get some good film budgeting and scheduling software. The most important part of budgeting is organization. You can also follow some pre-made film budget templates.

Templates and film budgeting software will help make your budget readable and up to industry standard, then you can start sending it to low budget film studios and start to gather financing, but it starts with organization.

And no one is saying you need a big budget to make a good movie, or to make money from your movie. Some of the best examples of low budget films that made millions come from the horror genre, horror movies like The Evil Dead and The Blair Witch Project . But outside of horror, low budgets can still make bank. Films like Napoleon Dynamite , Juno , and Little Miss Sunshine also had low budgets and have become classics.

Budgeting can be hard but it’s important to be organized, understand the different kinds of budgets, and know that you don’t need a big budget to make something great. Good luck!

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Student Thesis Film Scoring Budget

• Thread starter alexzli
• Start date May 7, 2023
• May 7, 2023

Hello Community, Let's say I receive a gig about scoring a student short film, should I say as a film composer, I should do it for free or charge the filmmaker? Because from what I just heard, he was hoping it to be more like a collaboration. Click to read more...  

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Yt: @xenturyproduction.

• May 8, 2023

alexzli said: Hello Community, Let's say I receive a gig about scoring a student short film, should I say as a film composer, I should do it for free or charge the filmmaker? Because from what I just heard, he was hoping it to be more like a collaboration. Click to expand...

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Fakemaxwell.

jneebz said: if it’s a thesis project I guarantee you there’s SOMETHING in the budget for music and audio. Click to expand...

• May 9, 2023

Collaboration is likely over (done with other students and friends) and music is most likely being left for last. You get to eat scraps at a dinner party you weren't invited to, after the revelers have filled themselves up and are now heading home. You'll be under the gun to finish something you never had time to consider, and will probably be blamed for tardiness, because everybody's waiting for you! (I have zero experience in this area. /s) In your case, "scoring" might be hastily coming up with cues to picture that's still being edited. A precious life lesson to the aspiring filmmaker is that each part of a production costs something . Yes, music. That thing the filmmaker inexplicably didn't give a **** about when contemplating planning a film. By all means, have fun and do it for free if you're friends. But friendships can break. Being a director might become more important than being a friend. A gentle slap might be a valuable capstone to the producer's education! Don't abet the race to the bottom by giving the store away.  

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My thesis film teaser trailer. Due to the low amount financial support my Finnish school provides, most of the budget has to be crowdsourced. This was a gruelling, but fun attempt to create legitimacy to the project. Let's see how it plays out in a month or so. Apologies for the finnish text.

Film Production Budget — Low to High Budget Films Explained

H ow do people make movies? Writers, actors, directors, surely play a part, but there’s something more important than a movie’s creators, and that thing is money. Movies need money; that’s an irrefutable fact. And it’s the sole goal of the financier(s) to get a positive return on their investment. We’re going to look at how producers use production budgets to outline a course to positive net return. We’re also going to break down movie production budgets at three levels: low, mid, and high end. By the end, you’ll know how production budgets are made and the most expensive movies of all-time.

Film Budget Examples

Background on production budgets.

What is a production budget? A production budget is simply the agreed upon cost between a financier and a producer for the creation of a product. That product could be a fine-tailored suit, a chandelier; or in this case, a movie. 

Production budgets are separated by two sections: above the line and below the line . Everyone on a film crew falls on either side of this division.

Above the Line

Above the line means “creative talent” and their associated production costs. Personnel on this side of the line include writers , directors , producers , and talent.

Below the Line

Below the line means everyone and everything that’s not above the line – and their associated production costs. Personnel on this side of the line include crew, craft services , and non-key cast.

Production budgets vary greatly between projects. But if one thing’s for certain, it’s that organization is key. Check out this video for more on the process of film budgeting.

Film Budget Breakdown  •  An Introduction to Film Budgeting by RocketJump Film School

Obviously, there’s a lot that goes into film budgeting. We’ll have some film budgeting resources for you at the end of this article, but first, let’s take a look at some production budgets at low, mid, and high tiers.

Video Production Budgets 

Production budget vs total budget.

It’s important to note that production budgets only account for the production costs of a movie. Oftentimes, marketing and distribution cost a hefty penny as well. Check out this next video to see the marketing side of the film-world in further detail.

Movie Budgets  •  Marketing: Crash Course Film Production

Many people get confused when they hear that a movie with a production budget of $100 million grosses $15o million worldwide and loses money. But the brutal fact is that movies get sunk by the massive costs of marketing and distribution all the time.

Low-end movie production budgets

A low-budget movie is a movie that’s (usually) financed through self-financing or small private funding. 

There’s some conjecture as to what the low-budget movie range is (especially when accounting for inflation) – but most analysts agree anything below $5 million USD can be characterized as low-budget.

Examples of low-budget movies:

• Primer (2007) – Budget: $7,000
• Monty Python And the Holy G rail   (1975) – Budget: $400,000 
• Get Out (2017) – Budget: $4.5 million

These three movies – Primer , Monty Python And the Holy Grail , and Get Out – represent three tiers of the low-budget movie spectrum.

Primer was self-financed on a shoestring budget by writer/director/star Shane Carruth in true independent film fashion. 

Monty Python And the Holy Grail was financed in large part by friends of the Pythons, including band members in Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. 

Get Out represents the final rung of the low-budget spectrum; that of the low-budget production company. Blumhouse Productions has made a fortune out of strategically picking horror-themed projects that they can finance with small-budgets. Get Out was no exception. 

This next video takes a look at how filmmakers have made the most out of “no-budget” features.

Low Budget Productions  •  Lessons for the No-Budget Feature by The Royal Ocean Film Society

There’s no doubt about it: many of the world’s best filmmakers began their careers making movies with miniscule production budgets. Some preferred to stick in that production tier; others moved on to more expensive projects.

Production Budget Examples

Mid-level movie production budgets.

A mid-budget movie is a movie that’s (usually) financed by a studio; with assistance from grants, awards, and, or government subsidies. 

Mid-budget movies bridge a considerable gap between low-budget and blockbuster movies. With inflation, it’s hard to say what that gap is – but for the sake of clarity, we’re going to say ~$5-$50 million. 

Examples of mid-budget movies: 

• A Quiet Place (2018) – Budget: $17 million
• The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) – Budget: $25 million
• Knives Out (2019) – Budget: $40 million

Mid-budget movies are some of the most dangerous movies to finance. Why? Because there’s almost no way to tell whether they will be a box-office player. The three movies above all did an excellent job of maximizing their budget – which undoubtedly helped their performance at the box-office.

Let’s check out a video on how The Grand Budapest Hotel was made on a mid-end budget.

How The Grand Budapest Hotel Was Made on a Budget  •   Subscribe on YouTube

The Grand Budapest Hotel reportedly grossed $172.9 million against a $25 million budget. That’s a great return on investment by anybody’s standards. Of course, the film had a lot going for it; including an auteur director in Wes Anderson , and a bevy of stars in Ralph Fiennes, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, and more.

Mid-budget movies have largely been relegated to two tiers in recent years: the Academy-focused and the streaming service tiers. Movies must play in theaters (or have been planned to play in theaters) to be eligible for the Academy Awards. For these movies, think Parasite ($15.5 million) or La La Land ($30 million). Other, more commercially-focused mid-budget movies, like most Netflix movies, are simply concentrated on attracting viewers.

This next video takes a look at the disappearance of the mid-budget movie.

Production Budget Examples  •  Why Don’t They Make ‘em Like They Used To? By Chris Stuckmann

Chris Stuckmann makes a lot of great points about mid-budget movies; streaming, creative changes, and theater exhibition have all played a role in the decline of mid-budget movies.

Blockbuster Movie Budgets 

High-end movie production budgets.

A high-budget movie is a movie that’s almost always financed by a film studio. High-budget movies are synonymous with blockbuster cinema; think Jurassic Park ($63 million) and Marvel’s The Avengers ($220 million). 

High-budget movies are almost exclusively relegated to the $100 million+ tier. If this article was longer, we’d have more than three tiers – but it’s not, so we’ll say a high-budget movie is a movie with a budget of more than $50 million.

Examples of high-budget movies: 

• Dune (2021) – Budget: $165 million
• John Carter (2012) – Budget: $250 million
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) – Budget: $379 million

Marvel’s Avengers movies have grossed billions of dollars at the box-office whilst captivating the minds and hearts of millions. But for every box-office hit, there’s a box-office bomb. In recent years, movies like The Last Duel ($100 million) and Mortal Engines ($100 million) cost studios enormous amounts of money; which goes to show you that big stars, like Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and big directors, like Peter Jackson , sometimes aren’t enough to carry a big-budget movie.

Film Budget Planning

Now that we’ve reviewed the industry details regarding movie production budgets, let’s move on to film budget planning. In our next article, we’ll show you how to outline film production costs step-by-step. By the end, you’ll know everything you need in order to start budgeting your film.

Up Next: Budget Planning Tips →

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Did 'Godzilla Minus One' Just School Hollywood on Movie Making?

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The Big Picture

• Godzilla Minus One grossed $115.8 million on a budget of $15 million, proving big-budget films aren't necessary for profitability.
• The film's success highlights a need for Hollywood to rethink extravagant spending and prioritize creative storytelling over massive budgets.
• Smaller budgets can spark creativity and financial success, like Gareth Edwards' film shot on an $80 million budget, emphasizing resourceful filmmaking.

And with a mighty roar, Godzilla proclaimed "That's how it's done, Hollywood." History has always shown that no matter how popular certain trends and practices may be, everything is subject to change. With the release of Godzilla Minus One , Toho's first Godzilla film in seven years, and the struggle that many recent bloated budget blockbusters have faced, something just might be in the water. A sea change, perhaps! Despite being a mega-franchise movie with city-sized explosions and a giant monster, Minus One has a reported budget of a measly $15 million . In a part of the world where these kinds of movies typically track for a ballpark cost of $100-$250 million, how could this possibly have been accomplished? Not only that, but the kaiju's latest big screen outing wrapped up its theatrical run having grossed $115.8 million at the worldwide box office. That's right, we're talking about ten times its original budget.

While it hasn't exactly landed in the billion-dollar club, it's impossible to deny the behemoth profit that the King of the Monsters scored. In a day and age that sees big-budget movies bombing left and right, Toho managed to swoop in and show everyone up. This film proved that you could make a massively entertaining movie with an engaging story and incredible special effects, all done on a small sum of cash, and rake a wheelbarrow full of money in at the end of the day. There are some factors that play into this, a few ideal and others much less so, that affect this whole situation, but there's a lesson to be learned at the end of the day — large-scale movies don't need to put a studio's finances in jeopardy. Did Godzilla Minus One just school Hollywood ?

Before everyone gets carried away, we have to take a step back and look at what all of this means. A movie with a $15 million budget typically falls within the confines of dramas, comedies, or horror . You never see a project with this type of story or scope being made on this low of a budget... in North America, at least. In many other parts of the world, Japan included, labor laws are put into place that keep wages much lower, therefore lowering production costs . That makes it so that studios don't have to spend as much money on movies like Godzilla Minus One . Even with that being the case, $15 million is an impressively low dollar amount. At the very least, this kind of movie should cost around $80 million, and that's if you're being really crafty. Usually, when filmmakers are telling gargantuan genre stories , they cost about ten times that of Godzilla's latest outing . Is the cost of Minus One too low? Are movies nowadays just too expensive? Or is there a middle ground that we can find, one that properly meets the needs of creators while also not over-inflating the situation, and still gives the film a chance to profit in a world that is growing less interested in CGI-infested action filmmaking?

Godzilla Minus One

Post war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptized in the horrific power of the atomic bomb.

‘Godzilla Minus One’ Was One of 2023’s Surprise Hits

2023 was an odd year at the box office. While the industry appears to be on a downward trend of diminishing cinematic cultural phenomenons, the occasional smash hit still manages to rear its head. The Super Mario Bros. movie proved that video games could not only actually be good, but that they could absolutely wreck shop with box office earnings. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 came through as Marvel's biggest 2023 success by a long shot, grossing $845.6 million by the end of its run. That might be small potatoes in comparison to the heyday of superhero movies dominating our culture, but in a post-pandemic world, we have to take what we can get. Then there's the obvious sensation of the year — the dual release of Barbie and Oppenheimer over Barbenheimer weekend. Collectively, these two pictures drummed up more than two billion dollars (the former amassing 1.4 billion and the latter landing just under ten figures ).

So, while Minus One 's $115 million earnings pale in comparison to 2023's "biggest hits," there's one glaring difference to note. Nine times out of ten, when movies end up landing over the billion dollar mark, their budgets tend to at least cost over $100 million. Making that much money on a budget of similar size means that the films don't profit, and that's if the title's earnings exceed their budget. Then, there's Godzilla Minus One .

'Godzilla Minus One' Finally Makes Us Care About the Humans

After so many Godzilla movies, 'Godzilla Minus One' finally fleshes out its human characters properly.

The King of the Monsters' latest rampage isn't just an impressively relatively low-budget kaiju fest, it actually stacks up as a killer giant monster flick. The action is Grade A, the characters are surprisingly rich, it feels every bit as big as its bloated and overly expensive Legendary Pictures counterparts , and, more than anything, actually managed to make Godzilla scary again. Minus One wasn't just a theatrical hit either, it's also doing big business after finally being made available for streaming on Netflix. Audiences have latched on to this iteration more than any other to have come out this century. It's not in your budgeted dollar amount that you are guaranteed to reach and hook people with a big noisy spectacle, it's with a story that you create resonance.

We shouldn't be surprised that Minus One has been greeted so enthusiastically, though. If there's ever been a time for the world's most famous giant monster to come back, it's now. Kaiju movies have seen a massive uptick in recent years. The aforementioned Legendary Monsterverse pictures have consistently made tons of money, Pacific Rim was a huge hit back in 2013, and, shoot, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness even leans into the kaiju schtick a bit. People have spent the last decade eating this science fiction subgenre up. Aside from their colossal beats, the main thing that the previously mentioned movies have in common is that none of them have the heart or resourceful filmmaking that Godzilla Minus One has.

'Godzilla Minus One' Is the Rare Example of an Action Movie Made on a Low-Budget

The last North American Godzilla movie , 2021's Godzilla vs Kong , reportedly cost $160 million to produce. Fast forward two-and-a-half years later, and we have Godzilla Minus One , which cost just under ten percent of that — somewhere in the $15 million range. This is a Godzilla movie like many others . The titular figure stomps, chomps, and atomic breaths the crap out of cities, all in his typically enormous, glorious fashion . There is a bit more of a focus on the human element than usual, so that could have something to do with part of the budget being lower, but this is largely your meat and potatoes Godzilla movie , and made on a pretty cheap dime. Elsewhere, Hollywood blockbusters are costing $100-250 million regularly, with tons of them bombing recently . What's the deal?

Let's start with Godzilla Minus One . Set in Post-War Japan, this movie features decimated cityscapes from the get-go — and no, not at the hands of Godzilla. The civilians that are featured in Minus One are picking up the pieces after their homes have been bombed and turned to rubble. So even though Godzilla barges onto land and wrecks havoc , the filmmakers already set out to design a setting that's barely hanging on. Aside from the giant monster-isms, it's mind-blowing to consider that they were able to build these sets basically with pocket change.

In a practical sense, the craft behind Minus One can't be beat. It helps also that a large part of the story revolves around the relationships between human characters , particularly a father and daughter (played wonderfully by Ryunosuke Kamiki and Sae Nagatani ), and how both Godzilla and the bomb have affected their lives. Not only is the King of the Monster's latest outing as thrilling and bombastic as ever it's deeply emotive as well . Having a heart at the core of your movie is the least expensive special effect that any filmmaker can create. There's no doubt that Minus One resonates with people because of its focus on story and character. When a director and a studio prioritize the right things, it shows, and the people will come. They have come.

'Godzilla Minus One's Low Budget Comes at the Cost of Artists' Livelihoods

That being said, not everything is being properly prioritized , unfortunately. In certain parts of the world, Japan included, labor laws are put into place so that wages are kept lower as well. This makes the production less expensive to put on, but also means that artists don't have to be paid as much. Therefore, Godzilla Minus One can make its money back easily, but those making the movie aren't reaping the same benefits. This is due to there being no proper filmmaking unions in place in Japan. The Japan Times reported a quote from actor Kanji Furutachi explaining the situation by saying:

"There is no functioning actors’ union in Japan, so standards for working conditions don’t exist. The result is a low-quality environment with long hours and low wages. The system here incentivizes exploitation."

So, while Godzilla Minus One's admirably low production budget is impressive, it's devastating to note that this comes at the expense of the artists' livelihoods . Not only that, but despite being a thrilling and uniquely sinister kaiju movie, Minus One doesn't always look as great as many people say. It's incredible for $15 million, but that praise is primarily in response to the sets and some of the shots that I'm still having a hard time figuring out. This might be nitpicking, but there are times when Godzilla, explosions, billowing towers of smoke, and more general disaster-based side effects look incredibly computer-generated . That said, it's hard to complain about that when you know this big of a movie only cost $15 million. There's a chance that Minus One had a fast post-production process, or maybe the artists were stretched too thin, but that's just speculation. For the budget, the movie is kind of a visual game changer, but it does make you wonder how much better it could have looked if it just had a little more money put into it.

Hollywood Continues To Produce Expensive Box Office Bombs

Still, Godzilla Minus One wrapped up its theatrical run having grossed ten times its production budget. Considering the recent state of things in Hollywood, executives have to be taking notes. I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here, but The Marvels has officially been rewarded the title of the lowest-grossing MCU movie in history, landing around $206 million on a reported $250 million budget. The criminally underrated Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (you read that right) somehow had a production budget of $300 million and ended up finishing its run at $383 million . Hollywood spent the 2010s writing budgetary checks for an infinite dollar amount but regularly found themselves nearing or crossing the $1 billion mark. Those days might not be completely over, but the tide is changing. Studios desperately need to find ways to make these movies cheaper, and with the creative and financial success of Minus One , executives are probably scribbling their notepads faster than Godzilla can decimate a cityscape.

Audiences Clearly Have an Interest in Sci-Fi That Doesn't Cost as Much as a Blockbuster

How do we solve this problem? North American film worker wages are higher than in many parts of the world, so $15 million isn't exactly doable. Still, unless you're making an Avatar movie or maybe a big-ticket, ensemble Avengers movie, movies don't always have to be $100-$250 million, right? Well, in the fall, a big-little movie called The Creator came and went with hardly a sound. Film lovers rambled on about this immensely scaled science fiction epic, lovingly blabbering about its inventive world-building, incredible visuals, and the seamless line between its practical and CG effects. This was all done on a budget of $80 million, a wallet that gave The Creator the air of a maverick indie film. It only ended up amassing $104 million at the box office, but I think we'd all rather make that against $80 million, as opposed to $250 million.

How did Gareth Edwards pull this off exactly ? Well, his solution was easy. The Creator was shot on a Sony FX-3 (a camera you can purchase at Best Buy), filmed on location as often as possible, and utilized the smallest crew possible. There weren't as many artists that had to be paid, and less CGI was utilized to create locations. So, essentially, Edwards brought his indie filmmaking sensibilities to a project that would normally attract a budget of over $150 million . Think smarter, Hollywood, not harder.

In an interview with Collider's Perri Nemiroff , Edwards created an analogy for how Hollywood justifies their inflated budgets by saying:

"...if you had a dollar bill, the way filmmaking works is they buy a $5 case to protect that dollar bill because they don't want to lose the dollar, right? And now they look at it and go, 'Oh, hang on, that's $6. We need to buy a $10 cabinet to put this in to protect our $6 investment. Oh, wait a minute. That's $16.' And they basically spend more and more and more to protect it and protect it and protect it. If you just say at the very beginning, 'You know what? We're gonna spend one dollar. We're not gonna protect it. If we lose it, we've lost a dollar and we'll just spend another dollar doing it again.' And that kind of was the philosophy of, let's spend as little as possible. Let's go out on a limb. If something fails, doesn't work, we'll just do it again. We'll figure out a way around it."

Maybe in the end, there's no one way to solve all of this. There is, however, a lesson to be learned in each example. Godzilla Minus One profited quickly because its budget was so low, but it cost as much as it did because artists' wages are so low in Japan. We can't not pay artists ! That said, we cannot continue this trend of blowing oceans of money on movies like The Marvels and Indiana Jones , just for them to bomb over and over. Maybe we need to find a balance, taking aspects of the resourceful nature of Godzilla Minus One's creativity, while also avoiding the over-spending of most mega-franchise fare. The Creator wasn't a box office sensation, but Gareth Edwards' head was in the right place. Finding a middle ground and giving these flashy genre pictures their proper dollar amount is key, and sticking with that dollar amount is imperative. Having limitations makes an artist's creative intuition kick in , a part of the brain that is left inactive every time a check is written. Think smarter, Hollywood. Maybe you'll start seeing minus one bomb here, minus one bomb there, movies will be more creative, audiences will be happy, and who knows, you might turn a profit. Thank you for all that you teach us, Godzilla.

Godzilla Minus One is now available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

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• Movie Features

PGA’s Produced By Conference Tackles AI and Deepfakes, Shrinking Budgets and Finding ‘That Line’ Not to Cross as a Producer

The time has come for producers to think about how to protect themselves against possible copyright and ownership challenges related to the use of generative AI tools in film and TV production.

That was one of the messages sent Saturday at the Producers Guild of America’s 14th annual Produced By conference in Los Angeles, featuring a daylong schedule of panels drilling down on digital disruption and other pressing issues for content producers.

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“I do think we are on shifting sands,” Mahmood told the audience at the Darryl F. Zanuck Theater on the Fox Studios lot. At present only works made by humans can be considered eligible for copyright protection. And the key legal tests at the moment hinge on the level of human control and creativity exerted to make a work. With the tech innovations of generative AI, powered by mind-boggling computing systems, He noted that legal eagles are eagerly awaiting a report expected this summer from the U.S. Copyright Office that will “give us more color on what does that mean to have sufficiently creative control by a human to [make content] copyright-able.”

“We should be more concerned about how the tool is used and who’s using the tool than the tool itself,” Jenkins said. “We have the opportunity to take some of these tools and build them into our process…We need to train artists how to use these models and how to build them so they have more control over their IP.”

McCreary offered a personal example as the conversation turned to the problems of deepfake creations that involve copyrighted works or the likeness of a prominent figure, such as her Revelations Entertainment partner Morgan Freeman. The renowned actor is a frequent target for bogus social media videos and memes. Usually, McCreary can spot a fake right away but she was disturbed a few weeks ago when she came across a video so convincing she had to call Freeman to confirm that it was not him.

“With this age of disinformation, it makes me frightened,” McCreary said. “As a community, we need to get ahead of it.”

To that end, SMPTE and other industry organizations are working on developing a meta data-based tracking system to verify the authorship and integrity of content, Jenkins said. This effort will require a level of coordination among high-end producers, studios and distributors around the world. “It’s everybody into the pool and if somebody’s a bad actor, they get kicked out of the pool,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Stephanie Allain, owner of Homegrown Pictures and PGA president alongside Donald De Line, moderated a candid session with a group of fellow veteran producers: Brad Simpson, Lynette Howell Taylor, Mike Farah and Tommy Oliver. The group agreed that the business has been a roller coaster ride over the past year given the writers and actors strike followed by a pronounced slowdown in the volume of production in Hollywood after a decade of the Peak TV boom.

Allain was also candid about her assessment of the impact of the 2020 racial reckoning following the murder of George Floyd. She noted that there have been instances when executives and creatives were promoted to roles that they were not ready for, even on her own projects.

“We had to fire them,” she said, expressing her deep regret. The budget and marketplace challenges of late make it harder to take a shot on less-experienced talent. The dilemma for producers boils down to “how do you learn if you don’t get the opportunity to fail, versus how do you protect your movie? But you don’t want to have an all-white crew.”

Allain emphasized that bringing more diversity to Hollywood is a huge priority for the PGA, which is mindful of the shrinking numbers of classic producers working in Hollywood.

“People look at the moment they’re hiring and then complain that there’s no one to hire,” Simpson said.

Allain also pressed her panelists on whether they have “a line” that they will not cross when it comes to working as a producer. For her, Allain volunteered, it’s projects that involve “glorified violence — I will pass on that.”

Oliver, whose banner recently completed the Riz Ahmed feature rendition of “Hamlet,” said that even in his early days he had no trouble turning down offers to work “with directors who are not good people.” Oliver added, “I’ve never seen a yellow flag that hasn’t turned into a red flag on set.”

Howell Taylor offered the same goes for her when she is assessing the creative merits of a project: “If you know [early on] it’s not going to be great, it’s never great.”

Farah echoed Oliver’s sentiment and stressed the importance of maintaining a good reputation in professional circles. As much as the entertainment industry has grown over the past 20 years, it’s still a small community in physical production. “It’s not hard to get anecdotes good, bad and in the middle” about potential production crew hires, Farah said. “Really take seriously how you treat people. The golden rule works for a reason.”

The conference’s afternoon session kicked off with PGA co-president Don DeLine moderating a conversation about the future of producing with Greg Berlanti, Chuck Roven and Roxanne Avent Taylor. DeLine opened with the sad slogan that has permeated the town in these austere and stressful times: “Survive ‘til ’25.”

“As far as I see, the biggest problem facing this industry isn’t economic. It’s people feeling displaced and less connected, less of a sense of community,” said Berlanti, who also conceded that “everybody’s talking about having to do more for less. That’s true for us, empirically. Producing for a budget is en vogue again.”

Roven, whose production “Oppenheimer” won the best picture Oscar this year, encouraged optimism.

“Last year, the box office was incredible. This year it hasn’t been so far, but we just had a really good weekend,” he said, referencing to the projected $50-million-plus opening for Will Smith’s latest “Bad Boys” sequel. He reminded the crowd that “people want content, and they can’t make it without producers.”

(Pictured top: Revelations Entertainment’s Lori McCreary and I2A2 Technologies, Labs & Studios / SMPTE ‘s Renard T. Jenkins)

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February 28, 2023

The 2023-24 Budget

California’s film tax credit, california’s motion picture industry, film tax credit, economic effects of the credit.

California’s Film Tax Credit Created to Counteract Other States’ Efforts to Attract Hollywood. During the 2000s, California policy makers became concerned that the state may be losing motion picture production to other states. In response, the Legislature in 2009 created a film tax credit to encourage motion picture productions to locate here. The Legislature since has extended and expanded the credit multiple times. It currently is scheduled to expire in 2025.

Governor Proposes Five Year Extension of Film Tax Credit. The Governor’s budget proposes a five year extension of the film tax credit. The Governor also proposes to make the credit refundable—allowing production companies to claim credits in excess of the amount of taxes they owe.

Film Tax Credit Makes California’s Motion Picture Industry Bigger, but Effect on Overall Economy Is Unclear. Our review of research on state film tax credits suggests that state’s with film tax credits have larger motion picture industries. Whether or not this results in growth of the state’s overall economy, however, is unclear. This is because revenues forgone to the film tax credit could have been spent on other activities, which would have grown other parts of the economy. Existing evidence does not allow us to be confident that film tax credits lead to more economic activity than alternative uses of funds.

Decision on Extension Should Depend on How the Legislature Prioritizes the Importance of Hollywood. We do not recommend considering the film tax credit as a reliable mechanism to grow the state’s overall economy. Instead, how the Legislature assesses a potential extension should depend on how much it prioritizes the importance of maintaining Hollywood’s centrality in the motion picture industry.

If Extending the Credit, Refundability Worth Considering but With Modifications. If the Legislature elects to extend the credit, refundability is worth considering but with modifications to achieve some benefits of refundability (such as improved taxpayer equity) while limiting the downsides (such as increased costs and administrative complexity). These modifications include: specifying a schedule for the credit to be claimed over a period of years, reducing the annual allocation cap, and limiting other flexibilities in production companies’ use of the credit.

Los Angeles Remains the Center of U.S. Motion Picture Industry. The U.S. motion picture production industry is heavily concentrated in Los Angeles. A little under half of the industry’s jobs are located in and around Los Angeles. As shown in Figure 1 , motion picture production employment in California has been steady at around 125,000 for the past two decades. Over the same time period, employment in the industry outside of California has increased gradually. As a result, California’s share of national employment in the industry has fallen from 52 percent a decade ago to 47 percent today. Nonetheless, California remains the preeminent state in motion picture production, with more than twice the jobs as the next largest state (New York).

Motion Picture Industry Pays Above Average Wages. California workers in the motion picture industry earned an average of $2,600 per week in 2021, nearly 60 percent higher than the average of all workers in the state. These earnings put motion picture workers on par with workers in sectors like banking, engineering, and advertising.

Motion Picture Production Activity Steady in Recent Years. Figure 2 shows one measure of motion picture production activity in California (total days of principal photography [shoot days] across all productions) for 2010 through 2022. As this figure shows, aside for a dramatic drop early in the pandemic, production activity has maintained a consistent level over much of the past decade.

Television Shows Are the Largest Category of Production. TV shows have made up between 40 percent and 50 percent of production in California in recent years. TV production in 2021 and 2022 is about 20 percent higher than the five years leading up to the pandemic. This increase is entirely attributable to reality TV shows. In contrast, feature film production has declined in recent years.

Creation and Expansion of California’s Film Tax Credit

California Film Tax Credit Created in 2009. During the 2000s, California policy makers became concerned that the state may be losing motion picture production jobs to other states. In response, the Legislature in 2009 created a tax credit to reduce production companies’ tax liabilities by up to 25 percent of certain production expenses. Credits can be used to reduce corporation, personal income, or sales tax liabilities. The credit is nonrefundable (meaning a taxpayer cannot claim credits in excess of their tax liability) but can be carried forward and claimed over several years. Total credits were capped at $100 million annually statewide. The California Film Commission (CFC) allocates and issues the credits to eligible production companies.

Tax Credit Programs Expanded in 2015. The state’s film tax credit was expanded in 2015 to $330 million per year. The new program—referred to as Program 2. 0—also made significant changes to how credits are allocated and provided an additional 5 percent tax credit for certain kinds of production spending, such as visual effects. The state film tax credit was set to expire in June 2020, but the 2018 budget package extended it for an additional five years (through 2025) and made relatively minor changes to the program—now referred to as Program 3.0. The 2021 budget package temporary increased the annual allocation of film tax credits under Program 3.0 by $90 million for fiscal years 2021‑22 and 2022‑23. Figure 3 compares the three iterations of the film tax credit.

Comparison of California Film Tax Credit Programs

Additional Funding for Productions Filmed at New or Renovated Soundstages.  The 2021 budget package also included an allocation of $150 million in film tax credits for productions that are filmed at new or renovated soundstages. The credits are available for productions in 2022 through 2032. The CFC identifies and certifies qualified soundstage construction projects. Productions receiving credits under this program are required to set ethnic, racial, and gender diversity goals and to develop a plan to achieve those diversity goals. Those productions are eligible to receive an additional 4 percent tax credit if they meet or make a good faith effort to meet their diversity goals. This new program otherwise is similar to the broader film credit program.

Program Statistics

$646   Million in Credits Issued for First Film Credit. The state had expected to issue a total of $800 million in credits under the first version of the program. Of that amount, the CFC issued a total $646 million in tax credits. This amount is less than expected because some productions (1) were never made, (2) did not complete production on time, or (3) spent less on qualified expenses than anticipated.

Most Credits Issued Under First Film Credit Have Been Claimed. Most credits from the first film tax credit program were used to reduce corporation tax payments. Figure 4 shows film tax credit claims from 2011 to 2021. To date, taxpayers have used $571 million of credits from the first program to reduce their corporation tax payments. Much of the remaining credits have been claimed against sale taxes.

$1.55   Billion Allocated Under Program 2.0. The CFC allocated $1.55 billion in tax credits to 238 productions between 2015 and 2020. The average credit amount per production under Program 2.0 ($6.5 million) was notably higher than under the earlier program (about $2 million). Figure 5 shows the distribution of credits across types of production. TV received 70 percent of the credits, with 11 percent going to relocating TV shows. This contrasts with 55 percent under the first film tax credit program.

Credit Claims Shifting to Sales Tax. Whereas most of the credits from the first program were claimed against corporation taxes, claims against the sales tax have increased in importance during the time of Program 2.0. From 2017 to 2021, around $500 million in credits ($275 million from Program 2.0) have been claimed against corporation taxes. Over the same time period, around $300 million in credits were claimed against the sales tax. This shift may be due in part to actions taken in the 2020 budget package to limit taxpayers’ use of business tax credits in 2020 and 2021.

Limited Number of Taxpayers Benefit From the Credit. In tax years 2017 through 2019, 10 to 15 taxpayers annually used film tax credits to reduce their taxes.

Program 2.0 Demographics. Demographic data voluntarily submitted to the CFC by film tax credit recipients suggests that some demographic groups are underrepresented among the workforce on tax credit productions. In particular, the voluntarily reported statistics show men outnumbered women three to one on productions. Similarly, Latino and Asian American crew members make up a considerably smaller share of production workforce than their share of California’s overall population.

Competition From Other States

Most Other States Offer Film Tax Incentives. During the 2000s, state film tax incentives (primarily tax credits) expanded rapidly across the country. At the peak in 2010, 45 states had a film tax incentive. In the wake of the Great Recession, a number of states eliminated their programs. Nonetheless, 37 states currently have active film tax incentives.

Recent Expansions in Other States. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least ten states created or expanded film tax incentives in 2021. Another five states did so in 2022.

Several State’s Credit Programs Are More Generous Than California. Several other states have film tax credit programs that are more generous (and expensive) than California’s. Whereas California caps film tax credit allocations at $330 million per year, some states—such as Georgia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut—do not have an annual cap on the amount of tax credits available to production companies. Similarly, while California’s film tax credit is nonrefundable, more than ten states provide refundable credits. This means a taxpayer can claim more credits than their tax liability, allowing them to receive a refund.

In this section we review existing research on the economic effects of film tax credits. Dozens of studies over the last two decades have examined the economic effects of film tax credits in California and other states. These studies have used a variety of methods and reached varying conclusions. While all of these studies have limitations, some approaches are more reliable than others. In particular, our review focuses on studies that (1) account for the fact that some productions would have selected the same location even without a tax credit, (2) consider both direct economic effects (such as wage paid to production workers) and indirect economic effects (such as wages paid to workers at businesses supporting motion picture production), and (3) avoid the use of statistical methods known to be unreliable.

States With Film Tax Credits Likely Have More Motion Picture Production. While some studies reach mixed or inconclusive findings, the balance of the evidence suggests that motion picture production increases in states with film tax credits. Our 2016 analysis of data on productions that applied for California’s film credit suggested that two‑thirds of recipients would not have filmed here without the credit. A similar study of California’s film credit found being offered a credit doubled the chances a production would be made in California (Workman [2021]). Another study examining location decisions of productions around the country found that state film credits meaningfully shifted the distribution of productions towards states with credits (Owens and Rennhoff [2020]). Multiple studies systematically comparing states with film credits to states without generally showed increased production activity in states with film credits (Bradbury [2019], Rickman and Wang [2020], and Button [2021]). Overall, this evidence suggests that film tax credits probably influence the location decisions of 25 percent to 75 percent of credit recipients.

California’s Motion Picture Industry Probably a Few Percentage Points Larger. The CFC reports around $2 billion in annual production spending associated with projects that received Program 2.0 credits. Adjusting for the share of productions that would have happened anyway suggests the Program 2.0 credits were associated with around $1 billion in additional production activity per year. This represents about 2 percent of California’s overall motion picture industry.

Unclear Effect on the Broader Economy. Although the film tax credit likely increased economic activity in California’s motion picture industry, whether it resulted in growth of the state’s broader economy is unclear. Forgone state tax revenue from the film tax credit could have been spent on other programs or services. This alternative spending similarly would have increased activity in some part of the state’s economy. Measuring the economic effect of any state spending (including film tax credits) is challenging. Nonetheless, the best available evidence suggests that we cannot be confident that the economic benefit of film tax credits exceeds alternative uses of state funds.

Comparing Film Credits to Some Alternatives. One of the more optimistic estimates from the studies mentioned above suggests that each dollar of film tax credit results in an increase of $2 to $4 in earnings for workers in that state. At the same time, research on other types of public spending—such as K‑12 education and workforce development—suggests comparable or better earnings benefits for workers (Heinrich et al. [2013], Jackson [2015], and Hollenbeck [2017]). This suggests the potential for at least similar economic benefits if state resources used for film tax credits were instead allocated to other purposes.

Does Not Pay for Itself. A recent study from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation found that each $1 of Program 2.0 credit results in $1.07 in new state and local government revenue. This finding, however, is significantly overstated due to the study’s use of implausible assumptions. Most importantly, the study assumes that no productions receiving tax credits would have filmed here in the absence of the credit. This is out of line with economic research discussed above which suggests tax credits influence location decisions of only a portion of recipients. Two studies that better reflects this research finding suggest that each $1 of film credit results in $0.20 to $0.50 of state revenues (Owens and Rennhoff [2020]), Rickman and Wang [2020]).

Governor’s Proposal to Extend the Credit

Extend the Credit for Five Years. The Governor proposed to extend the film tax credit an additional five years, from July 2025 to June 2030. The annual allocation would remain $330 million.

Make Credit Refundable, but With Restrictions. The proposal also would make the film tax credit refundable. Production companies could receive a refund for a portion of their credits that exceed their tax liability. Specifically, a taxpayer may receive a refund equal to the lesser of: (1) 18 percent of the credit or (2) 90 percent of the portion of the credit exceeding their tax liability. A taxpayer electing to receive such a refund would forfeit a portion of their credit equal to the lesser of: (1) 2 percent of the credit or (2) 10 percent of the portion of the credit exceeding their tax liability.

Diversity Requirements. The proposal also includes diversity requirements that are similar to those that apply to productions filmed at new or renovated soundstages, with two key differences. First, whereas the soundstage requirement provides an additional 4 percent credit to productions that meet or make a good faith effort to meet their diversity goals, the Governor’s proposal would subtract 4 percent from baseline credit for productions failing to do so. Second, the requirements do not apply to independent films with qualified expenditures less than $10 million.

Legislature’s Assessment Should Depend on How It Prioritizes Hollywood’s Importance. Based on our research review discussed above, we do not recommend considering the film tax credit as a reliable tool to grow the state’s overall economy. Extending the film tax credit likely would lead to California’s motion picture industry being a couple percentage points larger than otherwise. However, it is not clear that extending the film credit would expand California’s overall economy. Instead, the film tax credit’s most likely impact appears to be increasing the motion picture industry’s share of California’s economy. Given this, how the Legislature assesses the Governor’s proposal should primarily depend on how much it prioritizes the importance of maintaining Hollywood’s centrality in the motion picture industry.

Refundable Credits Have Some Advantages… Making the film tax credit refundable could have some advantages:

• Improved Taxpayer Equity. With the current nonrefundable credit, a taxpayer’s ability to claim the credit is tied to the amount of their state tax liability. This means their ability to claim credits can vary based on factors unrelated to motion picture production. For example, some taxpayers engage in other operations that result in sales tax liability, which allows them to claim additional credits. Similarly, some taxpayers may receive tax credits for other activities the state aims to encourage (such as research and development) which reduce their tax liability and limit their ability to claim film tax credits. Making the film tax credit refundable delinks credit claiming from tax liability and thereby lessens differential treatment of taxpayers.
• More Appealing to Production Companies. Refundable film tax credits would be more appealing to production companies. This is because it would allow companies to receive tax benefits sooner in many cases. The program is already fully subscribed, however, so increasing its appeal probably would not result in more productions taking advantage of the credit. However, refundability might change the composition of productions applying for and receiving credits. Some limited evidence suggests that refundable credits may be particularly appealing to larger production companies and productions with larger crews (Owens and Rennhoff [2020]). If so, this might further the goal of expanding the size of California’s motion picture industry.

…But Also Disadvantages. However, the potential benefits of a refundable film tax credit should be weighed against several disadvantages:

• Accelerated State Costs. A primary advantage for the state of the film tax credit being nonrefundable is that it spreads state costs for the credit over several years. For instance, looking at the first film tax credit program, we see that most of the allocated credits were eventually claimed but only over the course of many years. If the credit were made refundable, state costs instead would be incurred more quickly.
• Increased Costs. In addition, overall state costs for the credit would increase if it were refundable. With a nonrefundable credit, some taxpayers never have enough tax liability, even over multiple years, to fully claim theirs credits. Because of this, the administration estimates that making the credit refundable would increase state costs for the proposed extension by a total of $200 million across multiple years.
• Increased Administrative Complexity. California currently does not have any refundable business tax credits. For this reason, the Franchise Tax Board’s (FTB’s) procedures are designed only to allow taxpayers to receive refunds for payments they have made. Making the film tax credit refundable would necessitate administrative changes at FTB that would result in additional costs and complexity. Consistent with this, the Governor’s budget includes a request from FTB for $4.5 million in 2023‑24 and seven positions to prepare itself to implement refundable business tax credits in general. FTB anticipates additional costs specific to administration of a refundable film tax credit.
• Could Stoke “Race to the Bottom. ” Ideally, the state would not feel a need to have a film tax credit to maintain its current motion picture industry. However, widespread competition from film tax credits in other states has caused the state to look to tax credits as a way to protect a prized industry. In this environment, a potential disadvantage of California adopting a refundable tax credit is that it could prompt competing states to further expand the generosity of their programs. This heightened interstate competition would be counterproductive to the film tax credit’s goal of protecting Hollywood.

Recommendations

If Extending the Credit, Refundability Worth Considering but With Modifications. Ultimately, whether or not the Legislature approves the proposed extension of the film tax credit depends on how it weighs the importance of Hollywood against its various other priorities. If the Legislature elects to extend the credit, however, refundability is worth considering but with modifications. Specifically, we suggest several modifications to achieve some benefits of refundability while limiting the downsides. Taking these steps to contain costs could especially make sense in an environment where the Governor’s budget anticipates shortfalls over the next several years.

Consider Making Fully Refundable. The Governor’s proposed rules to limit the amount of film tax credits refunded each year are unnecessarily complex and would increase administrative burden for applicants and FTB. We think there are more straightforward methods to limit state costs while making the film tax credit fully refundable, which we discuss below. Further, the proposed restrictions on refundability would lessen the extent to which the policy change would improve taxpayer equity. The proposed restrictions could be binding on certain taxpayers for reasons unrelated to their motion picture production activities—such as whether or not they have significant sales tax liability. As such, we suggest the Legislature consider making the credit fully refundable, but only in combination with the additional suggestions below.

Specify a Schedule of Credit Claiming. As mentioned above, an advantage of the nonrefundable film tax credit is that it spreads state costs over several years. The state could maintain this benefit while making the credit refundable by specifying that the credit be claimed in equal increments over a number of years. A similar approach is used for other tax credit programs, such as the state’s low‑income housing tax credit. Spreading credit claiming over five years would achieve the same benefits as the Governor’s proposal for partial refundability, but with less complexity.

Reduce Annual Credit Allocation for Cost Neutrality. The administration estimates that making the film tax credit refundable will increase total state costs by about 12 percent. An option to reduce this impact could be to reduce the annual allocation of credits commensurately, from $330 million to $290 million.

Eliminate Some Flexibilities in Claiming the Credit. Some flexibilities in claiming the film tax credit, such as allowing credits to be applied to sales tax liability or reassigned within a corporate filing group, primarily exist to lessen the constraint non‑refundability creates for taxpayers. As such, these flexibilities become unnecessary if the credit is made refundable. Further, these flexibilities add to the administrative complexity of the credit. For this reason, we suggest eliminating these flexibilities if the credit is made refundable.

Despite years of competition from other states, Hollywood remains the center of the U.S. motion picture industry. California’s film tax credit has been one of several contributing factors to the stability of the motion picture industry in the state. As such, it is somewhat understandable that the Legislature would consider extending the film tax credit through the end of the decade. In doing so, however, it is important for the Legislature to weigh the importance of maintaining Hollywood’s primacy against its many competing priorities, especially in an environment where the Governor’s budget anticipates shortfalls over the next several years.

Note: This report was prepared in fulfilment of the reporting requirement of Revenue and Taxation Code 38.9(a).

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