One of the things that can cause a lot of problems for a beginning filmmaker is lack of a good budget. It’s just a sad fact of life that nothing is free, if you don’t count the air that you breathe. These film training tips will help you to figure out how and what to plan for, make a budget, and stick to it.

Even so, we do have a lot of advantages these days. With all the technology available to us we can fairly easily make a movie for a lot less that you might think, often for under $200. Now, you may have a bigger budget and want to get fancy, but for those of you who prefer to keep the lid on your budget, read on.

The selection of inexpensive digital movie cameras is fairly extensive. You just need to take the time to decide which one will fit your needs. Software can also be cheap, and some of it is available free of cost.

Let’s talk about making the budget and why you need it before you start making your movie. Sit down and list what exactly you thnk you need and what it will cost you. Here’s an example of what happens when a film maker forgoes making a budget.

You are ready to begin film making and decide you don’t really need a budget since your plan is to just buy the cheapest equipment you can get. So, you run down to the store and purchase the most inexpensive digital video camera that you can find. You start filming your movie and all may go well until you realize that you can’t download it to your computer. The features are missing that come with some of the more expensive cameras. So, off you go to the store to buy the accessory you need to make your video camera downoad to your pc. Then, you have another surprise when you find out that the movie’s format is compatible only with very expensive software.

Do you understand what I’m getting at?

By cutting as many corners as you can and buying the cheapest equipment you can easily spend quite a bit more than if you researched things out a bit and made your budget ahead of time. If you had done that the video camera that you got would have been compatible with different kinds of software, including free and wouldn’t need additional accessories to work. Good film training tips need to teach the basics of budgeting for making a movie.

When making a low budget film usually the director will work alone or if he’s lucky he might have a crew of volunteers if the finances aren’t available. These types of films are made all the time and may take their place in history along with other low budget films. Throughout the history of movie making there have been movies made from extremely low budgets (one claimed $30) to those that have a budget of millions of dollars.

If you follow these film training tips, you don’t have to necessarily let a lack of funds discourage you, but when it comes to budgeting, remember that haste makes waste and that is so true for making films.

Source: Leokadia

Movie Slate

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.1 or later) 

Movie★Slate is a digital slate, clapper board, shot log, and shot notepad— designed for use with film, television, documentaries, interviews, and home movies. Movie★Slate provides an easy way to log footage and take notes as you shoot— saving you time later when you capture and edit the footage on your computer.

“Here’s a few highlights: It can log data from multiple productions, and export the data as Final Cut Pro XML files. It has a terrific interface for changing data on the fly. You can customize the hell out of it, including stick designs, colors, and fonts. You can save text, voice, and photo notes for each shot. You can rate the audio and video quality of each take. You can set markers within a shot to remember when something specific happened. And here’s a feature that knocked my socks off: You can wirelessly sync the running timecode of multiple iPhones running Movie*Slate over bluetooth. Now that’s just sick.”

Hitchcock by Cinemek inc (Cost: $19.99)

(iPhone, OS: 3.0 or later) 

Cinemek® Hitchcock for iPhone and iPod Touch is a mobile storyboard and pre-visualization composer designed for Directors, Directors of Photography, Producers, Writers, Animators, Art Directors, film students and anyone who wants to be able to visualize their story.

“The price of Hitchcock is not for the novice. It’s $19.99. But, for broadcast and film professionals, it’s a drop in the bucket. Plus, there is NOTHIING else out there on the desktop that can compete with Hitchcock’s speed and ease of use. If you’re doing film or commercial work and you have an iPhone… You HAVE to buy this App or your competitors will. They will get the job because they were faster to visualize your idea. Hitchcock is a game-changer.”

pCam by David Eubank (Cost: $39.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.2.1or later) 

A Motion Picture and Still Photography calculator for Directors of Photography, Photographers, Camera Operators, Camera Assistants, VFX Supervisors, Script Supervisors, Gaffers, Grips, Editors, Production Designers, Art Directors, Film and Photography Students. Created by the same Hollywood Camera Assistant who created the widely used Palm version.

“The mother of all lens calculators. Originally written for the old Palm Pilot, pCam has been updated for the iPhone with an intuitive graphical interface. It calculates depth of field, field of view, focus splits, hyperfocal distance, exposure compensation, running time, HMI safe speeds and shutters, color correction filters, diopter shift, macro, time lapse, underwater focus distance, illumination beam intensity, light coverage and even has a built-in Siemen’s Star focus chart.”

Action Log Pro Andris Ltd (Cost: $29.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 2.0 or later) 

Action Log is a film and television logging tool, designed for use on location or in a studio with up to 25 recording devices. At the touch of a button the logging system keeps track of all reel names and timecodes for each recorded piece of action.

“Entry of comments is quick and easy by constructing clip names from predefined lists and use of the inbuilt keyboard. All clips in a project can be emailed as ALE and XML files to overnight digitisers and editors for immediate ingestion. For those who like to edit with printed logs in hand, HTML formatted log sheets sorted by reel name, can also be forwarded. Supports up to 25 virtual recording devices.”

Screenplay by Black Mana Studios. (Cost: $2.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 3.0 or later) 

Black Mana Studios’ Screenplay is the world’s first fully-functional mobile screenwriting application. It allows professionals and hobbyists alike to write complete movie and television screenplays directly on the iPhone or iPod Touch.

“Black Mana Studios is an official technology partner of Final Draft, Inc., creators of the industry-standard Final Draft Production Suite.”

FiRe by Audiofile Engineering. (Cost: $9.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 3.0 or later) 

FiRe was created specifically to be a field recorder for the iPhone, not a voice or memo recorder. It is a truly professional recorder developed for audio professionals by audio professionals. It has many professional features other recorders don’t. In addition to supporting stereo recording, it’s the first iPhone recorder to display an accurate audio waveform in real time, and the first to support markers, Broadcast WAVE metadata, and the instant downloading of files in multiple file formats. FiRe is also the first recorder of its kind to offer native SoundCloud integration.

“Excellent quality and design. Some real thought went in to this one. When I don’t have my Zoom H2 handy, this is my field recorder.”

PocketLD by Michael Zinman. (Cost: $19.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 3.0 or later) 

A photometric database and calculator with a vast array of the most popular lighting instruments for film and stage lighting. Need to know what an ARRI 10K fresnel lamp at 25’ will deliver in beam spread and footcandles? The Gaffer’s best reference tool.

“Needs some updates for AARI specific stuff, but generally kicks total ass.”

Gel Swatch Library by Wybron. (Cost: $9.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 3.0 or later) 

Browse, search, and compare over 1,000 GAM, Lee, Apollo and Rosco gel colors with Wybron’s Gel Swatch Library™ for the iPhone and iPod touch. The Gel Swatch Library gives you multiple ways to find the perfect color for your production. Scroll through lists of gels made by each manufacturer, or search for a specific gel name. Spectral Energy Distribution curves and CMY/RGB percentages listed for each color provide the vital data you need to create breathtaking scenes.

“This thing is amazing. No more fumbling around for a swatchbook in my bag. And now that it has Apollo, it’s perfect.”

MyWeather by MyWeather, LLC. (Cost: $4.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 3.0 or later) 

MyWeather Mobile is a feature rich weather application with animated looping radar and satellite, 36-hour temperature, precipitation and wind speed/direction graphs (USA only), 7-day forecasts, over 10,000 U.S. cities and now thousands of international cities. You can also rotate the phone horizontally to view FULL-SCREEN radar animation and 36 hour trend graphs (USA only).

“Sever weather push notifications definitely put this app on the top of the pile of paid weather apps. If the weather is mission critical, you should really get this.”

Artemis by Chemical Wedding. (Cost: $29.99)

(iPhone/iPod Touch, OS: 3.0 or later) 

Artemis is a digital directors viewfinder for the iPhone. Designed with both cinematographers and directors in mind, Artemis works in much the same way as a traditional directors viewfinder, though much more accurately and much more conveniently. After selecting a camera format, aspect ratio and lens type, Artemis uses the camera in the iPhone to simulate the lens views you can expect when you come to shoot. You can either compare all the lenses (as above) or hit zoom and the camera will zoom in to fill the viewfinder with the equivalent view of the lens you’ve chosen.

“This app is exceptional. Thank you, Chemical Wedding, for taking this platform seriously.”

Introduction

Although sometimes the most creative part of a film, a carefully crafted budget provides the pivotal roadmap for the entire film project. Whether the film is expected to cost $2,000 or $200,000,000, the film budget must present a spending plan for every dollar to be expended on the production. In addition, the budget serves as a guide that the pieces of the film are proportionate to one another. If each cast member receives tens of millions of dollars, then the look of the film generally should not have home-made special effects.

The budget will be dictated by choices that may change dramatically depending on locations, size and prominence of cast, stunts, and the effects needed both during and after principal photography. For independent and guerilla filmmaking, the key is to identify the cornerstone elements of the film and build the budget around those items. If a particular location must be used to tell the story, a particular cast member becomes essential to the financing, or a special effect defines the story, then that element should be identified and its costs determined. Thereafter, the remainder of the budget can be structured to keep the production in harmony with that item.

The budget process runs from inception of the project through the completion of the finished negative. Neither the prints used to show the film theatrically nor the advertising and promotional budget are included in the budget numbers used for production. For studio films, prints and advertising often equals the costs of the film production and, for an inexpensive film, may greatly exceed that cost.

Purpose and Usefulness of the Budget

The budgeting process has a number of important internal and external purposes. It sets the framework for all the decisions regarding the film. For example, if an independent film will be made on a minimal budget, then certain items must drop close to zero. The movie will be filmed locally or in areas that can double for other locations simply because the budget cannot accommodate travel expenses or other costs that will not ultimately appear on the screen. The science fiction genre has become so effects-laden that low-budget science fiction films have nearly disappeared.

1. Direct Consequences of the Budget

First, the budget sets the tone of the picture. Broad categories of no-budget, low-budget, medium-budget, and high-budget each set in motion assumptions about the film. No-budget films, such as Kevin Smith’s “Clerks” create a certain rough ambiance about them. Even modest success can often result in large percentage returns. At the other extreme, high-budget films must be block-busters to justify the expense, resulting in ever-more lavish productions and increasing expectations. Independent filmmakers often want to create the impression that their film cost more than it did to improve the advances made when sold, but understate the cost when shown to suggest that the filmmaker is more creative than was suggested. For example, it was rumored that Miramax spent close to $1 Million to finish the $30,000 Blair Witch Project.

Second, the scope of the budget will directly affect the amount of money needed to be raised. As discussed earlier, certain investment strategies are based on the total amount of funds sought. If a movie is financed using one of these fundraising techniques, then the filmmaker must pay close attention to the financial caps placed by the securities regulations.

Third, many of the collective bargaining agreements between the industry unions and the filmmaker base minimum payments on the size of the budget. The lower the budget, the lower the required minimums will be to use SAG actors.

2. Hollywood’s Budget Magic

“Driving Miss Daisy,” a film modestly budgeted, worked as an award-winning off-Broadway play with a budget of thousands rather than millions of dollars. Many television shows two-episode season openers would work just fine as feature films. Both Star Trek and X Files have had more compelling television productions than some of their films.

The union fee structure has something to do with the budgeting sequence. Because payments are based on medium and length, the same directing or acting job must pay higher for a feature film than for television. If the minimums go up, then the other fees are ratcheted up as well. The net effect is an absurd situation whereby a $30,000 student film may get theatrical release while a $3,000,000 studio financed project may be impossible to release theatrically rather than on television.

The Ultimate Use of the Budget

Despite the importance of a budget, it is a planning tool that may be changed often during the planning stages of the project. For an independent filmmaker, there may be a variety of budget scenarios, based on best-case financing and worst-case financing. Certain scenes may be noted for possible revision based on the budget consequences. Like modern theatrical writing, the filmmaker writing a low-budget film must treat the financial limitations as a structural framework into which to craft the story. If no flashback to the Eiffel Tower is possible, a close up of a toy replica in a store window might do the trick.

Once the financing begins in earnest, however, the role of the budget changes. Ultimately, the budget plays a pivotal role in identifying the costs of every element of the project to the financial participants of the project. This includes the investors, the lenders, the completion bond company, and the unions. Once a commitment has been made, there can be few significant changes without approval. No matter how artistically compelling, a filmmaker may not unilaterally decide to film for an extra two weeks to capture the light. Nor can he drop a name star to pay for those weeks, unless he has permission of the lender or completion bond company. Even investors might get upset by such a change, so the documents must be very explicit regarding which decisions are subject to change and which are not.

Anatomy of a Budget

Those fees which set the pricing tone of the project are described as the “above the line” costs. These include the leading cast members, the director, script, and producer’s fee. In the studio world, these are often negotiated in coordination, so that star salaries are proportionate and the director has a deal somewhat similar to the other above the line participants.

The remaining cast, locations, sets, costumes, permits, equipment rentals, and other expenses are itemized below the line. These costs tend to vary considerably less. The cost of a location permit, for example, does not change based on the fame of the cast. The budget must also reflect the postproduction, including the editing, sound, addition of special effects, and titles.

A budget is comprised of the summary page, known as the top sheet, and a series of department by department itemizations for that budget. Even if a film tops $200 Million, every roll of tape must be budgeted, receipted and credited to its particular account. The numbers may get large, but the attention to detail rarely diminishes. Throughout the course of the production, the actual expenses are compared to the budget to calculate the production’s accuracy in planning and to make those adjustments that are needed to keep the project on time and on budget.

Insurance and Completion Bond Requirements

In addition to the cost associated with the mechanical process of the filmmaking, certain expenses are part of the risk management for the production. Except for the tiniest of productions, each film company must carry a variety of insurance, including as workers’ compensation insurance, cast insurance, liability insurance on the negative and videotape, sets, equipment, and property, and errors & omissions insurance to cover problems with the script such as defamation or copyright infringement. The budget should have a contingency amount, typically of ten-percent of the total budget.

Finally, for many films, the project must be protected with a completion bond. The completion bond company agrees to pay those fees in excess of the ten percent contingency. The cost for this insurance is expensive in both financial and practical terms. The completion bond company retains veto control over cast and crew, and can take over the production if either the shoot begins to fall behind schedule, or re-shoots are necessary. The concern is focused on the budget, so an aesthetically bad but efficient production has little to worry about.

To obtain a completion bond, the production company must have full financing, complete, unambiguous ownership of the story and script rights, full insurance of the production, agreements for use of the primary locations, and a feasibility study or coverage showing that the script and budget balance. The steps necessary to obtain a completion bond make it significantly less likely that it will be needed, so the process serves as a good exercise in planning for many film projects.

Deferrals and Contingent Fees

Royalties, profits and residuals come out of income, so these are not included in the budget for a typical film. For independent filmmaking, however, deferred compensation reflecting income earned but not paid to cast, crew or other parties, are expenses incurred as part of the negative cost of the picture. These should be included in the budget but separately identified. A $50,000 film may have a deferred compensation of $30,000 and cash needs of $20,000. Any contracts or other provisions reflecting return to investors would be based on the $50,000 budget amount rather than the $20,000 cash needs of the project, so the budget should make this clear. Structured in this fashion, any additional royalties paid to the deferred income participants reflects the risk of not receiving their $30,000 in earned income and is therefore much easier for the average investor to respect.

* Jon M. Garon is admitted in New Hampshire and California

Our entry for the 48 hour filmmaking challenge for Calgary’s CUFF Calgary Underground Film Festival.

Title: Trapped
Team: Hesson Films
Genre: Crime
Prop: Ball
Dialogue: I don’t mind a reasonable amount of trouble

Starring: Trevor Pare, Chase Godon
Written by: Nicolas Hesson and Chase Godon
Filmed, Edited and Directed by Nicolas Hesson
Grip/Lighting/Assistant Dir: David Hesson
Produced By: Hesson Films
Exec Producers: Robert Hesson, Marvin Hoppe

Episode 2, Private Table, takes place 2 weeks prior to the deal gone bad last episode. Private Table introduces some new characters and we learn more about a secret that is being kept from the others.

Another short improv film from Hesson Films. This episode takes place 2 weeks prior to the first episode. Hopefully things can start to make sense by epsiode 3. lol. And yes, the music if from Michael Giacchino (Lost).

Just a comp of short from a trip through the park on rollerblades. Shot with the Canon HV20

Demo Reel of Video Compositing and beat matching along with Music.