I am gearing up to shoot my first short film, a 6 minute short set in a park by a lake/river, two actors, one location, it all takes place during a single time period (a morning or afternoon at a park or beach). Is my budget realistic for this low budget indie film? I am figuring 30 hrs of time needed for the actual location setup, shooting, take down, maybe only 20 hrs of actual shooting time with actors on set ready to film (is this realistic?). I will do the editing, soundtrack, etc. in post.
$ 300 Food, Beverages, Ice, Coffee (I bought a coffee urn and Cambro
to brew and bring coffee; juice, lunchmeat, bread, etc.)
$ 200 HDV tapes
$1000 Talent (two actors, $500 Honorarium each, 20-30 hours of work
expected from each; amateur wannabee actors / theatre
majors or unknowns, not professional actors)
$1000 Crew (4 crew: boom/mic, hold reflector/scrim, camera, makeup;
$250 Honorarium each, 30 hrs of work expected from each)
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$2500
quote:
$ 200 HDV tapes
Unless you buy the expensive Sony tapes, that's about fifty hours of footage you're going to shoot for a six minute movie :).
I use Sony DV tapes that cost about two pounds each; I presume you can buy them for $3-4 in America.
why dont you get some of your freinds to act for free lol? and do you have the cash to pay for this "low budget film" lol? 250$ for crew is wierd also, you could pay em alot less and the actors? 500 each? this all depends on how much your willing to pay for a film that will only be 6 mins and end up on youtube, what are you making out of spending all that on a video?
?url?www.youtube.com/rsteenoven?/url?
?url=http://rvidproductions.co.nr?R-VID PRODUCTIONS WEBSITE?/url?
quote:
Originally posted by rsteenoven
why dont you get some of your freinds to act for free lol? and do you have the cash to pay for this "low budget film" lol? 250$ for crew is wierd also, you could pay em alot less and the actors? 500 each? this all depends on how much your willing to pay for a film that will only be 6 mins and end up on youtube, what are you making out of spending all that on a video?
More than youtube, I want to take the experience somewhat serious so as to prepare for making longer shorts, a feature film in a couple of years, and enter the short films in film festivals. Free is cheaper than paid, but you can of course get a free microwave at the land dump, you get what you pay for to some degree. Some money for talent/crew time likely will translate to better effort I figure.
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quote:
Originally posted by MarkG
quote:
$ 200 HDV tapesUnless you buy the expensive Sony tapes, that's about fifty hours of footage you're going to shoot for a six minute movie :).
I use Sony DV tapes that cost about two pounds each; I presume you can buy them for $3-4 in America.
Hopefully fewer tapes would be needed, much fewer. I just would want to be prepared. I think a shooting ratio of 10:1 might not be unreasonable, and I plan to have a B camera for secondary angles (my friend has a camera exactly like mine, so identical camera, identical 24fps, etc; Canon XH-A1). OK maybe we can get by with just a few tapes each. Put the savings into beer for the crew!!!
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so can you actually pay for all that?
?url?www.youtube.com/rsteenoven?/url?
?url=http://rvidproductions.co.nr?R-VID PRODUCTIONS WEBSITE?/url?
quote:
Originally posted by rsteenoven
so can you actually pay for all that?
It's worth it to me even though I do not see an immediate $ profit. There are artistic creative rewards. I look at it as much cheaper than going to film school. I would rather spend a bit and make quality short films and have control over the process, prepare for a feature film production in a couple of years.
?Beowulf
Linux, the choice of a GNU generation.
http://subzerolinux.org
I stick to a low budget in my films, which is probably why the quality isnt that good, but i never spend more than ?5. and my camera cost me ?200. thats all i need =?
?url?www.youtube.com/rsteenoven?/url?
?url=http://rvidproductions.co.nr?R-VID PRODUCTIONS WEBSITE?/url?
Beowolf, i think it's great that you're actually advancing with your films- it can be easy to get stuck in the groove of no budget production simple because there is no forseeable incentive to improve. Be careful you don't completely forget your no budget roots tho- just because you have the money available doesn't mean you necessarily have to spend it.
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quote:
Originally posted by rizzo
Beowolf, i think it's great that you're actually advancing with your films- it can be easy to get stuck in the groove of no budget production simple because there is no forseeable incentive to improve. Be careful you don't completely forget your no budget roots tho- just because you have the money available doesn't mean you necessarily have to spend it.
I would LOVE to NOT spend it! I hope to stay well under that budget.
Linux, the choice of a GNU generation.
http://subzerolinux.org
I have a couple of suggestions:
Don't break down your cast and crew into hours worked. Typically you will offer a day rate so do a schedule and figure out how many days you will shoot - and stick to it. That might save you money.
Then I'd recheck your rates. The cast gets way more out of a short film than the crew. They can both use us this as experience and for their reel but it's rare for someone who holds the reflector to actually be able to use a short film to get more work. Actors can. Maybe they aren't worth double what the crew is. Only because they get more use out of the final project. And frankly if you have hired actors who aren't going give you their best effort without money, you may need to think a second time.
Figure out exactly how many tapes are needed for your 10:1 ratio - and buy 20% more. That will save you some money and still have a contingency. At $4 per tape I come up with much less than you did - and the number I came up with included 200% more than needed.
I'd advice rechecking your crew. There are several very important positions that will save you a LOT of time missing. It might be better to pay your actors a little less, pay your crew a little less, feed them all a little better and have more crew.
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
quote:
Originally posted by certified instigator
I have a couple of suggestions:Don't break down your cast and crew into hours worked. Typically you will offer a day rate so do a schedule and figure out how many days you will shoot - and stick to it. That might save you money.
Then I'd recheck your rates. The cast gets way more out of a short film than the crew. They can both use us this as experience and for their reel but it's rare for someone who holds the reflector to actually be able to use a short film to get more work. Actors can. Maybe they aren't worth double what the crew is. Only because they get more use out of the final project. And frankly if you have hired actors who aren't going give you their best effort without money, you may need to think a second time.
Figure out exactly how many tapes are needed for your 10:1 ratio - and buy 20% more. That will save you some money and still have a contingency. At $4 per tape I come up with much less than you did - and the number I came up with included 200% more than needed.
I'd advice rechecking your crew. There are several very important positions that will save you a LOT of time missing. It might be better to pay your actors a little less, pay your crew a little less, feed them all a little better and have more crew.
All good points. My budget was an initial rough set of numbers, I think I can and will alter the figures. I very much agree about the day rate (that is why I was planning on an 'honorarium' paycheck instead of hourly, and also to avoid accounting employer-employee issues at this state.
Linux, the choice of a GNU generation.
http://subzerolinux.org
