Build a Foolproof Budget for Your Short Film or Video

No matter what your budget is, there is always one constant: creating a budget for your film should surely guarantee that every dollar will be spent wisely. A properly constructed budget will allow you to look critically at all of your departments, which in turn provides you with much-needed clarity on critical decisions that need to be made throughout the process. And we’re not just talking about high-end productions. If you’ve picked up a part-time job and have saved a few thousand dollars to produce your short film, this is just as important for you too.

For example: How much do you need to set aside for star talent (if any)? What elements can you, or need to, barter for if the budget is very low? Is it better to rent or buy gear? What can you get for free? What are the largest unavoidable expenses?

So let’s do our diligence today to outline everything you need to consider for putting together a budget for your project, as well as provide some helpful examples and templates to send you on your way

What is a Film Budget?

So first and foremost, let’s go over some basic definitions and principles. What is a film budget, and how does one work? Well, as you might expect, a budget for a film or video project works like a budget for any other endeavor.

From building a house to doing any other contract work, a budget is used to itemize and list all the different tasks needed to be done while also providing an hourly (or day) rate with an estimation of how many of these units will need to be completed.

The bigger the project in terms of scope and time, the bigger the budget for items and deliverables. This is to say, some budgets can be pretty simple if it’s just one video professional shooting one video; however if it’s a whole team with lots of different departments shooting a huge video or one with several different versions, it can be quite complex.

What to Put into Your Budget

To begin the budgeting process, I recommend breaking things down into the four following major categories, all of which are standard to just about any film budget:

• Pre-Production ~10%
• Production ~35%
• Post-Production ~35%
• Distribution and Marketing ~20%

Understanding your needs ahead of time for each of these essential components of the filmmaking process will keep you organized and ultimately make your life that much easier. The percentage calculations are interpreted from a low-budget film basis that is likely to be published online and to go through the festival circuit.

Pre-Production

Pre-production is comprised of all the items you must address in the beginning phases of your production up until the day you go to shoot your film. In this stage, your budget will account for location scouting, insurance, office expenses, courier services, script fees, casting director rate, and just about anything else you need to pay for before getting to set. 

Theoretically, pre-production should be the easiest to predict in terms of cost, and if you’re shooting a low or micro-budget film, this stage will likely be the cheapest of the four components of your budget (no more than 10%).

Production

For films of any scale, production is often where the most money is spent, simply because there are more unavoidable costs during this stage. Big ticket items such as paying your cast and crew, location permits, gear rentals (including the camera, lenses, filters, rigs, tripods, and extra batteries), insurance, etc. are all items that necessarily will need to eat into your budget.

Other line items such as catering, lodging (if necessary), transportation costs for cast and crew, and makeup are also significant considerations, but some of these can be mitigated by thinking outside of the box. For instance, if you’re really on a shoestring budget, you might be able to get a local catering company to sponsor your film, ultimately bringing down your food line item.

During production, it’s wise to keep a “miscellaneous fund” or a contingency of money that isn’t accounted for in case you incur unforeseen expenses such as repairing equipment that breaks or renting additional gear to help you get the most out of your shots.

As I mentioned earlier, the majority of film budgets are spent during production (not including huge blockbusters that spend the most on marketing), but regardless I typically recommend designating about 35% of your budget to shoot your film. As you will see in the following sections, both post-production and marketing deserve just as much attention and funding.

Post-Production

One aspect many filmmakers neglect when putting together a budget is the amount of time and resources they’ll need for post-production and editing. Even if you’re editing your film project yourself, you’ll need to understand how much time you’ll need to compensate for.

Again, this is a rough guideline depending on many factors of your editing process. But, generally, you can plan to budget three to five hours for the rough editing of five pages of a script, then another three to five hours for revisions, color, and minor effects.

I always advise leaving a healthy portion of your budget for post-production, even if you aren’t making a heavily post-driven film (such as a VFX spectacle or action movie). Post-production funds will go towards your editor, colorist, sound designer, composer, and the rest of your post team. 

You may also need money for music licensing, stock footage, and deliverables (like a DCP for festival screenings). No matter what genre you’re working in, if you skimp out in post, your film will suffer, and the money you spent in production will be somewhat wasted.

I recommend allocating about 35% of your budget for post-production (the same as your production budget). This may seem like a lot, and many filmmakers choose to put more into production, but you will be doing your film a disservice by cutting corners in this department.

Your final audio mix alone is worth its weight in gold, as clean audio will make your film more valuable when you sell it. I’ve seen some films completely ruined in post-production because of a lack of funds…and these were films with great scripts and great production/cast/crew behind them. Without enough budget or time left for post, the final products just didn’t work.

Distribution and Marketing

Once you’ve got the final master of your film, it’s time to start pushing it out into the world. Independent filmmakers rarely allocate a sufficient budget to marketing, but this should never be the case. After all, without marketing dollars, no one will ever see your movie. To start, you need to create a strategy to reach your audience and eventually turn a profit. There are cost-efficient options such as blogging or reaching out to other bloggers/online publications in hopes that they will share your film’s trailer or write a review. Social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and Vimeo can also be instrumental in your films’ success on a grassroots level if you really push things on those platforms