I have this script that takes place almost entirely in a five star hotel with many guest cameos requiring employee uniforms and staff. I am thinking $15,000 dollars a day for filming costs and shooting three months. Can this be filmed for under $2 million dollars?
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Hi Tim, check your local film commission for Line Producers, UPMs, AD's, and Accountants. They will have a pulse on the costs for your area and can help you. They may charge a fee for their services. Break a leg!
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From big-name blockbusters to lo-fi indie passion projects (and everything in between), every film needs a production budget. This film budget template provides structure for producers to plan out their budgets. https://www.airtable.com/templates/film-budget/expfmP8OvjlCPWgw8
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Hello Tim, The answer to your question is yes. However, your assumptions seem incorrect to me (as a 25 year producer, line producer, dga upm). For one, your daily cost is much higher than $15k unless you are shooting a student film. Next, 3 months is an incredibly generous amount of filming time (unless you are thinking weekends?) A $2m budget film would shoot 15-30 days. Hope this helps. Feel free to get in contact and good luck in filmmaking!
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I saw this too, Jack. Five days per week for three months is a 60 day shoot. Six days per week is 72. That's an awful lot of days for essentially a one location shoot.
My estimate is about the same as yours; 20 days or three to four weeks. At $15K per day, that's an impoverished $300K. $1M + is more reasonable. Too many unknowns, thus a shoot-from-the-hip guesstimate.
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Jack and Langley great advice, this helps. I like the one month idea. Willem I will check that link out and Lindburgh line producers are expensive. I looked into one last year.
Willem I looked at your template and I have no idea how to put a budget together. I have no idea what the costs would even be. I estimate on what I have and what other projects budgets have been that are close to mine.
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I found what I wanted. Rivet AI broke the whole script down and I got a budget for every part of the production including how many days it would take to film. I used my script Boy Blue and it came back with 1.9 million which is close to what I figured. i figured 2 million based on a producer I talk with last year. I am going to tip my hat to producers and line producers because that is a lot s**t you have to do to put a movie together.
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Making a budget is simply just a lot of work that needs to be done sooner or later. Everybody can do it if you have internet and a phone. I am hoping you'll find a producer that is willing to do the work for you, I don't think financiers will trust on budget generated by AI, there needs to be a trustworthy "pilot".
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Some excellent advice from the community here. I agree with Willem Elzenga - a budget is a living, breathing document that needs to be made by an experienced person with the savvy and know-how to build a realistic plan that can be managed forward with all of the realities that a shoot entails. I also agree with Jack Binder - I would reach out the film commission where you intend to shoot and see who they can introduce you to in the area to have practical discussions. Last, just as an idea that may or may not hold water, research any new luxury hotels that are being built but that have not yet opened - they shot DIE HARD in a building that had yet to open, the first season of WHITE LOTUS benefitted from the pandemic leaving the resort they shot in empty - most hotels have a window between being somewhat ready and actually opening and there may be a deal to make to shoot at a location like that. If the film pops, it can be good marketing for the venue. Just tossing that idea out. Wishing you great luck and success with your project, Tim!
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Willem Elzenga Absolutely, great points. A professional film budget for financiers, bond company, film commissions / treasuries / film tax credits, banks, lenders, and the production itself is critical. Neither of these entities nor scenarios can work with either a non-existent, inferior, unprofessional film budget. Trying to make a film without one is like trying to build a house without a design, architect, and construction blueprint from a qualified structural engineer; a total failure.
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Thanks Sam. Willem and Jack. The AI budget gets me started and an idea of costs. It will not hurt me to shop it.