Budgeting

Budget & Planning Considerations

The Script

Not every project will have a script, but especially in drama productions the script contains a detailed scene breakdown and will fill in the fine detail from which you can accurately assess the full requirements of the project. This process of script analysis or breakdown will then determine exactly how many days you will need to shoot, how many locations will be needed, how many crew you will need, how many edit days will be needed and so on. Likewise, the breakdown of a very detailed treatment will determine how many days are necessary to plan, design and produce your website, or to design your graphics, draw your storyboards and animate your project.

Once the treatment and script breakdown are complete, you can begin to build the schedule alongside your budget.

The Schedule

A schedule is a document that organises the shooting or production days into a logical order and contains specific instructions, actions and dates. Schedules need to be planned in great detail and should incorporate an element of flexibility. They make the most efficient use of resources available, should be easy to understand and like budgets, should be adhered to as closely as possible.

Once complete, copies of the schedule should be given to all team members involved in a project at the earliest opportunity to keep everyone informed of what is going on.

The inefficient use of a schedule can result in financial loss. If for example you hire an actor who is needed in several different scenes at one location, it would make sense to record all his scenes together in one visit if possible, so that he is not waiting around for hours or days feeling bored and costing you money until his next scene.

	How do you use a schedule?
	4.16 Barbara Russell

Constructing the Schedule

The way a schedule is built varies, but it is constructed in a similar way to a budget, because initially you will need to allocate a time scale to the project. In order to do this you need to know how long must be spent in pre-production, production and post-production, so you need to have certain budgeting information before this can be done realistically. Ultimately your budget is your determining factor.

Many things will determine your schedule such as location or crew availability, whether the project is centred around a specific event, or whether the client demands certain shooting requirements or a certain delivery date at the outset.

As with budget construction, by analysing the treatment or script you can begin to work out how long it will take to put the project together, how much it might cost and what resources you will need. This is usually done with the involvement of the director, the producer, the production manager and possibly the researcher. If it is a drama project the scriptwriter will also be involved.

Factors that determine how long a production will take from start to finish are numerous. In the case of drama, look for the date and year in which a production is set as this will have a major impact on research, planning, resources and shoot days within your budget and schedule, and find out how many story days there are, ie. how many days, weeks or years the story line covers.

Once the breakdown is complete, the information you have pulled out needs to be organised. Usually the two most expensive items in the budget are cast and locations. Locations can be expensive in terms of hire costs, dressing requirements, travelling distance and overnight requirements. Actors may have limited availability and high charges, so a good starting point for the schedule is to find out how best to use the cast's time and the most efficient way of utilising the locations. The other elements will then begin to fit in around this scheduling.

	How do you construct a schedule?
	4.17 Barbara Russell

Research

Research is vital on any project, both in determining the budget and as the project develops in order to discover scheduling requirements. If it is a documentary production the subject matter needs to be studied in depth and appropriate interviewees and experts will need to be recruited. If it is a drama production, further research may be necessary into the characters and the type of props that they will need and into the period in which it is set. This process may be ongoing but it is necessary to undertake thorough research at the ideas stage of your project in order to ensure that it will work as a concept as well as for budgeting purposes.

For new media projects, animation and graphic design, research needs to be done into which software would be most appropriate to use, what its capabilities are and how best to make the most effective use of your time and creativity.

Timescale

On any production you need to determine how much time you are allowed within the budget to complete your project. This means working out how much time can be invested into research and planning, casting, set construction, travel, shooting or actual production days, the edit, graphics and other post-production requirements.

It is sensible to budget and schedule for additional production days in case the project is delayed for any reason. If you do not allow extra days and you encounter serious production problems, you may not be able to deliver on time.

Resources

Resources, namely cast, crew and equipment, form a large part of the budget and must be calculated as accurately as possible. This means identifying crew, staff and equipment requirements, as well as allocating time for researching and securing these resources. Ratecards are widely available and are usually a good guide to how much equipment and freelance staff will cost when compiling your budget.

Charges for locations or gas and electricity bills may also be budgeted in under resources and are very important costs to calculate at an early stage to avoid unpleasant surprises later on.

Tapestock and other software requirements should be built into your budget at an early stage and there should be room for flexibility. The end format of the project will be decided early on and therefore any additional CDs, DVDs or cassette tapes to cover dubbing and distribution should be accounted for.

Tapestock can be used very sparingly and efficiently if you are organised. Remember to label all tapes as they are used to ensure that your material does not get mixed up.

Equipment

Technological advances in digital equipment have meant that costs are now falling and it is possible to shoot and edit material on a digital format fairly inexpensively. However, the format on which you shoot and deliver material will depend on the commissioner or client.

Be resourceful where equipment is concerned and if you can come up with a cheaper alternative for shooting a sequence to give the same effect then this is worth considering. There are many ‘tricks' that are used in production, for example shooting from a certain angle so that you only need three walls instead of four in a room set. With careful thought, costs can be cut considerably in this way. Ensure that you do not compromise quality when trying to be cost efficient.

The software and hardware you are going to use for your project must be determined at the budgeting stage so that you don't end up incurring additional costs. If you need equipment or software that you do not currently own, for independents or freelancers it may be worth purchasing rather than repeatedly hiring at a daily rate. The costs of purchasing equipment can then be recouped over a certain period and will be covered in each budget during that period under overheads.

	Is television becoming cheaper to make in terms of equipment costs?
	4.18 Jamie Barratt
	4.19 Barbara Russell

Design

The design of a project may take considerable time and therefore it is essential to estimate as accurately as possible, the number of days required to complete the necessary work. You must also take into account rendering or modelling time. Any additional time spent on design that is not accounted for will eat into profits, so it is important to be realistic about what you are trying to achieve within a specified time frame.

Storyboards

Storyboards are essential to most projects, whether new media, drama, documentary or corporate. Many new media projects rely on storyboards and some of these must be done very quickly on demand, but adequate time must be budgeted into the pre-production of the project for storyboarding if they are necessary.

Locations and Recces

Locations need to be chosen and secured early on in the production process and permissions gained through location release forms. Recces ensure that a thorough risk assessment can be carried out at each location and give an opportunity to assess transport and travel requirements, accommodation, access, parking, facilities, security, lighting and set requirements and availability. All these elements need to be taken into account when building the schedule. In addition recces help the director to plan the shot list and assess the creative capabilities.

	Why are recces important?
	4.20 Barbara Russell

Actors and interviewees

It takes time to find the right actors and interviewees and there are no set rules as to where you will find the people you are looking for. The Internet is a very useful resource when researching a particular subject (though it should be used with care) and may lead you to the right people in your locality or at least give you a lead. Actors and actresses also publicise their portfolios in the public domain, but there are also Spotlight directories and various organisations and agents who are willing to help you in your search for the right people. Specialist newspapers and journals are available such as PCR, should you wish to place an advertisement for an actor or actress.

The actors' fees will have already been budgeted for so there should be no surprises when it comes to pay day. Local interviewees who may have been approached because of their connection to your documentary subject will not generally charge fees as actors do, but expenses and fees should be planned and budgeted for at the outset. When casting actors/actresses, you must be aware of the fact that some may be Equity members and will therefore charge Equity fees. All participants must sign a consent or release form to take part in your project and will usually require a contract. Regardless of whether they are a member of Equity, if the production in which they feature is to be broadcast or shown in the public domain you will need their permission to do this in writing and you may not be able to use the footage you have if this is not obtained.

Crew

Your crew should be chosen very carefully and cost effectively. It is essential that there is a strong commitment to the project by the production team and it is necessary to ensure that each will add a strong skill or element to the production. Working relationships are vital when working under pressure and you need to be able to rely on each other. There is a tendency to take on board crew that have worked together effectively on previous projects and reputation and track record counts for a lot.

It may be necessary to work with crew that you have never worked with before, so if this is the case, take a look at their work and ask around to see if anyone has heard about them or their work. Also, spend time with them prior to the shoot as this will give you an idea about their personality and whether they will work well as a team player.

Props

Props are required in many productions and can be necessary in documentary and new media projects. Be resourceful when searching for props — it's amazing what you can find at car boot sales and jumble sales, and if you're looking for something rare or specific it is worth asking around or advertising. Props needn't be expensive.

A lot of the props that you need will be listed in the script, but in drama many props will also come from the characters themselves as they develop. The extra touches may make a huge difference to your finished piece.

The Edit

When building the budget you should calculate how much editing time will be needed to complete your project. The hiring of off-line and on-line edit suites is becoming less frequent because digital editing has revolutionised production. However, it is necessary to budget according to the format you are using and the transferring and viewing of rushes must be considered in the budget.

Graphics, archive footage and music may also be incorporated in the edit and it may be necessary to allow additional edit time for complicated rendering or graphics. Commentary is also added at the post production stage and may be added in the edit or post-production sound session.

Music

By the time you edit your programme or project, if you are to include music it will have been composed or chosen, and it will either be added at the editing stage or in post-production sound. Music clearances are vital and you will not be able to use music unless you have rights clearance to use it and pay for it as per an agreement. If you do use music without permission you will find yourself in legal difficulties (see Media Law section for more information about copyright issues).

Music needs to be cleared by the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS), and they represent writers, composers and music publishers. The society issues licences to those wishing to use music written, composed or published by its members and charges royalties on their behalf.

Blanket agreements with the MCPS are made with broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV companies, but anyone without a blanket agreement must contact MCPS or The Performing Rights Society (PRS) before using any music.

There are two categories of music which need to be cleared and these are production music and non-production music. Production music is also known as library music and is composed specifically for use in television and film This is cheaper than using commercial music. Non-production music must be cleared each time it is used and there are no set rates. The MCPS has over 10,000 members and they will give advice and paperwork if needed.

Musicians can also belong to the Musician's Union and as such will require a contract and fee to enable you to use its members' musical works or performances.

	Are special music agreements necessary?
	4.21 Barbara Russell

Consumables

Every budget should allow for `miscellaneous' expenses, which may include postage, packing, items which are needed as the shoot or project progresses or even catering for crew or cast. Consumables are usually fairly small items. If it is a large scale project, catering will usually have its own section in the budget, but on small productions it can be accounted for under this heading. A certain amount of money should be calculated into the budget for consumables at the outset.

Marketing and publicity

	How does Meridian budget for marketing and publicity?
	4.22 Jamie Barratt