TWO SUPER-LOW
BUDGETS WITH NOTES

	$765,000	$218,000
	Budget	Budget
	BUDGET B	BUDGET C
Stock	35mm	16mm
Location	NYC Shoot	NYC Shoot
Schedule	5 five-day weeks	3 six-day weeks
Crew	Non Union Crew	Non Union Crew
Deliverables	Some deliverables	No deliverables - film finished with one print
Edit	Avid edit	Avid Edit
Screen Actors Guild	SAG-Low Budget Agreement	SAG-Limited Exhibition Agreement (film can play in festivals and art houses only)
Rates	Key-$100/day Best-$75/day Third-$50/day	all rates deferred
Shoot Days	25 (4.5 pages per day)	18 (6 pages per day)

BUDGET NOTES $765,000 BUDGET B

The days must average 4.5 pages of script. The schedule also allows for more paid prep time. The crew will get their salary when the shooting is over, rather than have to defer part of it until the film sells, as in Budget C.

805-00		Producers and staff: Allows a nominal fee for the producers.
807-00		Director: Pays the director a living wage, just.
809-00		Talent: Based on a low-budget agreement with the Screen Actors Guild ($466.00 per day, $1620 per week). Many characters will have to become extras in this budget, and even more will in Budget C. This also allows for a stunt—a car screeching to a halt, a modest fight.
811-00		In Budget B, the heads of the departments may be new to “keying,” but they will be likely to have been on a set before. With Budget C everyone will be new to filmmaking—i.e., the location manager will be right for the job because he or she has a car.
813-00		Camera: Allows a 35mm rental with a few toys.
814-00		Art Department: A larger art department allows more flexibility in terms of prep time. In the Wardrobe and Prop departments, you’ll have to use what you have, though you can buy one crucial outfit or make a few specialized props.
819-00		Electrical: A generator rental for a few days allows more flexibility with locations and makes night shooting more possible.
829-00		Extra talent: Must use all SAG extras.
837-00		Locations: This is enough money to convince people to allow a shooting crew into their store.
839-00		Transportation: Budgeted for one Teamster. Depending on the film, two Teamsters are very possible. Two trucks for Props and Wardrobe allow more flexibility in prepping sets.
851-00		Editing and projection: Allows a longer picture cut, sound cut, and a little more per hour for the sound mix.
853-00		Music rights and video footage: You can afford to license some music in addition to the original score.

BUDGET NOTES $218,000 BUDGET C

The idea when preparing this bare-bones budget for Jacked was to stay around $100,000. That lasted about ten minutes. The next plan was to stay below $200,000. That actually seemed plausible. But the figures kept creeping up, which seemed a true illustration of the whole budgeting process. So we let it find its own ceiling: $218,000.

Even so, this budget depends on a couple of great deals: a free camera package and walkie-talkies, discounted film stock, a negative-cutting bargain, or all of the above. Don’t be afraid to ask for favors and always sell the script and the importance of the film!! Prayer won’t hurt, either.

The schedule here is drastically shorter than in the $2.5 million budget, and the shooting approach is “run-’n’-gun”—for a 110-page script you need to average six pages a day. This means less coverage.

807-00	Director earns what is basically pocket money.
809-00	Cast: The budget size falls into the Limited Exhibition category with the Screen Actors Guild. If you want to use professional actors you can become “signatory,” but you will be required to pay the Limited Exhibition Rates ($100 per day if an actor works less than three days and $75 per day if the actor works three days or more).
811-00	Production staff: Rates are very low, but all the crew will get some money deferred. This means that when the film sells, the crew gets salary due.
813-00	Camera: Assumes that the DP will own his or her own camera package and will let you use it.
814-00	Art Dept.: Assumes that most set dressing and props will be part of the locations, or will be provided by friends of the production. Cars used and parked in the shots will be the crew’s. (This generally means no luxury cars. Forget about period automobiles, too.)
819-00	Electrical: Lighting package will be small. No generator means an electrical tie-in at every location.
829-00	Extra talent: Under the Limited Exhibition Agreement with the Screen Actors Guild, all extras can be nonunion. Many nonunion extras are extremely unreliable, so you need to overbook to ensure that there are enough bodies.
831-00	Costumes: Assumes a lot of closet-raiding, and that most of the actors will be wearing their own clothes. Forget about period unless a local high school lets you raid its wardrobe room. Clothes you must purchase should be returned if possible.
833-00	Makeup and hair: One person will do both. Beware!! The schedule will have to allow time to get everyone through “the works.”
835-00	Sound package: Very basic. You’ll need to rent DAT or Nagra from the sound mixer or land a favor. Ten walkie-talkies is the absolute minimum you can get away with.
837-00	Locations: Site fees and rentals will be nominal; you’ll have to rely on friends and family for locations (e.g. producer’s apartment, director’s mother’s travel agency, uncle’s hamburger stand). You will also need to hold parking if you are shooting in a big city. Do not skimp too much on catering—bad food will make the crew walk faster than long days or invading turnaround. As for holding area costs, you’ll need some favors to keep the costs down. If you shoot in the summertime, people can eat lunch outside. Your office space will be a hole-in-the-wall.
839-00	Transportation: Taxis are only allowed if it is the middle of the night or if what you are carrying is bigger than your body. Messenger services are out of the question. Props and Wardrobe will also have to share a truck. This requires lots of cooperation on the part of the keys.
841-00	Film and lab: Get a deal somewhere on film stock—Eastman Kodak offers a discount through the Independent Feature Project. Also look for places that sell leftover footage and contact local shoots to see if you can buy what remains when they’re done. The film will also have to be cut entirely on video. You will never see the film itself until the first answer print. You’ll also need to try to make departments share Polaroid cameras and stock. Maybe the script supervisor can refer to Wardrobe’s Polaroid or vice versa. On a $200,000 shoot, every little penny matters. You have to nickel and dime.
851-00	Editing and projection: The sound edit is shortened. Luckily, Avid rentals are constantly going down. If you have connections, you may be able to get it down even more.
853-00	Music rights: Find some kid fresh out of music school who wants to do the score for very little money.
855-00	Post-production sound: Assumes one week to mix at a very low rate. This means your film is on standby—you mix when it is convenient for the studio—weekends, nights. ADR and Foley are projected at a bare minimum.
859-00	Titles and opticals: Main and end titles will be very basic. No slow motion, a few fades.
861-00	Production Insurance: This is necessary. Almost no one will rent you equipment or permit you on a location without it.
865-00	Legal: Just enough to help out with the basic issues.
Contingency:	While it is tempting to reduce the contingency, resist. You will need it.
Deliverables:	When you sell a movie there are a number of elements required by the distributor to release the film, from Errors and Omissions insurance to protect the distributor legally, to the Music and Effects mix to allow the distributor to lay in a dubbed track (in order to show the film in other languages).