Raising funds and determining the budget

[emjen]

I've written a screenplay. I've started a production group. I have many enthusiastic friends willing to act or help. I've got three handycams and final cut pro 3 in the production group.

Now, the screenplay has a cast of thirty. A crew of 7. And a location in a fancy restaurant, a bar and another bar.

In the fancy restaurant a fight occurs between the protagonist and a few waiters. A chair will be thrown.

In one cafe I need to 'shoot' the half of the cafe. That means breaking glasses etc. It's shot in a sort of 'before' and 'after' way, so you don't actually see someone shooting things, you just see the things he shot.

I also need some fancy make-up effects, like a pieces of glass stuck in someone's cheeck.

As last i need special effects. I don't think it's difficult to pull off, but I know I can't do it. (The effect: several persons walking around without their head, but instead two smaller heads on each shoulder). I don't know if FCP can manage this. So I thought maybe someone from the film school could help me out with this.

And if I can borrow a good camera and mic that would be superb. I don't know the costs for that.

Now, I thought 500 euros (i believe that's something around 300 pounds?) would do it. I would spend the money on borrowing equipment, the stuff getting destroyed in the cafe scene, fake blood, make up. I'd simply ask the owners if I can shoot there. I don't think that would be a problem, since I have connections. I'd spend the rest of the money to pay the cast/crew and catering.

The reason I post this is of course for advice and help. I've never done a project this big, but it's really my most doable dream right now. I don't know the money required for the job. Have you done something similar to this?

(it's supposed to be a 10 minute short)

[belovedmonster]

the first thing that worries me is the size of your cast.. .alot of us have trouble finding 2 or 3 people we can rely on and here you are going to have alot more.

[emjen]

about half is extra. Then cut that in half and you have persons with lines. And extra's can also play other extra's, so you can cut some of that away too. But i need roughly 30 different characters in the film.

[sn-films]

I don't mean to deter you from pursuing your dream, but based on what I'm reading 500 euros sounds low for that project. If you're outsourcing all of the FX work, 500 euros probably won't cover it.

For example, consider the fancy make-up effects you mentioned. Are you going to do the glass shards yourself, or do you have an artist coming in to do the make-up for you? How many people are going to be mangled by glass? I know of a couple guys who can do the effect, but the application of the make-up will probably take a minimum of 20 minutes per actor. Till you figure the cost of the artist's time and his supplies, you could easily blow half your budget on that effect.

Also, you're going to outsource the two-little-head FX? Can you get someone to do this for you for free, or are you going to have to pay someone to do the effect? The cost of that will be pretty steep if you have to pay someone to do the work.

As far as equipment rentals, renting a high-end camera and lights can cost anywhere from $200 up to $500 per day, plus you need insurance to cover the equipment. Based on the fact that you have three locations that are businesses during the day, I'm guessing you would need to rent equipment for 2 or 3 days and shoot afterhours.

As for paying and feeding actors... well, we had 18 actors at a warehouse for a 10-hour shoot and we spent around $100 feeding these people (we provided pizza, soda, chips, and a large veggie tray in lieu of pay). A sure sign of a low-budget production is actors collapsing in the background due to low-blood-sugar levels.

Anyway, these are a few things for you to consider as you work out your budget. Figure out how many days you will need to shoot the movie given the constraints of your locations. That will help you work out how much equipment rental and craft services (food) are going to cost you. Find out for sure how much the make-up effects and digital effects are going to cost. I think you'll find that those numbers add up fairly quickly. Now, if you're paying actors on top of that... well, 500 euros may not cover everything.

Again, I don't want to deter you from trying to shoot the movie, but these costs can add up rather quickly. I hope this helps get you started on the ugliest part of filmmaking... bean-counting. Best of luck!

[windowslaws]

nice