Hi Folks,

As a first time producer (and a writer) I am guestimating what my typical budget will look like. Of course, all you wise folks know much better, so would expect this to be challenged. This is the HIGH end of the budget…that is correct…in the next few articles I am going to go to a LOW end of the budget, without resorting to Sanjay Guptish means of not paying people, etc. (For some side entertainment read here: http://www.mid-day.com/hitlist/2007/september/164061.htm)

Premise is to shoot in US and India. Shoot on film. 4 week (6 day week) shoot; Shooting ratio of 5:1. Shooting on Kodak EXH 500 or FUJI F-500T with Arriflex BLIV ( I really don’t give a frog’s fart on any of these acronyms and names, am merely wrting what is available for indies in the market)

Cause contrary to popular belief, Anurag Basu’s Gangster did not work because of the look, it worked because of solid acting by Shiney and Kangana and some fine characterizations and songs, Emraan nothwithstanding..

Here we go. The next post from me is going to challenge my own numbers and work downwards:

a) Story - $ 1000 (self development) b) Producers Fee - $1000 (self produced) c) Cast - $50000 (assumed for partial upfront and partial back end) d) Direction - $10000 (as important a guy as the cast, actually more) Total Above the Line $62000 (A) Director Staff/DP $3000 Camera/Grip/Electric $3500 Set Operations Crew $5000 Set Const Cost $1000 Set Design & Dress $1000 Special Effects $1500 Meals $3000 Insurance Permits $4000 Props $2000 Locations $ 500 Transportation $1500 Lighting $2000 Wardrobe $1000 Make Up/Hair $2000 Film & Lab $45000 Sound Shoot $3000 Sound Transfers $2000 Dubbing & Scoring $3000 Editing $10000 (Using the Editing Bay at IFP) Titles & Inserts $2000 Music $3000 Studio Rentals $2000 Tests & Pre $4000 Studio General $3000 Total Below The Line $108000 (B) Total Direct Cost $170000 (A) + (B) Contingency $3000 (C) Overhead/Publicity $3000 (D) Total Cost $176000

Yes, yes I can almost see a lot of you getting out your daggers. Go for it, but remember I am writing a series here and will give justification of how to get around SAG, WGA, etc, too and yet pay the Mumbai spot boys daily CASH otherwise they will not work …am aware of that.

AND DON”T FORGET NAGESH MADE HIS HB FOR $35000 and THAT WAS BEFORE DIGITAL!!!!

Sincerely,

Vivek “FILM, never makes a film, story almost always does” Kumar

&

Typical Fim Budget - 2

Hi Folks,

Continuing with my “scrape the barrell” approach to see how the initial budget of $176K that I presented, can be further reduced. Just for the record, this an attempt at a TYPICAL buget, it is not MY FILM budget. That is in the $350-500K region. Also this budget is at a line item level, while taking into account the real world realities.

Further assumptions (a) Shoot in HD (b) Go for the SAG Minimums or shoot NON Union (c) Shoot in India, and in Southern Cal in USA (d) SAG rates are per diem (e) It is now a 3 WEEK shoot (6 days a week), due to better planning (f) 95% of the shoots are outdoors or indoors in places that don’t require fresh set construction (g) 75% of the shoot is in natural light.

This then is the effect:

a) Story - $ 0 (self development) - so no question of paying b) Producers Fee - $0 (self produced) c) Cast - $50000 (assumed for partial upfront and more back end, US dollar payments) d) Direction - $10000 (as important a guy as the cast, actually more, US dollar payments) Total Above the Line $60000 (A) Director Staff/DP $2000 (if hired from the Simi Valley/Tarzana area, they are cheaper since costs of living is cheaper and a lot of them get their own equipment and crew) Camera/Grip/Electric $1500 Set Operations Crew $1000 Set Const Cost $0 Set Design & Dress $500 Special Effects $1000 (Outsource to India or Philippines) Meals $0 (Product placement with a restaurant, that also provides the meals) Insurance Permits $3000 (Health insurance for India crew to be purchased in India) Props $2000 Locations $ 0 ( Scounting is done on producers cost) Transportation $3000 (miles and airline discounts) Lighting $1000 Wardrobe $0 (actors to get own clothes) Make Up/Hair $1000 (deal with Zeeba Beauty in Artesia) Film & Lab $25000 (Film, what film, this is Digital and $9K to blow to 16 or 35, including camera HIRE(not buy) cost. Sound Shoot $3000 Sound Transfers $2000 Dubbing & Scoring $3000 Editing $7000 (Using the Editing Bay at Filmarts in SF or Monaco Labs or a Student facility in OC) Titles & Inserts $2000 Music $3000 Studio Rentals $2000 Tests & Pre $4000 Studio General $3000 Total Below The Line $70000 (B) Total Direct Cost $76000 (A) + (B) Contingency $3000 (C) Overhead/Publicity $7000 (D) (use extensive word of mouth, yahoogroups,jaman, PfC, desithrill- best value for money, desi magazines, get hero to shoot Black Buck and get arrested and get heroine to be kissed by some Hollywood aging stud. All publicity will come then. If not fabricate a story, about how some hero or heroine did some “death defying” stuff during shooting, splash it on E!, of course we all being aware that the most dangerous thing they did was to get out of bed every morning!!!) Total Cost $86000

Now if some morons want to proclaim their film as “MOST EXPENSIVE FILM MADE IN BOLLYWOOD,” my response is, if you have no clue how to handle budgets, at least don’t proclaim it to the world.

Oh and for Mumbai and Hollywood publicity, call the film “JUST UNDER MILLION DOLLARS” The press will love it, the audience will love it ….etc.

I mean, jokes apart, isn’t the figure of $40K to $80K what we have in our bank anyway, before some US or Canadian based “Hollywood NRI” lands up in Mumbai or porclaims to the Indian media, that “I am embarking on a film.” Of course of that $40K to $80K, 70% is probably lying in the guy’s 401(k) for the US and the wonderful RRSP’s for the Canadians (those being PF type accounts for my brotherin and sisterin in India)

Oh! and investors beware when you are approached for funding. Challenge every item, but only if you are serious about funding, if not DON'T WASTE THEIR TIME AND YOUR'S.

Sincerely

Vivek “films and their people, you will notice, left or right of the Atlantic, north or south of NAAFTA, is a lot of smoke and mirrors and flakes” Kumar