4 The Budget

DOI: 10.4324/9781003324201-5

Preparing the budget is one of the first steps in getting production off the ground. By now, you probably have a script in place but may be looking for financing or beginning pre-production. Before you shoot, you should know how much a film will cost. This is true from low budget to high budget. Yes, you can shoot a project without any budget; many student projects and low-budget films are shot this way. However, if you want to learn how to “do it in the real world,” you need to learn how to prepare a professional line-item production budget.

You may begin writing your budget with a defined amount, or you may need to write a budget to see how much a production will cost. Perhaps you have managed ...

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