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129 9 budget and contract The production contract, the agreement between you and those who are giving you the money to make the film, formalizes the terms under which the film is to be made. It is usually drawn up on the basis of your proposal before the script is written, but many organizations prefer to pay for a script and then, if they like it, commit themselves to the actual production. For the sake of convenience, I am assuming your sponsor is of the first type: that they like the proposal and they want to proceed with the film. So far, you have probably only discussed money in very vague terms. But now that you are going to sign your life away in a formal agreement, you must carefully budget the film; otherwise, your contract may not provide sufficient money to make a decent film according to the approved script. In reality, you will have thought about the production budget, at least in a general way, from your first moments in considering the film. But now is the moment of truth. My own procedure is as follows . First, I draw up a detailed production budget, trying to cover all contingencies from which I get a sense of the cost of the film. With that figure in mind I deal with the formal draft production contract, arguing terms and conditions. Because I have a very concrete idea of Preproduction 130 the needs of the budget, I am now much less likely to make mistakes in the terms I require from the sponsor. The Budget In budgeting, we often face a number of conundrums. Do you budget according to script, or do you script according to budget? And how do you prepare a budget, which is normally demanded very early by commissioning editors, when you haven’t done the main research? There is no absolute answer to these questions, as the conditions under which you make each film will be different. Only one thing is important: your budget must be as complete and as accurate as possible. This point is more than important; it is vital. If you make a mistake in budgeting, committing yourself to making a film for what turns out to be an unrealistic sum, you’re likely to finish up bankrupt. My answer is to put into the budget every single need I can think of and then a few more; I always overbudget rather than underbudget. You may lose a few films if you are bidding in a competitive situation , but it’s worth it in the end. A decent budget will save you many a sleepless night. Below are the major items that appear in most film and video budgets; this list should serve as a good first guide. If something occurs to you that does not appear here, then add it, as you’ll probably need it. A. Research 1. Script research, including travel and hotels, books, photocopies, library viewing expenses 2. General preproduction expenses, including travel, meetings, etc. B. Shooting 1. Crew Cameraperson Assistant cameraperson Sound person Lighting technician Production assistant Driver and/or grip Production manager Makeup artist Teleprompter operator Budget and Contract 131 2. Equipment Camera and usual accessories Special camera equipment, such as fast lenses and underwater rigs Tape recorders and microphones Lighting Teleprompter 3. Location expenses Vehicle rental Gasoline Crew food Hotels Airfares Location shooting fees 4. Stock Negative film Tape cassettes Developing film and making work print Reels of quarter-inch tape Audiocassettes Magnetic tape, including quarter-inch transfer Leader and spacing C. Postproduction 1. Editing Editor Assistant editor Sound editor Editing room supplies and equipment, including video off-line 2. Lab and other expenses Sound coding Sound designer Music and sound transfers Opticals and special effects Video window dubs Making titles Narration recording Sound mix Negative cutting Making optical negative First and second answer print Preproduction 132 On-line video editing Release print—theater, television, videocassette dubs, etc. Making DVDs 3. General Office expenses, rent, telephone, faxes, photocopying, etc. Transcripts Music and archive royalties Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance Insurance Legal costs Dispatch and customs clearance Voice-overs Translations Advertising and publicity Messengers Payroll tax provisions 4. Personnel Writer Director Producer Narrator Associate producer Researcher General assistant D. Sponsor station overheads E. Company provisions 1. Contingency 2. Company profit Ninety percent of the above items occur in most documentaries. The other 10 percent depend on the size and finances of your production . If the production is small, there...

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