Budgetng and Scheduling a Film Shoot

In this class Matthew talked about putting together a schedule for the shoot, no matter how small the production.

It was simply a table or spreadsheet that contained the following elements:
Rows that show the location and time with columns containing a description of the scene, cast required, wardrobe, art dept, audio & camera requirements. It was simple but comprehensive.

This is a fancy looking schedule with dazzling colors, but you can simply use a spreadsheet.

Matthew showed us an example from a current production of his and I was impressed by how utterly thorough it was. Nearly any question that a crew or cast member would have could be answered by looking at the schedule, e.g. what time do I need to be there and what should I bring, etc.

I could see how a schedule would be invaluable as a guide and FAQ for everyone involved.

We were also shown a sample short-film grant submission with all the items for the short-film costed out, this convinced me that shooting cheap video for the web for an interested audience was the way to go for me.

Matthew also mentioned that it's typical for there to be a 7 to 1 ratio of tape or video stock used for the estimated length of the production, e.g. 10 minute of video will take up approximately 70 minutes of video footage. This extra footage is largely used for extra takes at different angles so that there's a choice of material during the edit. This 'excess' should be factored into the cost of stock.

When it comes to using volunteers and friends on a flm shoot, Matthew also recommended that the producer/director provide the catering in recognition of the assistance that the volunteers were providing. It doesn't hurt to be generous and express gratitude this way (plus factor this into your budget!)