Name: Film Budgeteers Budget
SKU: FB-BUDGET
Availability: InStock

YOUR PRODUCTION BEGINS RIGHT NOW. Let's create a detailed line-item budget for your film, episode, or series — a budget you can hand to investors, impress your crowdfunders with, or just use as a blueprint to actually produce your project.

To do that, we're going to ask you a few easy questions about your film or series. (e.g. How many cast members? Is your project stunt heavy? Do you think your project might need a lot of visual FX? Stuff like that.)

We'll then feed the answers you provide into our budgeting algorithm, which calculates the type of film you have, then assembles a budget using the latest costs for gear, rentals, labor rates, union rates (if applicable), fringes, contingencies, and more. BELOW, select what kind of project you'd like to budget for and then click NEXT.
What kind of budget would you like to create?*
- Feature or Short Film
- Series

Your Details
Your Project Title
Preparer's First Name
Preparer's Last Name
Budget Prepared Date
Date Format: MM slash DD slash YYYY
What email address would you like your budget file(s) emailed to?*

Please make sure this is a working, valid e-mail address and that our email address support@filmbudgeteers.com is not being blocked or marked as spam by your email provider or your email software.

Your Budget Amount
What total amount would you like your budget to be?*
No dollar signs or commas allowed. Minimum 10000. Maximum 300000000. Numbers will be rounded to the nearest increment of $1,000.
What do I enter here?
In this box, enter the total amount you’d like to budget for your film. Our algorithm will then divide that amount up into line items in your budget, based on how you answer the next few questions.
But, wait. I don't know what my total budget is supposed to be!
If you don’t know what budget amount you’d like to create a budget for, you’ll need to do that first. Nearly all film and TV productions are greenlighted (approved for production) based on a budget amount that the producers say they can deliver the finished project for. Independent films are no different. Film investors will want to see a specific budget amount before putting any cash into a project.

If you’re shooting the film DIY style on a low budget or trying to raise funds via crowdfunding or similar, enter the amount you’d like to raise. If you’re trying to secure financing from larger, more traditional sources or larger film investors, find the budgets of films you feel may be similar to yours by researching them on IMDB or boxofficemojo.com
Um...how many zeros do I type?
10000 = $10,000 / ten-thousand / four zeros
100000 = $100,000 / one-hundred thousand / five zeros
1000000 = $1,000,000 / one million / six zeros
10000000 = $10,000,000 / ten million / seven zeros
100000000 = $100,000,000 / one-hundred million / eight zeros
STOP. Please enter a number 10000 or higher.
Series Budgeting Preference
How would you like to budget your series?
- OPTION 1: Create SINGLE EPISODE BUDGET
- OPTION 2: Create an OVERALL SERIES BUDGET
What's the difference?
SINGLE EPISODE BUDGET (RECOMMENDED)
This will create a single budget for ONE of your episodes only. Once you receive it, you can use it as your pilot budget, and/or make a duplicate of the file for each episode in your series, so you can tailor each duplicate to your other episodes’ needs. (Recommended for most filmmakers, or filmmakers budgeting for a pilot, and/or providing “proof of concept” in a pitch situation.)
OVERALL SERIES BUDGET
This is for smaller-budget web series, or filmmakers who want to treat their entire series/season as one big project with one single budget. This will create a single budget total that encompasses the entire series. Additionally, the # of episodes you enter will be divided by the total series budget amount you enter to provide you with an additional item on the topsheet called “Budget Per Episode.” (For example, if you select this option, then enter 500000 for your total series budget amount, then enter 10 for your number of episodes, your budget will include the $500,000 total amount as well as a header item that reads “$50,000 per episode”

Your Single Episode Budget Amount
What would you like to budget for your single episode?*
No dollar signs or commas allowed. Minimum 10000. Maximum 300000000. Numbers will be rounded to the nearest increment of $1,000.
What do I enter here?
In this box, enter the total budget of the episode. We will then divide that amount up into line items in your budget, based on how you answer the next few questions.
But, wait. I don't know what my total budget is supposed to be!
If you don’t know what budget amount you’d like to create a budget for, you’ll need to do that first. Nearly all film and TV productions are greenlighted (approved for production) based on a budget amount that the producers say they can deliver the finished project for. Independent series are no different. Investors will want to know a budget amount before putting any cash into a project.

If you’re shooting DIY style on a low budget or trying to raise funds via crowdfunding or similar, enter the amount you’d like to raise. If you’re trying to secure financing from larger, more traditional sources or larger film investors, find the budgets of series you feel may be similar to yours by researching them on IMDB or boxofficemojo.com
Um...how many zeros do I type?
10000 = $10,000 / ten-thousand / four zeros
100000 = $100,000 / one-hundred thousand / five zeros
1000000 = $1,000,000 / one million / six zeros
10000000 = $10,000,000 / ten million / seven zeros
100000000 = $100,000,000 / one-hundred million / eight zeros
STOP. Please enter a number 10000 or higher in the above budget field.
Enter the episode number of this episode
(OPTIONAL) For example, if this is episode 1, enter "1." Or you can enter "Pilot," or just leave this blank if you want.
Enter the episode title
(OPTIONAL)
Your Overall Series Budget Amount
What would you like to budget for your overall total for your series?*
No dollar signs or commas allowed. Minimum 10000. Maximum 300000000. Numbers will be rounded to the nearest increment of $1,000.
What do I enter here?
In this box, enter the total budget of the episode. We will then divide that amount up into line items in your budget, based on how you answer the next few questions.
But, wait. I don't know what my total budget is supposed to be!
If you don’t know what budget amount you’d like to create a budget for, you’ll need to do that first. Nearly all film and TV productions are greenlighted (approved for production) based on a budget amount that the producers say they can deliver the finished project for. Independent series are no different. Investors will want to know a budget amount before putting any cash into a project.

If you’re shooting DIY style on a low budget or trying to raise funds via crowdfunding or similar, enter the amount you’d like to raise. If you’re trying to secure financing from larger, more traditional sources or larger film investors, find the budgets of series you feel may be similar to yours by researching them on IMDB or boxofficemojo.com
Um...how many zeros do I type?
10000 = $10,000 / ten-thousand / four zeros
100000 = $100,000 / one-hundred thousand / five zeros
1000000 = $1,000,000 / one million / six zeros
10000000 = $10,000,000 / ten million / seven zeros
100000000 = $100,000,000 / one-hundred million / eight zeros
STOP. Please enter a number 10000 or higher in the budget field above.
How many episodes would you like to put that amount towards?*
What does this mean?
The number of episodes you enter here will be the amount we divide your budget amount by. This will provide you with a “budget per episode” total which we include on your topsheet along with the budget’s overall series budget total.

Director
Director Name
If you don't have a director attached yet, feel free to skip this and we'll leave it blank.
Director
For series, we're not going to enter a director name, as there may be several directors on your series. But don't worry. Your budget will include director costs if applicable at your budget level.
Writers
How many writers would you like to budget for?
Please enter a number from 0 to 4.
What do I enter here?
In the box above, enter the number of writers you’d like to budget for (0-4). Then, in the boxes below, you can enter the names of the writer(s), or just leave them as “Writer 1,” etc. Whatever names you enter will appear in the budget under the writers line items.
Writer 1*
Writer 2*
Writer 3*
Writer 4*

Producers
How many producers would you like to budget for?*
Please enter a number from 0 to 4.
What do I enter here?
In the box above, enter the number of producers you’d like to budget for (0-4). Then, in the boxes below, you can enter the names of the producers(s), or just leave them as “Producer 1, Producer 2,” etc. Whatever names you enter will appear in the budget under the producers line items.
Do I enter UPM / Line Producer here?
No. UPM’s and Line Producers are considered “below the line” and will have their own line items in the Production category
Producer 1*
Producer 2*
Producer 3*
Producer 4*

Customization (optional)
Would you like to tailor your budget to fit your series or episode with regards to Principal Cast, Stunts, Special Effects, Make-up Effects, Animals, and Visual Effects?*
What is Customization?
Customization is an optional section that allows you to tell us more about what kind of film/series you’re budgeting for. We give you 10 “points” to play with. You then take those 10 points and assign them however you like into six different categories (Principal Cast, Visual Effects, Special Effects, Makeup Effects, Stunts, and Animals.)

For example, if you’d like to budget heavily for Principal Cast so you can afford name talent, but your project has very few stunts and absolutely no special effects, you would want to put the majority of your points into the Principal Cast box, a few points into the Stunts box, and zero points into the Special Effects box.
What happens if I select YES above?
If you select YES, we’ll ask you to allocate 10 arbitrary “points” to the six specific categories (Principal Cast, Visual Effects, Special Effects, Makeup Effects, Stunts, and Animals) in order to more fully customize your budget to fit the kind of film or series you’re making.
What happens if I select NO above?
If you select NO, we’ll just use our default allocation for your budget. Which means we will assign your 10 customization points in a way we feel is probably a good mix for most projects: 4 points for Principal Cast, 3 points for Visual FX, and 1 point each for Stunts, SFX, and MUFX, and 0 points for Animals.
What happens if I select YES and assign all 10 points into just ONE of the six categories?
If you put all 10 points into one category, the other categories will be budgeted at ZERO.
How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards the Principal Cast budget?
Please enter a number from 0 to 10.
What do you mean by Principal Cast?
Principal Cast are any featured or main characters or name talent/stars you’d like to budget for. If your project’s financial success is dependent on securing name talent, we recommend allocating at least a few points here. Don’t worry. Even if you enter 0 here, we will still budget for Supporting Cast later.
How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards your Stunts?
Please enter a number from 0 to 10.
What are considered to be Stunts?
Stunts are anything that require a stunt performer to execute in order to maintain maximum safety for cast and crew. Stunts aren’t just car chases and crashes and falls off buildings. They also include punches, falls off chairs, and often seemingly minor physicality that can prove quite dangerous if not performed by a professional stunt performer.
How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards your Special Effects?
Please enter a number from 0 to 10.
What are considered to be Special Effects?
Special effects are effects that are achieved practically and/or live in front of the camera. They’re generally things like pyrotechnics, explosions, puppetry, weather effects, and squibs. Please remember: Special effects are different from computer-generated and/or Visual effects.
How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards your Make-Up Effects?
Please enter a number from 0 to 10.
What are considered to be Make-Up Effects?
Make-Up Effects are practical, physical effects created with makeup and foam latex and other materials. They are not computer-generated effects. Make-up Effects often includes monster and alien prosthetics, old age makeup, fat makeup, etc.
How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards your Animal budget?
Please enter a number from 0 to 10.
What goes into a budget for Animals?
Trained animals and their care and handling require time and expense, as well as supervision by animal authorities. Whether it’s a room of live roaches or a team of elephants or even a family dog that fetches the newspaper.
How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards Visual Effects?
Please enter a number from 0 to 10.
What are considered to be Visual Effects?
Visual Effects are effects created by an artist or artists using digital technology. Also known as CGI, or computer-generated imagery. VFX are generally any visual effect created with a computer, either entirely or partially. Computer-generated or augmented creatures, buildings, landscapes, motion capture, laser bolts, muzzle flashes, etc.
Total Customization Points allocated:
(Minimum 0, Maximum 10)
Oops!
Looks like you've entered more than 10 total customization points. Please go back through the six categories above and enter no more than 10 total. All six boxes must add up to a maximum of 10 customization points.
You've allocated ZERO customization points for all six categories.
That's absolutely fine, but our budgeting software has to put that money *somewhere*, so we will place it in Contingency, which may give you a somewhat larger-than-usual Contingency percentage.

Keep in mind that all five other categories (Stunts, Special Effects, Make-up Effects, Animals, and Visual Effects) will be budgeted at $0. If that's not what you meant to do, make changes in the boxes above. If that is what you meant to do, hit NEXT below to continue.
You've allocated all 10 of your customization points into only ONE category.
That's absolutely fine! But please remember that because all 10 customization points are going into only one of the six categories, those other five categories will be budgeted at $0. If that's not what you meant to do, make changes in the boxes above to re-allocate your 10 customization points. If that is what you meant to do, feel free to hit NEXT.

Keep in mind that all five other categories (Stunts, Special Effects, Make-up Effects, Animals, and Visual Effects) will be budgeted at $0. If that's not what you meant to do, make changes in the boxes above. If that is what you meant to do, hit NEXT below to continue.
You've haven't used all 10 of your customization points.
That's absolutely fine! The category or categories you did put points in will receive those budget amounts.
If that's not what you meant to do, make changes in the boxes above and re-allocate your 10 customization points. If that is what you meant to do, feel free to hit NEXT.
Keep in mind that all five other categories (Stunts, Special Effects, Make-up Effects, Animals, and Visual Effects) will be budgeted at $0. If that's not what you meant to do, make changes in the boxes above. If that is what you meant to do, hit NEXT below to continue.

Principal Cast
How many Principal Cast would you like to budget for?
Please enter a number from 0 to 6.
Maximum 6.
What is this?
Principal Cast are any featured or main characters or name talent/stars you’d like to budget for. Whether you’re working with name talent or not, this section will help us determine how much money your budget needs to allocate towards Principal Cast, as opposed to Supporting Cast. You can enter the names of your key characters below, or the names of the actors, or leave the boxes as they are. Fun fact: We’ll be working on your Supporting Cast in the next section.
Do Principal Cast members get budgeted differently from Supporting Cast?
Yes. We allow more money in your budget for Principal Cast in order to be able to spend more towards name talent or actors with a large number of shooting days.
What do I enter in the boxes below?
You can enter the names of your key characters, or the names of the actors, or leave them as “Principal Cast 1,” etc.
My project doesn't have any Principal Cast
No problem, just enter 0 in the box above.
Principal Cast 1*
Principal Cast 2*
Principal Cast 3*
Principal Cast 4*
Principal Cast 5*
Principal Cast 6*

Supporting Cast
How many Supporting Cast would you like to budget for?
Please enter a number from 0 to 20.
What is this?
Supporting Cast are your non-main roles. They’re not in the film as much as your Principal Cast, and might even just have one day of shooting.
What do I enter in the boxes below?
You can enter the names of your supporting characters, or the names of the actors, or leave them as “Supporting Cast 1,” etc.
What do I do? I have more than 20 Supporting Cast
Enter the first 20. In the final budget file we send you, you’ll be able to add more line items as needed.
My project doesn't have any Supporting Cast
No problem, just enter 0 in the box above.
Supporting Cast 1
Supporting Cast 2
Supporting Cast 3
Supporting Cast 4
Supporting Cast 5
Supporting Cast 6
Supporting Cast 7
Supporting Cast 8
Supporting Cast 9
Supporting Cast 10
Supporting Cast 11
Supporting Cast 12
Supporting Cast 13
Supporting Cast 14
Supporting Cast 15
Supporting Cast 16
Supporting Cast 17
Supporting Cast 18
Supporting Cast 19
Supporting Cast 20

TIME (optional)
Would you like to tailor your budget 's prep, production, wrap, and post times?*
What is this?
This is an optional section that allows you to customize the duration of your prep phase, your shooting phase, your wrap phase, and your post-production phase. For the purposes of this budget, we’re making the assumption that you’ll be shooting 12 hours per day, 5 days per week. You can modify that if you like in your final budget file (if your order includes the Excel version.)
What happens if I select YES?
If you select YES, we’ll ask you to enter the number of weeks you’d like to spend on each different phase of your project (pre-production, production, wrap, and post-production.)
What happens if I select NO?
If you select NO, we’ll just allocate the default of 6 weeks of prep, 6 weeks of shooting, 2 weeks of wrap, and 15 weeks of post.
How many PREP / PRE-PRODUCTION weeks would you like to budget for?
Please enter a number from 0 to 6.
What is prep/pre-production?
Prep or pre-production is the time spent getting your project ready to shoot. Scouting and securing locations, breaking down and scheduling the script, building sets, buying or preparing costumes, makeup, vehicles, hiring cast and crew, etc. – all of these are included in prep.

Higher budget projects can afford to budget more for prep time than lower budget projects, but the more time you can spend prepping your project, the easier your shoot will likely be. We recommend 4-5 weeks of prep, but you can feel free to enter up to 6 weeks. If you need to budget for more Prep/Pre-production time, you can always make changes in your final budget file (if your order includes the Excel version.)
How many SHOOTING / PRODUCTION weeks would you like to budget for?
Please enter a number from 1 to 8.
What is shooting/production?
Shooting / production is the time spent actually shooting your series or episode.

We’ll automatically assume 6 weeks of shooting, but you can feel free to enter up to 8. If you need to budget for more Shooting time, you can always edit your final budget file (if your order includes the Excel version.)
How many WRAP weeks would you like to budget for?
Please enter a number from 0 to 4.
What is wrap time?
Wrap time is time spent breaking down sets, returning vehicles and props, getting accounts in order, moving the company back to its city of origin, etc. We’ll automatically assume 2 weeks of wrap, but you can feel free to enter as few as 0 and as many as 4. If you need to budget for more Wrap time, you can always make changes in your final budget file (if your order includes the Excel version.)
How many POST-PRODUCTION weeks would you like to budget for?
Please enter a number from 0 to 24.
What is post-production?
Post-production is time spent preparing your footage for editing, editing the project from assembly to locked picture, music composition and recording, and everything else needed to finish the series or episode. We’ll automatically assume 15 weeks of post, but you can feel free to enter as few as 0 and as many as 24. If you need to budget for more Post time, you can always make changes in your final budget file (if your order includes the Excel version.)

Budgetpretty*
Please confirm everything below is correct...
If so, click on NEXT. If you need to make changes, use the PREVIOUS button to go back.

Total Budget:
{Budgetpretty:228}
Budget Type: {What kind of budget would you like to create?:161}

Working Email Address: {What email address would you like your budget file(s) emailed to?:88}

Project Title: {Your Project Title:6}
Prepared by: {Preparer\'s First Name:7} {Preparer\'s Last Name:8}

Customization Point Distribution (CUSTOMIZED)
{How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards the Principal Cast budget?:34} | Principal Cast
{How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards your Stunts?:35} | Stunts
{How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards your Special Effects?:36} | Special FX
{How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards your Make-Up Effects?:37} | Make-Up FX
{How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards your Animal budget?:38} | Animals
{How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards Visual Effects?:39} | Visual FX

Time (DEFAULT)
6 | Pre-Production Weeks
6 | Production Weeks
2 | Wrap Weeks
15 | Post-Production Weeks
If so, click on NEXT. If you need to make changes, use the PREVIOUS button to go back.

Total Budget:
{Budgetpretty:228}
Budget Type: {What kind of budget would you like to create?:161}

Working Email Address: {What email address would you like your budget file(s) emailed to?:88}

Project Title: {Your Project Title:6}
Prepared by: {Preparer\'s First Name:7} {Preparer\'s Last Name:8}

Customization Point Distribution (DEFAULT)
4 | Principal Cast
1 | Stunts
1 | Special FX
1 | Make-Up FX
0 | Animals
3 | Visual FX
Time (CUSTOMIZED)
{How many PREP / PRE-PRODUCTION weeks would you like to budget for?:82} | Pre-Production Weeks
{How many SHOOTING / PRODUCTION weeks would you like to budget for?:83} | Production Weeks
{How many WRAP weeks would you like to budget for?:84} | Wrap Weeks
{How many POST-PRODUCTION weeks would you like to budget for?:85} | Post-Production Weeks
If so, click on NEXT. If you need to make changes, use the PREVIOUS button to go back.

Total Budget:
{Budgetpretty:228}
Budget Type: {What kind of budget would you like to create?:161}

Working Email Address: {What email address would you like your budget file(s) emailed to?:88}

Project Title: {Your Project Title:6}
Prepared by: {Preparer\'s First Name:7} {Preparer\'s Last Name:8}

Customization Point Distribution (DEFAULT)
4 | Principal Cast
1 | Stunts
1 | Special FX
1 | Make-Up FX
0 | Animals
3 | Visual FX

Time (DEFAULT)
6 | Pre-Production Weeks
6 | Production Weeks
2 | Wrap Weeks
15 | Post-Production Weeks
If so, click on NEXT. If you need to make changes, use the PREVIOUS button to go back.

Total Budget:
{Budgetpretty:228}
Budget Type: {What kind of budget would you like to create?:161}

Working Email Address: {What email address would you like your budget file(s) emailed to?:88}

Project Title: {Your Project Title:6}
Prepared by: {Preparer\'s First Name:7} {Preparer\'s Last Name:8}

Customization Point Distribution (CUSTOMIZED)
{How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards the Principal Cast budget?:34} | Principal Cast
{How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards your Stunts?:35} | Stunts
{How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards your Special Effects?:36} | Special FX
{How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards your Make-Up Effects?:37} | Make-Up FX
{How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards your Animal budget?:38} | Animals
{How many of your 10 customization points would you like to allocate towards Visual Effects?:39} | Visual FX

Time (CUSTOMIZED)
{How many PREP / PRE-PRODUCTION weeks would you like to budget for?:82} | Pre-Production Weeks
{How many SHOOTING / PRODUCTION weeks would you like to budget for?:83} | Production Weeks
{How many WRAP weeks would you like to budget for?:84} | Wrap Weeks
{How many POST-PRODUCTION weeks would you like to budget for?:85} | Post-Production Weeks

Please select which budget format you'd like and click on "ADD TO CART"
Product Name
Budget Format*
- Film Budgeteers Budget (Editable Excel file and PDF)
- Film Budgeteers Budget (PDF - non-editable)
- Topsheet Only (PDF ONLY)
You have selected The Film Budgeteers Budget and Topsheet – In both Excel (editable) and PDF format.
You have selected The Film Budgeteers Budget and Topsheet – PDF format only. (Non-editable)
You have selected The Film Budgeteers Topsheet Only – PDF format only. (Non-editable)
You've selected TOPSHEET ONLY. Keep in mind, it's a one-page overview only. If you need a full, detailed budget, please select one of the other options.
Total
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Film Budgeteers Budget

Step 1 of 12 - Welcome

Your Details

Your Budget Amount

STOP. Please enter a number 10000 or higher.

Series Budgeting Preference

What's the difference?

Your Single Episode Budget Amount

STOP. Please enter a number 10000 or higher in the above budget field.

Your Overall Series Budget Amount

STOP. Please enter a number 10000 or higher in the budget field above.

Director

Director

Writers

Producers

Customization (optional)

Oops!

You've allocated ZERO customization points for all six categories.

You've allocated all 10 of your customization points into only ONE category.

You've haven't used all 10 of your customization points.

Principal Cast

Supporting Cast

TIME (optional)

Please confirm everything below is correct...

Please select which budget format you'd like and click on "ADD TO CART"

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