1) Click on these little boxes throughout if you need more information.

2) Make sure you just use the PREVIOUS and NEXT buttons in this form, and not your browser’s back/forward buttons. (Unless you want to destroy your film career.)

In the top box, enter the total amount you’d like to budget for your project. Our budgeting engine will then assign that amount to the various line items in your budget, based on how you answer the next few questions. If you’re budgeting for a series, other boxes will be visible which you can use to tell us more about how you’d like your budget presented.

If you don’t know what budget amount (even a general amount) you’d like to create a budget for, you’ll need to determine 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 projects are no different. Producers and 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

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

No-Budget/Low-Budget means your budget will still have money to work with, but things will be very very tight. Be aware that this means a very small cast and crew, some of whom may not even be paid minimum wage, so you’ll probably need to call in some favors. If this is not what you’re going for, click PREVIOUS and raise your budget amount.

Most actors are members of SAG-AFTRA, so your casting options may be limited if your film isn’t a SAG-AFTRA film. You can choose whether or not to use SAG-AFTRA actors in the next section and we’ll budget accordingly.

No. At this level of budget, you can’t afford to hire crew from those guilds. But don’t worry. Many great films and series have been made at this budget level, so don’t let that stop you.

Indie Budget means your budget has a decent amount of money to work with, and you can afford to hire a more professional cast and crew, but certain guilds and other expensive line items associated with bigger films will not be included. If this is not what you’re going for, click PREVIOUS and adjust your budget amount.

Most actors are members of SAG-AFTRA, so your casting options may be limited if your film isn’t a SAG-AFTRA film. You can choose whether or not to use SAG-AFTRA actors in the next section and we’ll budget accordingly.

No, but some writers may not be able to work on your film if you are not a WGA signatory. You can choose whether or not to budget for WGA writer(s) in the next section and we’ll budget accordingly.

No. At this level of budget, you can’t afford to hire crew from those guilds. But don’t worry. Many great films and series have been made at this budget level, so don’t let that stop you.

If you select this option, we’ll create your budget using all guilds/unions that our engine feels makes sense for your budget level. The higher the amount you entered for your budget, the more likely our engine will use guilds. The lower the amount you entered for budget, the more likely we’ll only budget for SAG-AFTRA talent, but budget for no other guilds. (RECOMMENDED)

If you select this option, we turn off all guilds — SAG, WGA, DGA, IATSE, and Teamsters — no matter what your budget level. CAUTION: We don’t recommend doing this, and especially not for budgets over $2 million or so, because you may be risking conflict with the guilds or unions, which could lead to your project being picketed, halted, or “flipped,” which could end up costing you far more money and headache than if you’d just hired guild/union labor in the first place.

If you’re on a very small budget, our budgeting engine will automatically prevent you from budgeting for any union/guild other than SAG-AFTRA. But if even SAG-AFTRA is something you don’t want to budget for, we recommend selecting Budget for NO guilds whatsoever.

Put simply, if you budget for non-WGA writers, your budget will have slightly more money available to spend in other areas, such as cast, VFX, and other options we’ll get to in a second.

No. If your project is small, it’s probably necessary to work with non-WGA writers.

It depends on what your budget is and what specific WGA contract you fit into. Film Budgeteers recommends you talk to a WGA representative for all the details on their various contracts, some of which are designed to fit smaller budgets.

No, but if it isn’t, you could find it more difficult to find quality talent for your project. It’s more paperwork, costs you more, and you have to strictly adhere to SAG-AFTRA’s rules, but Film Budgeteers still wholeheartedly recommends your project is a SAG-AFTRA project, no matter what your budget level.

It depends on what your budget is and what specific SAG contract you fit into. Film Budgeteers recommends you chat up a SAG representative for all the details.

No, but if it isn’t, you could find it more difficult to find quality talent for your project. It’s more paperwork, costs you more, and you have to strictly adhere to SAG-AFTRA’s rules, but Film Budgeteers still wholeheartedly recommends your project is a SAG-AFTRA project, no matter what your budget level.

It depends on what your budget is and what specific SAG contract you fit into. Film Budgeteers recommends you chat up a SAG representative for all the details.

Only select the SAG-AFTRA Student Agreement if you are (a) enrolled in an accredited education institution, (b) the final project’s running time will be no longer than 35 minutes, (c) the budget is no more than $35,000 and (d) you plan to adhere to all the rest of the terms of the SAG-AFTRA Student Film Agreement.

Only select the SAG-AFTRA Short Project Agreement if (a) the final project’s running time will be no longer than 35 minutes, (b) the budget is no more than $50,000 and (c) you plan to adhere to all the rest of the terms of the SAG-AFTRA Short Project Agreement.

No. SAG requires you to use one agreement or the other. You cannot use both.

No.

Unit Production Manager (UPM), Assistant Directors (1st AD, 2nd AD, 2nd 2nd AD, etc.)

It depends on the size of your budget. Film Budgeteers recommends you talk with a DGA representative for all the details.

Pretty much every position on the production is represented by Locals of IATSE, from art department through camera department and so on. Exceptions include transportation and several location department positions, which are under the purview of the Teamsters.

No, but like most guild and union members, IATSE members are generally far more skilled and efficient than their non-union counterparts. Working with union crew costs more, but could save you a lot of money and time, and make your project ultimately more valuable.

It depends on the size of your budget. Film Budgeteers recommends you talk with representatives of any local IATSE group for all the details. (There are numerous different Local IATSE’s that handle different classifications of crew.)

Teamsters are mostly those who handle transportation and logistics, including trucks, driving, and locations, but can include various other positions as well.

No, but like most guild and union members, Teamsters members are generally far more skilled and efficient than their non-union counterparts. Working with union crew costs more, but could save you a lot of money and time, and make your project ultimately more valuable.

It depends on the size of your budget. Film Budgeteers recommends you talk with a Teamsters union rep for all details.

In the first box, enter the number of characters in your project. Include your main characters, secondary characters, and even small speaking roles. Don’t include background/extras. In the boxes below that, you can enter the names of your characters, or the names of the actors, or just leave them as “Cast Member 1,” etc.

Enter the first 25. In the budget file we send you, you’ll be able to manually insert more line items as needed. (Only if you choose to purchase the editable Excel version during checkout.) If your project has no Cast, just enter 0.