TC 842

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TC 842

• Budgeting

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Budgeting

• Producers do it--but have little or no training
  in it.
• predict the future
• world of projections
• in business, budgets are accepted way of life
• things more predictable and standardized than in
  production

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Media Budgeting

• how do you value creativity
• attempt to impose order on essentially disordered
  process
• difficult to be precise
• frequently done backwards--ought to cost ,
  make it fit
• necessary in all production

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Bertold Brecht

• Ah how sorely they're mistaken
• Who think that money doesn't count
• Fruitfulness turns to famine
• When the kindly stream runs out

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Operating Budget

• often flexible in businesses as long as stay
  within the total amount- but less so in
  non-profit organizations
• much estimation in budgeting
• predicting prices (market forces),
• salaries (union contracts),
• success of a product (whimsy of consumer)
• profits depend on keeping within it
• Department heads must work within

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Operating Budget

• allocation to the entire department
• total money for an entire fiscal yea
• Equipment travel, phone, office supplies,
  subscriptions, special events, supplies
• Salaries
• overhead (lights, heat, corporate overhead
  charged)
• maintenance and repair, rentals, licensing fees,
  instructional materials

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Project Budget

• partial charge back
• contracting department pays for extras only
• tape, outside sources (writers, graphics,
  shooters, music, etc)
• the out of pocket costs.
• This is most frequent arrangement--PTV

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Project Budget

• Total charge back
• Contracting department pays for everything
• hourly salaries, depreciation of eqt
• plus out of pocket
• outside clients

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Project Budget

• Flat budget--all production is to be accomplished
  within a set budget for the year--
• ITV

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Budget Questions What must be done and who will
pay for it

• 1. Can it be done in house, or will it require
  independent/external help ?
• 2. Travel ? How much ?
• 3. Length of program/piece ?
• 4. Level of sophistication of project (tape
  format, graphics, drama,web site)

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Budget Questions What must be done and who will
pay for it

• 5. Format (docum style more involved than studio
  int)
• 6. Does distribution require funding (
  duplication, uplink costs,server, postage etc)
• 7. Performers/ talent
• 8. Research costs
• 9. Timeline

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Budget Questions What must be done and who will
pay for it

• 10. Shooting ratio
• 11. Sets/ graphics/materials
• 12. Size/sophistication of crew
• 13. Is there music
• 14 Remember set up/rehearsal
• 15. Royalties, fees
• 16. lighting, electrical

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Budget Questions What must be done and who will
pay for it

• 17. Media costs (tape,CDs,DVDs)
• 18. Food/lodging/catering
• 19. Insurance
• 20. Ancillary uses/technology
• Web for tv or film

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Budget Questions What must be done and who will
pay for it

• Challenge all assumptions
• Realistic ?
• Needed ?
• Do internally ?
• Internal good enough

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During Project

• Track all expenses
• Weekly if possible
• Track payments
• Organizational tracking
• Often well behind
• Save all receipts
• Cut costs where possible
• Shoot less, reduce complexity
• Prompt action if problem surfaces

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Questions for Outside Vendors

• Normal business hours
• Overtime rates
• Require operator
• Personnel and mileage for location shoots
• Minimums
• Liability
• Discounts--large volume or not-for-profit

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Questions for Outside Vendors

• Down time policy--equipment malfunctions
• Cancellation deadline
• Equipment included in package ?

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Budget Structure

• Pre-production
• Production
• Post production
• Duplication/distribution/promotion
• Evaluation

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Contingency

• Almost always there
• Understood by funders
• Sometimes questioned
• Usually 10-15