A Practical Guide to Film Budgeting using Lowerated
- Lower Rated
- Oct 4
- 5 min read
A clear budget tells your team what is possible, when to commit, and where the limits are. It guides casting choices, equipment, locations, days on the schedule, and how much risk you can carry. When the numbers are current, planning is calmer and shoot days run cleaner. Here's how to do film budgeting.
Who usually owns the budget
On small projects the producer or director-producer handles the budget with input from department heads. On indie features and series:
Line Producer or UPM builds the budget, runs bids, defends assumptions, and protects contingency.
Production Accountant tracks actuals, invoices, petty cash, payroll, and reports.
Department Heads supply quotes and manage their lines.
AD team supplies the schedule, which heavily influences cost.
Producer signs off on changes, talent deals, and bigger rentals.
If you do not have a line producer or accountant, assign one person to act as “budget owner” and one person to log actuals. Two sets of eyes prevent drift.
Key terms you will hear during film budgeting
Top sheet: one-page summary of totals by category.
Above the line: story, producer, director, principal cast.
Below the line: crew, gear, locations, post, insurance.
Estimate vs Actual: planned cost compared to what you really paid.
Fringes: payroll costs added to rates, for example taxes and benefits.
Contingency: buffer for surprises, often 5 to 15 percent.
Hold: a reserved item or day that may bill a fee even if unused.
Before you enter numbers: set the ground rules
Scope: Feature or pilot, number of episodes, total pages, projected shoot days.
Assumptions: Union status, travel days, nights, company moves, stunts, VFX, animals, minors.
Schedule: A one-liner or stripboard. Days drive cost more than any single item.
Rates: Day rates for cast and crew, package rates for camera and G&E, location fees, insurance quotes.
Contingency policy: Decide when you will use the buffer and who approves it.
How to build a budget that survives reality
1) Start from a template
Pick a template that matches your project: feature, short, documentary, commercial, episodic. It saves setup time and keeps lines consistent with industry habits.
2) Break it into categories
Above the line, below the line, post, insurance and legal, travel and lodging, contingency. Add custom lines for unique needs, for example period wardrobe or heavy SFX.
3) Pull what you already know
From your pre-production work you should already have:
Scene breakdowns: nights, extras, SFX, VFX, vehicles, animals.
Shot lists: specialty gear like steadicam, crane, drone, inserts that need extra time.
Location scouting: rental fees, permits, site reps, police details, generators, restroom rentals, parking.
Casting: day rates, agency fees, travel and accommodation.
Sync those items into the budget, review, and lock the numbers you trust.
4) Add missing lines
Travel, visas, per diem, background casting days, rehearsal, table reads, ADR, music, storage, data wrangling, deliveries to client or distributor.
5) Set contingency
Hold 5 to 15 percent depending on risk. Night exteriors, stunts, weather, vehicles, or kids call for more. Write one sentence that defines when contingency is unlocked.
Common costs people miss
Site representative or security at locations
Police or traffic control for exteriors
Power: tie-in electrician or generator, fuel, distro
Restrooms and hand-wash for remote sets
Parking lots and shuttles for crew
Cleaning fees and resets for delicate locations
Insurance wording for landlords and permits
Data storage and backups
Post deliverables: captions, M&E, QC, drives, shipping
People and time: where budgets live or die
Overtime stacks fast. Plan realistic setups per day.
Company moves cut hours from shooting. Limit them.
Meal penalties and late days hit morale and money.
Weather can stall exteriors. Keep a cover set or a clear rain plan.
Resets for blood, food, rain, or breakaways chew minutes. One reset can erase a shot.
Tie these risks to your schedule and guard your contingency.
Tracking and control during prep and shoot
Log actuals when invoices arrive.
Keep estimate vs actual visible per category.
Attach quotes and receipts to lines.
Require approvals for any change that moves totals.
Review variance at the end of each prep day so surprises do not compound.
Reports stakeholders expect
Top sheet for producers and investors.
Department summaries for camera, G&E, art, sound, wardrobe, post.
Variance report that explains what changed and why.
Cash needs forecast by week for the production account.
Indie, student, and series notes
Indie: simplify lines, lock key rates early, hold a slightly higher contingency.
Student: borrow gear, choose fewer locations, favor day interiors, lean into practical light, keep company moves near zero.
Series: treat your pilot as a learning run, then reuse standing sets and packages, track return-to-set costs across episodes.
Frequent mistakes
Building the budget before you have a schedule.
Ignoring fringes and payroll costs.
Underestimating holding, shuttles, and parking.
Forgetting deliverables and festival or client requirements.
Hiding issues instead of logging a variance with a note.
Treating contingency as a piggy bank instead of a safety net.
How Lowerated helps while you budget
Templates: Start fast with category presets for feature, short, doc, series, or commercial.
Total and categories: Set the total, tweak categories, add custom lines, and keep a clean top sheet.
Sync with your prep: Pull costs from breakdowns, shot lists, scouting, and casting. When those change, the budget suggests updates so you do not miss a fee.
Estimate vs actual: Enter invoices, mark payments, and see variance by line and by department.
Alerts: Get a nudge when a category drifts or a new fee appears, for example a site rep or permit.
Notes and attachments: Pin quotes, receipts, and short explanations to each line so approvals are quick.
Reports: Export a top sheet for investors, department pages for heads of department, and a clear variance report.
A short walkthrough with real numbers
You plan a short film at 10,000.
Choose the Short Film template and set total to 10,000.
Sync adds coffee shop rental 500 per day for two days, a 250 permit, lead actor 1,000 per day for two days, and a camera package 800 per day for two days.
You add insurance 450 and a sound mixer 600 per day for two days.
Contingency set at 10 percent.
The location asks for a site rep 200 per day. The budget flags it. You accept and trim wardrobe by 400. Remaining stays healthy and the top sheet reflects the swap.
Checklists you can copy
Setup
Template picked, total set, contingency rule written
Schedule reviewed with nights and moves marked
Quotes requested for big items
Casting ranges agreed
During prep
Sync costs from scouting, breakdowns, shot lists, casting
Approve or edit each suggestion
Log actuals as they arrive
Run a daily variance check
During shoot
Watch overtime and resets
Move money between lines with a note
Protect contingency for real surprises
Wrap
Close purchase orders and deposits
Deliver top sheet, variance report, and receipts
Archive a clean final budget for next time
Final note
Budgeting is a daily habit, not a one-time spreadsheet. Decide the ground rules, build from a solid template, tie numbers to the schedule and the real work, and write short notes when anything moves. Lowerated gives you the structure to plan, sync costs from the rest of your project, track actuals, and export the reports everyone expects. Open your project, set the total, and take control of the money side so the creative side can breathe.
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