M3DICINE SHOW CIN3MA

When your working in the indie trenches budgets tend to be tight. Of course there’s “indie” and then there’s “indie”. I have to laugh (and hold back the urge to kill) when I hear some “indie” filmmaker complaining that they only had a million five dollars to spend and only 45 days to shoot. That, to me, is not indie filmmaking. It’s indie in that its not hollywood mainstream and its now $200 million dollars but that’s like comparing apples to grapefruits. Its also not indie. Once you get past say $500K, you are leaving the world of the true indie filmmakers and heading toward a place that is somewhere between indie and hollyweird. I don’t have a name for it but it ain’t indie.

The average Red Scream Films LLC budget is low five figures. We’ve shot for low three figures. You notice I don’t give actual figures. There is a good reason for that. There are a number of good reasons for that.  But one of the main good reasons for that is that people who might be (or already are) involved with the film hear the total budget and immediately you see their eyes light up and their eyebrows go up and you can almost hear the gears grinding in their heads - “oh and I’m getting paid….how much?”.

Well, no you’re not.

Here’s why….

There are certain costs right up front. The cost of flying in talent. Feeding talent. Putting talent in a hotel. Those are costs that, although you might be able to get a slight discount in terms of food and hotel, its not going to be much. Consider this - let’s say you have 20 family and friends coming into town for a week or two. You are paying for travel, for food, for hotel. Do the math. 

(as an aside - very often talent don’t see the company providing transportation, hotel and meals as having any value - they consider it something they should be given. i ask you this…what real world job have you ever worked where your house, your car and the costs of that car, and your meals were paid for by the company…in addition to a salary? ‘cause I want that job). 

Now deduct that from the budget. ‘Cause its gone.

Now there’s props and wardrobe and hey let’s not forget the cost of HD tape and the harddrive that needs to be dumped too cause all that costs money. And insurance, got to have insurance. And transportation. Have you seen the price of a gallon of gas? Of course you have.

Now deduct that from the budget. Gone.

Oh, contingency. Shit happens. You need to have it covered. Deduct 10% from the budget. Do not pass Go. Do not collect anything.

Hopefully your crew has its own equipment otherwise you are not only paying your crew something, you are also paying for equipment rental.

Let’s say you need a “name” in your film. Even if you only have that name talent in town for a day or two…names don’t work for free. Or cheap.

Deduct.

Okay, now that we’ve got all the “overhead” out of the way…here’s what is left.

Yeah, that’s it.

Sounded like a lot of money when we started didn’t it?

It ain’t.  

Can you really make a movie for that?

Well, I don’t know about you, but we can.  

Welcome to the trenches.