This is the latest edition of a book that has sold over 75,000 copies since its first printing in 1984 by producer/publisher Michael Wiese. An indispensible tool for any producer, this "industry bible" has been updated with the latest digital technologies for production and post-production -- the standard for most films today. Downloadable budget templates are free and easily accessible at www.mwp.com. They can be adapted for any production and can save you tons of time and money. The templates include different budget levels for narrative features, non-fiction features, and short films. The book goes through a 14-page Master Budget template line-by-line with an explanation for every line item in any budget. As it guides you through each step, you can use this book to put together budgets for proposals, treatments, and productions. Maureen Ryan, Co-Producer, Academy Award(TM)-winning film, MAN ON WIRE

Budgeting and scheduling are easy in principle but hard in practice. The successful producer has a solid plan for juggling dozens of activities and costs while retaining the flexibility to cope with those inevitable last-minute changes and stay on course. Preplanning the budget and schedule of any media project is absolutely essential, and the 2nd edition of Scheduling and Budgeting Your Film: A Panic-Free Guide shows you the intricacies of handling both budgeting and scheduling successfully. This new and updated edition explains the fundamentals of line producing in an easy-to-understand style, and includes tips and techniques that apply no matter what kind of scheduling or budgeting software you’re using. Author Paula Landry includes detailed examples of breakdown forms, organizing resources, distribution expenses, and hidden costs, and discusses how to set realistic priorities and find industry and state tax incentives. The new edition also includes discussions of transmedia and multi-purpose shooting, special considerations for VR, 4K and 3D shooting, new web platforms and mobile technology, crowd funding, film festivals, and much more. Each chapter is filled with handy checklists, tips, practical advice, and anecdotes, showing how scheduling and budgeting are done in the real world; Principles apply to any type of media project: film, video, music video, projects hosted online, and corporate and educational videos; An accompanying eResources page offers downloadable forms and templates, and other essential resources.

This essential handbook for beginning and professional video and filmmakers has now been updated to include sample budgets for indie features, documentaries, music videos, student projects, plus revised budgets for today's digital production.

This guidebook is intended to help both the novice and the experienced producer to create and fine-tune their budgets. Based on the top budgeting software packages, Movie Magic and EP Budgeting, this book takes the reader through each line item in the budgeting software and describes the background for that item, how it fits into the overall production, and any issues or pitfalls that may arise from it. This book is a useful reference for independent filmmakers who depend on accurate, easy-to-understand budgeting methods to seek funding for their projects.

Applicable to any size film project, from major feature films and movies for television to industrial films and smaller projects, veteran film producer Ralph Singleton instructs readers on how to convert a production schedule into a detailed production budget.

First Published in 2012. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The success of low-budget independent films like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity have clearly demonstrated that successful movies can be made with very small budgets. Still, working on a tight budget requires both skill and ingenuity, and is an inevitable and continuous learning experience for the filmmaker. Join two dozen truly independent filmmakers--those used to working, and delivering, within extreme limitations--as they bluntly chronicle their experiences creating features "from the trenches." They cover the major stages of the filmmaking process, from financing, technical decisions, and handling actors and crew to music, production, and distribution. With loads of practical advice, actual case studies, and many behind-the-scenes photographs, this collection of war stories from the micro-budget front lines will benefit aspiring and experienced independent filmmakers alike.