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IndieBudgetBuddy 2.0
Production Budget Estimation Worksheet
Estimate budgets for 35mm Film, 16mm Film, High and Standard-Definition Video Productions
WHAT IS IT?
IndieBudgetBuddy
is a Worksheet for Microsoft Excel and OpenOffice Calc which allows you
to estimate a potential budget for a short or feature-length film,
music video, commercial, or any other production that requires renting
equipment and paying a cast and crew.
What makes IndieBudgetBuddy unique from most professional budgeting programs is that it allows you to simultaneously estimate up to 5 different budgets based on possible shooting formats - 35mm film, 16mm film, HD video, and SD video, along with different variables for each format such as lenses, post workflow, cast/crew, etc.
IndieBudgetBuddy has a wide variety of common equipment choices for cameras, lenses, grip equipment, post-production, and more, all with current average day rates for rental.
And best of all, it's fully customizable. If you have other equipment or prices that you want to use for your budget, just enter that information in place of the template prices, and IndieBudgetBuddy will automatically recalculate using the new rates.
FUTURE
UPDATESWhat makes IndieBudgetBuddy unique from most professional budgeting programs is that it allows you to simultaneously estimate up to 5 different budgets based on possible shooting formats - 35mm film, 16mm film, HD video, and SD video, along with different variables for each format such as lenses, post workflow, cast/crew, etc.
IndieBudgetBuddy has a wide variety of common equipment choices for cameras, lenses, grip equipment, post-production, and more, all with current average day rates for rental.
And best of all, it's fully customizable. If you have other equipment or prices that you want to use for your budget, just enter that information in place of the template prices, and IndieBudgetBuddy will automatically recalculate using the new rates.
Version 2.0 of IndieBudgetBuddy may likely be the last revision for several years. There are just too many other things that I must put my time into. You can feel free to subscribe to the IndieBudgetBuddy mailing list in case a new update is posted, but don't be surprised if it takes 2 years or more for a new revision of prices and equipment.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Enter the
number of days you expect to be shooting
your film in the Production Days box, and, if you like, and alternate
production
length in the Prod. Days Alt box. Example: If your shooting schedule is
30 days on film, enter 15 days in the Prod. Days Alt. box to see how
things
work out on a tighter schedule.
IndieBudgetBuddy
already includes a plethora of day rates
and other costs that I already knew, which may be different in your
area.
If you know that film processing in your area will only cost 17 cents
per
foot instead of 19 cents, then feel free to enter that price. If you
don't
know, you can leave the rates at the default.
2. In the Yellow
boxes, enter any and all information
that you know, or guesstimate, and lo-and-behold, IndieBudgetBuddy will
give you complete estimates for your movie, with all the contingency
you
can handle.It's easy, safe, low-fat, and best of all, absolutely free.
That's just the kind of jerk I am.
THE FILM AND
TAPE CALCULATORThis is the
feature of IndieBudgetBuddy that people seem
to like the most.
Located on the
third "Sheet" of the IndieBudgetBuddy Excel
document is the Film and Tape Calculator. Simply enter the estimated
length
of your film, your anticipated shooting ratio, the approximate
percentage
of your film that takes place in Daylight (or 5600K) lighting, your
"Tape
Contingency" (the number of extra videotapes you'd like to buy
over-and-above
what is calculated) and, if you're using the Panasonic SDX900 as your
SD
option, whether you will be shooting in DVCPro25 or DVCPro50 mode.
The Film and Tape Calculator will instantly give an approximation of how many feet of 16mm and 35mm Daylight and Tungsten-Balanced raw stock you will need, the number of HDCam, DVCPro, and MiniDV tapes you will need to buy, plus the approximate number of feet your finished film will be (if your edit goes according to plan, of course), and will automatically update those values in the main IndieBudgetBuddy worksheet to calculate the cost of stock purchase, development, transfer, negative cutting, interpositive printing, release prints, etc.
The Film and Tape Calculator will instantly give an approximation of how many feet of 16mm and 35mm Daylight and Tungsten-Balanced raw stock you will need, the number of HDCam, DVCPro, and MiniDV tapes you will need to buy, plus the approximate number of feet your finished film will be (if your edit goes according to plan, of course), and will automatically update those values in the main IndieBudgetBuddy worksheet to calculate the cost of stock purchase, development, transfer, negative cutting, interpositive printing, release prints, etc.
NEW FEATURES
As you can see,
we've jumped from the previous 1.6 release
straight to 2.0. There's so many cool, new features, we just had to
bump
it up a notch or four.
Alt.
Anything! -The
old Alt. SD column is now the Alt. Anything column! So now, instead of
being stuck using the SD values on an alternate schedule, you can
choose
Alt. 35mm, Alt. 16mm, Alt. HD, or Alt. SD! Plus, there's lots more
options
and functionality, which allows you to estimate your alternate budget
using
any camera, lens combo, etc.
Set Specs! -
At
the top of the Excel document, you will now notice the Set
Specifications
section. Using this feature, you can enable or disable any section of
the
worksheet. Say you want to estimate a budget using Film only, and
without
any self distribution options. Just turn off the HD, SD, and
Distribution
sections, and *poof* they're gone! This feature will hide those
sections
and disregard their values without permanently deleting them.
New
Promotion Section -Now
you can estimate the cost of posters, postcards, screeners, film
festival
submission fees, EPK's, T-shirts, and other promotion items!
3-Day Week -
Many
rental houses offer what's called a 3-Day Week, meaning if you rent
equipment
for a full 5-day week, they'll only charge you for 3-days of use.
IndieBudgetBuddy
now takes that option into account. The 3-Day Week option can also be
enabled
and disabled in the Set Specs section.
More
Pre-Production options
- The newly-expanded Pre-Production section features many
more options for estimating meeting and rehersal space rental, location
scouting expenses, and pre-production craft service.
Film &
Tape Calculator
- Our ever-popular Film Calculator
is now the Film & Tape Calculator. It will estimate the amount of
tape
stock needed according to your chosen shooting ratio, and will
automatically
update those amounts in the main IndieBudgetBuddy worksheet. It'll even
take into account whether you're using the SDX900 in DVCPro25 or
DVCPro50
mode!
Help is on
the Way! -A
comprehensive online help system is currently in the works to help you
get the most out of your IndieBudgetBuddy experience! Sign up for the
rarely-used
Mailing List below to be notified when it's ready!
NOTES ON MACROS
Some of the new
functions in IndieBudgetBuddy 2.0 are
done through the use of Macros. Some Macros for Microsoft Word and
Excel,
in rare cases, have been used to expose viruses to unprotected systems.
Though I personally can say that the Macros used in IndieBudgetBuddy
are
safe, some people may be hesitant to use it. With that in mind, the
Macro-Free
IndieBudgetBuddy 1.6 will continue to be available via this website,
though
it will no longer be updated for pricing or functionality changes.
Due to the
extreme differences in Microsoft Excel versions,
many of the Macro functions in version 2.0 will simply not function in
Excel versions prior to Excel 2000. So, IndieBudgetBuddy 2.0 will only
be available for Excel 2000. I apologize for this inconvenience.
NOTES ON HD CAMERAS
At this time, the
IndieBudegtBuddy worksheet uses two
options for HD aquisition: the Sony HDW-F900 CineAlta, and the
Panasonic
AJ-HDC27F VariCam. These two cameras have notable differences that make
it necessary to include both of them.
1) The Sony
CineAlta shoots HD video with 1080 lines of
resolution. The Panasonic VariCam shoots HD video at 720 lines of
resolution.
Both of these formats are viewable on any HD monitor. However, if a
blow-up
to film is anticipated, the Sony CineAlta will offer more resolution
and
a more crisp picture. However, the gamma curves in the CineAlta are
less
robust than the VariCam, which causes the CineAlta's image highlights
to
exhibit a strange "glowing," and also can show excessive grain in blues
and blacks, especially if you'll be pushing the exposure in post.
2) The VariCam is
unique in that it can shoot any frame
rate from 4 - 60fps. The Sony is limited to 60i and 24p. Though the
VariCam
is lower in resolution than the CineAlta, the VariCam's gamma
selections
allow it to exhibit a more "film-like" image and dynamic range than the
CineAlta.
These cameras
have their strengths and weaknesses, and
are both excellent choices, so the decision is ultimately up to the
filmmaker.
Sony's new
upgraded version of the F900, the HDW-F950,
is not included at this time simply because I can't find rental rates
for
it.
Some people may
complain that IndieBudgetBuddy does not
offer options for some of the newer, low-cost cameras such as the
various HDV and AVCHD cameras, the Panasonic HVX-200, and, most
notably, the RED ONE. This is simply because I haven't had time to make
new changes yet, and may not ever have the time. So, if you want to use
any of these newer cameras, simply find rental rates online and change
one or more of the existing camera options to suit your needs.
Animated
characters appearing in images
and video on BirdlingBrains.com were modeled and rigged by, and are
protected holdings of, their respective copyright owners, including AnimationMentor.com
and Pegbar
Productions.
All content on BirdlingBrains.com, including images, video, text, and audio, including content created as assignments for AnimationMentor.com, also including content bearing the Birdling Brains name or logo hosted on any other domains such as YouTube.com and Vimeo.com, is Copyright 2000-2009 Birdling Brains, LLC unless otherwise specified. All Rights Reserved.
Content presented within this website is for informational viewing and for the purposes of finding myself an animation job. Any unauthorized downloading, third party use, or outright stealing of this content is strictly prohibited, and is just plain evil. It's also a great way to get yourself blacklisted in this industry. I worked really hard on this, so please don't steal!
All content on BirdlingBrains.com, including images, video, text, and audio, including content created as assignments for AnimationMentor.com, also including content bearing the Birdling Brains name or logo hosted on any other domains such as YouTube.com and Vimeo.com, is Copyright 2000-2009 Birdling Brains, LLC unless otherwise specified. All Rights Reserved.
Content presented within this website is for informational viewing and for the purposes of finding myself an animation job. Any unauthorized downloading, third party use, or outright stealing of this content is strictly prohibited, and is just plain evil. It's also a great way to get yourself blacklisted in this industry. I worked really hard on this, so please don't steal!
