Film budgeting

posted by Jeff | Sunday, December 11, 2005, 1:49 AM | comments: 6

I sketched out a budget for the film I'd like to make. I've arrived at a total somewhere between $12k and $15k, depending on a few variables, and that does include four paid actors, assuming I can shoot in seven days and recruit friends for everything else. It also includes a DP, because I'd like to have someone that has actually been on a set before and owns a light meter to help me out there. (If you're reading this, Frank, you could do it!)

I could raise that cash working two to three months, no problem. I also intend to buy equipment, not rent it. The real question is whether I buy the camera this month, and thus write off the expense for tax purposes, or wait until next year. The toughest part of that is I don't know if I could get one anyway, because I suspect they'll be in short supply when they finally start to ship in about a week and a half.

I have some ideas sketched out for screenplays that I need to flesh out a bit, and if I get really ambitious, maybe I'll write more than one. Third Time, my first screenplay, needs a huge rewrite or three, and frankly it's too auto-biographical and not creative enough.

So why the hell would I endeavor to do any of this? Well, mostly to say that I did. I doubt it would ever make any money, and really that's OK. But at least by shooting it in HD there's the potential for a film blow-up if by some chance it did get noticed. Otherwise, it's all about Internet distribution, and that's good enough for me to get it in front of people.


Comments

Anonymous

December 15, 2005, 8:38 PM #

So you are willing to blow $15,000 on a film that no one will watch and you wont make the money back on, yet you complain because you are at a lack of money for hosting and are raising the Club rates on CoasterBuzz. Hmm... seems hypocritical, no?

Jeff

December 15, 2005, 10:33 PM #

I don't think it's your place to judge what is important to me.

Anonymous

December 17, 2005, 6:45 PM #

First of all, I didn't mention anything about what was important to you. Just stop bitching that you don't have money when you are willingly going to, essentially, throw away $15,000. I'm sick of your crying on websites saying you don't have the money and using that excuse to raise prices when you clearly have the money, just want more to waste on pointless shit.

Jeff

December 18, 2005, 11:00 PM #

Bite me. My sites are a business, stupid. If you don't know the difference, that's too bad. I don't have to listen to this from some moron that doesn't even have the balls to use their real name. If you don't like my sites, STOP VISITING THEM. Don't be a tool.

Anonymous

December 19, 2005, 9:07 PM #

Well, if they are a business, you are a pretty bad businessman. UberASP does not get viewership, nor does VolleyBuzz, WirelessScout (good choice with 3 S's in a row there, by the way), and Search For Xbox. CoasterBuzz was only successful due to the time it was put out and the internet was new. Get over it, you will never hit it good like that again. Whoever is dumb enough to buy a blog here is retarded. Only idiots would pay to have something that they could get free at Xanga, LiveJournal, DeadJournal, or even MySpace. You are the tool.

Jeff

December 19, 2005, 11:08 PM #

Dude, you don't know anything about what I make from my sites, or even my motivation for doing them. uberASP.NET does a thousand users a day and pays for my MSDN subscription. WirelessScout isn't even a real site, stupid, it's an example site for the free content app I put out there. SearchForXbox already made enough money to pay for said Xbox. And as for this site, it would've been made even if no one used it, because it was for me.

Go back to your little anonymous hole. This "bad businessman" doesn't have to go to a day job unless I choose to. You're a pretty big man (or little girl) for trying to call me out, but usually the people most critical of others are people who don't have the balls to go out and do anything right for themselves.

What's your name? Get a spine.


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