Budgeting & Scheduling Package – $1500
How many days do you need to shoot your film?
Part Science
The first thing to do when scheduling a film is to go through the script scene by scene and take note of every location, set, actor, major props, SFX and VFX needs. Once these items have been noted, they must be entered into the breakdown sheets.
The breakdown sheets provide a quick reference of the major elements needed for that particular scene. At the beginning stages, these sheets will have a lot of missing information. However, as you engage a Line Producer and get closer to production, these breakdown sheets should detail everything possibly needed in order to shoot the scene.
This must be done for every shot/slug line in the script and must include location, time of day and an accurate page count based upon 1/8ths of a page. For example, half of a page of script would be accounted for as 4/8ths of a page.
These bits of information are extremely important for the next step – Stripboarding.
Part Art (Stripboarding)
Days can be found or wasted during this phase of scheduling. It is very important to group scenes shot at the same location. This one location can be the home of several sets (such as a sound stage). Any company move is time consuming and therefore expensive.
Another major consideration is time of day. There are many union regulations on turn-around times for both cast and crew. You will run into problems if you shoot all night on day 1 and then try to shoot day scenes the next morning. This is a good way to get cranky cast and crew in addition to stiff financial penalties. Ideally, you schedule “splits” that involve a day portion that leads into a night portion. These splits save sanity and provide for a pleasant work environment. Of course, they are not always possible, but any overnight shoots should be grouped together and end on a weekend or other long turn-around period.
Lastly, you want to group your schedule according to doable page counts. Most independent films will find themselves needing to shoot 5 pages a day. While that may not seem like too much, compare this to a typical Studio shoot day of 1 to 1 1/2 pages. You will have to move quickly and have all of your ducks in a row to make each of your shoot days.
