Work out film production budget instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
Shoot cost is days times the daily rate, post production is a percentage of that, and contingency is applied to the combined subtotal rather than to the shoot alone. Shooting days are the single biggest lever in a budget, which is why schedule compression is the first thing producers attack when a film is over budget.
Shoot cost
shoot = shooting days x cost per day
Total
total = (shoot + post) x (1 + contingency)
shoot = shooting days x cost per day. Shoot cost is days times the daily rate, post production is a percentage of that, and contingency is applied to the combined subtotal rather than to the shoot alone.
Shooting days are the single biggest lever in a budget, which is why schedule compression is the first thing producers attack when a film is over budget.
Enter shooting days, cost per shooting day, post production as % of shoot cost, contingency. The defaults shown are a realistic worked example — swap in your own figures to get a result you can use.