Film Budget: Official blog of Filmbudget.com and Producer Jack Binder. Info on film budgets, movie production, film tax incentives and television budgeting.
Posted: August 31st, 2011 | Author: Film Budget | Filed under: film budget, movie budget | Tags: film budget, indie film budget, tiff, toronto, toronto international film festival | No Comments »
The Toronto International Film Festival
In its 36th annual celebration of cinema The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) returns with a flourish of celebrity appearances and film premieres. TIFF remains one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, focusing the motion picture industry on quality movie productions, both those with an indie film budget and high brow studio motion pictures.
When: September 8 – September 18, 2011
Where: Maps and Locations
“Toronto” as it is more commonly referred to in the inner circles of film industry executives, producers, directors, writers and cinema stars has become a critical destination for filmmakers presenting their pictures and likewise promoting new films in development and production. The festival has become more of a film market in a way as it comes right after Labor Day and kicks off the fall film festival and film market season.
Films playing at Toronto are increasingly seen as important films and the festival provides a high profile to its cast, director and production company. Many foreign sales deals are executed with acquisitions at Toronto tending to be a bell-weather of the state of the film production and distribution international economy. Both overseas and domestic rights deals are consistently undertaken at the festival.
Talent planning on attending this year include: George Clooney, U2, Brad Pitt, Salma Hayek, James Franco, Werner Herzog and Adrian Brody amonst others. Following the addition of seven world premiers to its billings the festival will present 336 films, 268 features from 65 countries, a substantial increase from the previous year.
This year portends to be a banner year for TIFF with a stellar line-up of film, eager actors and directors and a seemingly hungry market ready for quality film acquisition. As a North American film festival with an increasingly more European sensibility, TIFF seems to support those filmmakers whom understand the artistry of motion pictures with a more modest film budget and a high quality story with an auteur point of view
Filmbudget.com
Posted: August 24th, 2011 | Author: Film Budget | Filed under: film budget, indie film budget and schedule | Tags: budget, budgeting, film budget, indie film, indie film budget, indie film budget and schedule, movie budget, studio film budget | No Comments »
When creating a film budget and schedule production services package for film producers, writers and directors it is important to know whom your end user is going to be. General formatting of a film budget varies from studio to studio and between production companies.
While there is some standardization in accounts used by the various production companies, with each having there own chart of accounts, they likewise each have their own way of outlining and detailing the accounts and categories that make up a film budget and shooting schedule. When it comes to indie film budget and schedule creation the field is much wider as are the options and possibilities for style, standards and formats.
A quality indie film budget and schedule has all of the basic elements of a major Hollywood studio movie budget, yet with somewhat more detail and some elements that are not required by a studio film budget set of documents. For example, an indie film budget will almost always have a completion bond as part of its bottom line expenses. A completion bond can be thought of as somewhat like an insurance policy, for the investors. The bond as it’s known as protects the film financier from overages and the possibility that a film cannot be completed. The completion bond company charges a fee and will interject itself and its professionals into the production process to ensure a film production is completed according to its indie film budget and schedule as layed out in pre-production film budgeting process.
A major Hollywood studio film budget on the other hand will generally not have a completion bond expense included due to the fact that a deep pocketed film production studio can insure itself against such calamities. This is done with management control over the production, proper oversight and a realistic approach to studio film budgeting which may be absent in the much larger and far reaching indie film budget universe. Similarly whereas an indie film budget and schedule may not contain a large overhead charge from the production company, a studio film budget will almost certainly carry a large overhead charge against the overall film budget perhaps as high as 10-15% of the budget. This charge not only helps offset overages in productions under their supervision, it also helps defray office, facilities, executive travel and other business expenses by recouping them from the movie budgets of their film productions.
Due to the above elements and the very nature of indie film budgeting and scheduling, the common fact is that these film budgets are lower in general. While not carrying the overhead expense, indie films also can shoot for less, do more with less and obtain more favorable rates across the board because they are not taking on such massive financial expenditures like the majors.
Indie film budget and schedule expert
Posted: August 9th, 2011 | Author: Film Budget | Filed under: film budget | Tags: budget, California, cgi, film, film budget, line producer, los angeles, movie, production services, VFX, visual effects | No Comments »
List of 12 Los Angeles VFX Facilities – Film Budget – Line Producer – Film Production Services
We decided to assemble a list of 12 leading VFX facilities in Los Angeles in the face of the turmoil in the CGI industry. Due to competition and increased pressure on the film budget of most motion picture productions, companies have had to outsource and cut rates extensively.
In the face of the visual effects industry contraction and mounting challenges to the current economic model, we are glad to see these companies maintain their California based roots. We hope they continue to employ local filmmakers and artists in the field of computer generated imagery, animation and vfx work.
Eden FX
1438 N. Gower Street Building 50 & 16, Box 19, Hollywood, California
(323) 993-7050 · edenfx.com
S4 Studios LLC
5657 Wilshire Blvd #290, Los Angeles, CA
(323) 937-2100 · s4studios.com
Prime Focus Global Integration
1800 Vine St # 100, Los Angeles, CA
(323) 461-7887 http://www.primefocusworld.com/
Point360 West
12421 West Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
(310) 481-7000 · west.point360.com
Scanline VFX La Inc
12910 Culver Blvd # C, Los Angeles, CA
(310) 827-1555 · scanlinevfx.com
Rhythm & Hues Studios
2100 E Grand Ave, El Segundo, CA
(310) 448-7500 · rhythm.com
yU+co
941 North Mansfield Avenue, Los Angeles, CA
(323) 606-5050 · yuco.com
Steele VFX
5737 Mesmer Avenue, Culver City, CA
(310) 656-7770 · steelevfx.com
Look Effects, Inc.
Suite F, 12910 Culver Boulevard, Culver City, CA
(323) 469-4230 · lookfx.com
Zoic Studios
3582 Eastham Drive, Culver City, CA
(310) 838-0770 · zoicstudios.com
ICO VFX
727 South Main Street, Burbank, CA
(818) 531-7200 · icovfx.com
New Deal Studios
4105 Redwood Avenue, Los Angeles, CA
(310) 578-9929 · newdealstudios.com
These visual effects companies work on a wide range of movie productions with both large film budgets and those with a more modest indie film budget supporting their vision. A good visual effects team can contour a proposal for any size move and offer a wide range of visual effects imagery.
