As a filmmaker, knowing what expenses you may incur along your production process; can financially prepare you for any emergencies you may have. Overlooking these costs can affect your cast, crew, and your overall production. Do you know that these costs have just the same amount of importance as costs directly related to your video production? If you didn’t know, we have a list of the 6 lesser-known video production costs you should be aware of.
Just about everyone knows that video production is expensive. Of course, there is a huge range, from Hollywood movies with hundreds of millions of dollars to indie films with just several thousand or even hundred dollars. But no matter what it is, a high-quality production’s expenses will add up fast. For brand new filmmakers, it can be overwhelming when unexpected expenses grind their production to a screeching halt. We’re here to help you learn some of those lesser-known video production costs.
1. Food Costs. It may seem simple that people need to eat, but food costs for the cast and crew are very often overlooked. Especially for shoots that may take all day and be physically demanding, the cost of food can take up a substantial part of a production’s budget. People should get breaks to eat every few hours so everyone is able to work to their full potential.
2. Transportation. Transportation may be almost a non-factor for a skeleton crew with little equipment. But if you have a fair amount of people and equipment, transportation will not just take up time, but money as well. You may even have to get rental vehicles or trailers to transport equipment from set to set.
3. Post-Production. If you edit your production yourself, post costs will be virtually non-existent. But if you don’t edit it yourself, you’ll need to hire an editor. If you want special effects, you’ll need to hire someone for that. You may also have to hire other people that specialize in areas such as audio editing and colour grading.
4. Re-Shoots. Sometimes in the process of post-production, you find a continuity error, or don’t like how a line was delivered, or something along those lines. If that happens, you may decide you want to re-shoot a shot, multiple shots, or even whole scenes. This means hiring the cast and crew needed for the re-shoot, as well as acquiring the necessary shooting location and equipment.
5. Marketing. Of course you want people to see your production after it’s finally completed. But if you aren’t well known, or even if you are, you’ll have to make sure people know about your production. This will require marketing it. For smaller indie films, marketing consists largely of word-of-mouth marketing, but for Hollywood movies, marketing costs often match that of the actual production costs.
6. Copyright. While it’s not exactly the most fun part of production, establishing a copyright for you film is crucial to protect it from people stealing it and using it for their own profit. Perhaps the most infamous example of a movie without copyright is Night of the Living Dead. George Romero’s classic zombie flick didn’t hold a copyright for decades, and so showed up in countless other movies. It’s very important to make sure the same doesn’t happen to your production.