Save your Money — the cost of making a short film

On average, I’ve found that the cost of making a short film is around $500 — $1,000 per minute of completed film. It takes about an hour to film one page of script (if it’s at one location). For an eight page script, you would need at least one day to film it and if there are multiple locations that can add additional days. For this example though, let’s say it’s eight pages, one location. You need a cast (say four actors for $125 each), a Director of Photography ($250), a Location Sound Recordist ($500), a Make-up Artist ($350 + $75 kit fee), a Director ($500), a 1st Assistant Director ($200), a Production Manager ($200), a Gaffer ($500), a Grip ($250), and camera & lighting equipment ($1000 rental). Then there is food, insurance, etc. This is a rough estimate and you may find a lot of variance in the costs depending on the crew person’s experience. The point is that one day of filming is very expensive.

One thing that we do to keep costs down is offer deferred payments. If the film makes money, we will be able to pay the fees listed in the agreement.

We tend to work with people who are starting out, looking to build their reel, or looking for experience. Also, I take on quite a few roles. I write most of the scripts, line produce, direct, director of Photography, Production Assistant, location sound, DIT, edit, and do color…