PROTECTING YOUR BUDGET

No matter how generous your budget is, it often feels like there's never enough money to do everything you want done. Isn't that true? However, there are certain things you can keep in mind to minimize budget pitfalls and work smarter with the budget you were given. Let's dive into this and discuss some common blind spots that can bleed your budget.

(1) UNCLEAR VISION

We all can agree that having an approved storyboard before the shoot is one of the essentials we should never ignore. However, what we often don't take into account is how exactly each participant in the creative process envisions each shot. I am talking about the unique 'movie' that's playing in everybody's head when they think of a specific shot — that 'movie' will never be the same for each person due to the nature of imagination. So, this is where unexpected issues can come up.

Example:

Back in the days when I was starting my career as an assistant producer, I once worked on a project with the agency creative director, who got really obsessed with the way one of the shots was coming along. In order to satisfy the 'movie' that was playing in his head, the production company was forced to run into a 27-hour shift (no exaggerations here). He just didn't want to let it go, AND the client (brand) didn't stop him. As a result, the client had a tough choice to make: compromise on the quality of other shots and stay within the budget OR pick up the bill.

How to avoid such situations:

• Consider putting together an animatic or, even better, a previs. Previs requires additional time and budget (we can discuss it in detail another time). However, it will take away guessing or experimenting on set by locking the shots to be shot a certain way.
• If you don't have extra time/budget for a previs, but it's still a big deal for you to get certain shots a certain way, let everybody know and share your EXACT vision beforehand. Establish clear parameters for what success looks like for each of the shots early in the project. In my example above, the creative director did not establish a clear vision of how EXACTLY the shot should look, which caused an issue on set.
• If you are interested in experimenting on set, you can always ask to schedule a test day prior to the shoot, which will be exponentially cheaper due to several reasons (smaller crew size, different location, etc.) vs. experimenting on a shoot day.
• If you don't mind running into longer shifts to figure everything out, find out in advance how much it will cost you. Seeing that number might be enough to change your mind about the approach you're considering.

(2) ALLOWING NON-BUDGET HOLDERS TO DECIDE SPENDING

Sometimes, the budget holders allow others who aren't directly responsible for budget management to decide how to spend the allocated funds. People who don't work with budgets on a regular basis tend not to respect the money that your team/company worked so hard to make and secure for your project. This often occurs when creatives have a vision but don't fully understand how budgets work, so they inadvertently sabotage it due to lack of understanding.

Example:

My VFX team once worked with a production company whose producer took a hands-off approach to managing the director. The producer just mixed everybody in one email and delegated to the director to do as he deemed fit. The director ran through the budget quickly by constantly changing his mind, requesting new versions of everything he wanted, and even overhauled his creative approach in the middle of the project. As a result, the production company needed to spend more to keep the project going.

How to avoid such situations:

• Clearly define boundaries and responsibilities within your team. Ensure that only those responsible for budget management make financial decisions.
• Know when to stop your creative team or director from draining the budget.
• Try educating those not directly involved in budget management about the financial limits and the importance of staying within them.
• Avoid combining creative and budgetary decisions in one email chain. By keeping the conversations separate, you can source the vision from the creative team and then cross-reference the feasibility separately with the producer team. There is a reason why creatives and budgetary managers butt heads — it establishes a healthy middle ground.

(3) CHOOSING AN APPROACH: IN-CAMERA VS. VFX

Another blind spot is understanding what's best to be done in-camera versus what's more cost-effective to handle in post-production. The only way to find out is to budget properly for each scenario. After that, you can look at the pros and cons of each approach and decide what's more cost-effective and quality-friendly in your specific case.

Example:

There are endless examples of this, but let me give you a very simple one. I once worked on a project with a creative director who wanted to shoot everything in-camera (one of those "no VFX" guys). One of the shots was a special effects shot: we were dropping an ice cube into the glass with a beverage, and the ice cube was supposed to crack a certain way. The creative director spent several hours trying to get it cracked the way he wanted and overran the budget significantly. As you understand, it could've been cracked perfectly in VFX the first time around with a much smaller budget.

How to avoid such situations:

• Budgeting different options is key so you can compare in-camera vs. VFX approaches.
• Assess the unique needs and constraints of your project. Consider the script, the quality, cost-effectiveness, and logistical practicality of each approach.
• If you opt for in-camera shooting, ensure the team understands and can effectively handle the technical challenges it presents. Plan and prepare rigorously for such shoots, so that you can capture the intended shot as early as possible.

In closing, being aware of these blind spots and incorporating the suggested solutions can help ensure your project stays on track and delivers quality results without draining your budget. Remember, it's not about sacrificing creativity, but rather, it's about maximizing the value of your budget.