Lesson 9 Assignments

[Beth Bonness]

Subject line: Beth Bonness’ Budget

What I learned doing this assignment is…using this checklist is a great way to identify obvious places to trim and expand.

MAIN VARIABLES

LOCATIONS: private lodge/large residence

Small Budget: small bed & breakfast on the coast that looks secluded

Quadrupled Budget: lodge on secluded island in Canada

CHARACTERS

Small Budget: reduce by a couple – could also reduce pages, tighten scenes

SPECIAL SETS: library with hidden door/room with thought vials

Small Budget: could use simple glass vials and simple panel which exposes hidden room

Quadrupled Budget: elaborate hidden library with intricate antique looking vials

SECONDARY VARIABLES

SONGS: suspenseful music

Quadrupled Budget: kickass thriller film score

WEATHER: epic storm

Small Budget: film after the storm or stock footage

Quadrupled Budget: film trees falling, power lines out

NIGHT TIME: some shots outside the lodge at night

Small Budget: reduce number of shots or keep inside

Quadrupled Budget: shots at night around the lodge estate

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by  Beth Bonness.

[Paige Macdonald]

Paige’s Budget

What I’ve learned is I’m in control of how these scenes can look – how small or how big. It’s only limited by my imagination and the needs of the production.

By the way, I come from a background of being a film production manager on over 150 sets, so I know what things and crews cost very, very well.

1. Run through this list and tell us how many ways you might be able decrease the budget for your project if that was required. (Cut costs by 25%).

MAIN VARIABLES

• Number of
  Locations – It’s one location overall, a stage set with green screen for
  the interior of the spaceship. I
  could contain all the action in just 1 or 2 rooms for budgeting.
• Expensive
  locations – Well, I could rewrite this whole idea to not be in a spaceship
  that would require the green screen and write in a single 1 or two room
  Earth-environment, like a bunker or remote lab.
• Number of characters
  – I’m down to 2 as it is. Pretty
  good there.
• Special
  effects – Could be rewritten and taken down a notch, but that is the cool
  stuff of this story. It’s the
  computer.
• Number of
  pages – I’m shooting for 90 pages first outing.
• Crowd scenes
  – NONE!
• Stunts, Chase scenes, and Fight scenes – Other than my main character taking an axe
  to the AI supercomputer, there are no fight scenes, chases. Shaking ship in turbulence is all.
• Special sets
  – It’s a controlled stage set, which actually is a controlled environment
  for shooting. You don’t have weather
  or lighting variables.

SECONDARY VARIABLES

• Rights to
  music, brands, books, etc. – Music composed by up-and-comer. No book rights needed.
• Explosions
  and Firearm – Minimal with the destruction of the computer and with the spaceship
  under pressure.
• Kids – shorter
  workdays, tutor on the set – NONE!
• Animals – need
  a wrangler, more time to shoot, Humane Society – NONE!
• Weather – Rain,
  snow, wind, tornados. – NONE!
• Water and
  underwater scenes – NONE!
• Night scenes
  – Controlled stage lighting at all times.
  Helicopters,
  aircraft, drone shots – NONE!
• Green screen
  work – Yes. Notes under main variables above.
• Extensive
  Make-up – Nope.
• Archival
  Footage – Nope.
• Anything
  else dangerous that increases preparation time and/or Insurance. – Nothing
  exceptional here.

2. Then go through the list and tell us what you might add if your budget was quadrupled.

MAIN VARIABLES

• Star Talent –
  This would be the #1 thing that would or could quadruple the budget, if an
  A-list actress was inspired to play the role.
• Number of
  Locations – Could do exterior and interior space shots/scenes. Maybe even a command post on Earth or
  the mining colony on Europa. Is it
  really necessary for this story? I
  don’t think so.
• Expensive
  locations – More elaborate CGI. Encompass
  the larger ship.
• Number of characters
  – Could I add more characters to have mine interact with? Absolutely. Not my intent here though. Only if asked to do so.
• Special
  effects – Could be amplified if asked.
• Number of
  pages – Could increase if there were more characters.
• Crowd scenes
  – Not for this story.
• Stunts,
  Chase scenes, and Fight scenes – Fight scene or stunts if there were more
  characters; not needed in my intended version.
• Special sets
  – It’s a stage set. Could be
  larger, more grandiose.

SECONDARY VARIABLES

• Rights to
  music, brands, books, etc. – Prime composer for music.
• Explosions
  and Firearm – A few explosions could be added for effect.
• Kids – shorter
  workdays, tutor on the set – Not in this story. Not about kids in space.
• Animals – need
  a wrangler, more time to shoot, Humane Society – I don’t want too many
  references to Alien. No animals
  here.
• Weather – Rain,
  snow, wind, tornados. – Still no.
• Water and
  underwater scenes – Still no. Unless
  there’s a reason to show the mining colony on Jupiter’s moon, Europa,
  which is suspected to be a liquid environment.
• Night scenes
  – Stage set.
  Helicopters,
  aircraft, drone shots – Could be incorporated into Earth’s command post or
  mining colony.
• Green screen
  work – Yes, and more elaborate.
• Extensive
  Make-up – No, really not extensive in any version.
• Archival
  Footage – No.
• Anything
  else dangerous that increases preparation time and/or Insurance. – Not this
  story

[Gabriel Oliva]

Gabriel’s Brudget

What I learned from this assignment was that the budget can go up or down, but the hook of the story still remains.

To bring down the budget:

-Shoot only in one room of the retirement home

-Only have 3 or 4 vampires as opposed to 10-15.

-Minimal fight sequences. Keep it very realistic and awkward a la Pineapple Express.

To increase the budget:

-Use the entire retirement home: corridors, rooms, reception, basement, roof, backyard.

-Have several humans trapped, not just the main couple. Also bring in a horde of vampires, 30-40.

-When killed, vampires could erupt into flame, explode in a puddle of blood. The humans that are killed can also have more gruesome deaths.

-More choreographed fight scenes. Stunt fighters can be in full body suits to act as old people.

-Use popular music in a diegetic AND non-diegetic format. Sync up fight sequences to these songs.

-Use guns when fighting vampires.

-Have it rain outside.

-Extensive practical make-up for vampires.

[Gayle Jackson]

Gayle Jackson’s Budget

What I learned doing this assignment is budget is a consideration for most producers and managers working on spec sales. Every bit of action, costuming, special effect or anything short of filming actors on a bare stage costs money needs to be considered.

MY CONTAINED SCREENPLAY

Main Variables

Locations – 1 haunted house set; potential cutaway shots – bookstore, street, auditorium, hotel room

Characters – 4 human, 5 ghosts

Special Effects – tons

Fight Scenes – 1 finale battle

Special Sets – A rigged basement with trap doors

Secondary Variables

Green Screen

Extensive Make-up

Base – 95 pages @$5 mil; quadrupled – add more special effects, green screen, make-up, actors, a crowd scene and outdoor locations

[Deanne]

LESSON 9 Keep It Low Budget

Deanne’s Budget

What I learned = it’s a lot more fun to add costs than to cut them out. It’s easy to fall into clichés with both approaches. Some big expenses are easy to avoid, others need some creative thinking.

1. Decreasing the Costs

MAIN VARIABLES

Number of Locations = Have lead get information via email/text/phone rather than face-to-face meetings with boss, banker, lawyer, etc. Create sidekick we never meet because she’s in a different state. Lead confides in her by text.

Expensive Locations = eliminate scenes in marina or foreign ports

Number of Characters = nine piece band can become a trio

Special Effects = no pyrotechnics, no destruction of property

Pages = aim for ninety

Crowds/extras = stay away from public locations

Stunts, fights, chase, dance: write action sequences the actors can choreograph for themselves.

Special sets = use already constructed sets (built environment), focus on things you an rent and return. Keep special things deliberately hokey and home-made.

SECONDARY VARIABLES

> Rights: don’t write in elements that need permission

> Guns and Bombs: don’t use them even if they are on set as props

> Kids: over 18 or limit number of scenes they appear in (noise OS)

> Animals: none on screen

> Weather: nothing special

> Water scenes: none

> Night scenes: only in locations already in use (like rooms)

> Aerial vehicles and shots: none in this project

> Green screen work: none in this project

> Extensive make-up: use concealing clothing, wigs instead

> Archival footage: just for generic stuff (not historical events/places)

> Anything dangerous or requiring extensive prep/insurance:

HIGHER BUDGET

MAIN VARIABLES

> Locations: add scene on with boat on the sea, VA campus, bank

> Expensive Locations: port in Puerto Rico

> Characters: twelve member jazz band, on-screen sidekick, crowd of high school kids

> Special Effects: invasion of insects

> Pages: increase number of failed schemes to bump page count

> Crowd scenes: scenes where lead is fighting city congestion

> Stunts/fights: someone slips on roof and almost falls off

Fight between renter and co-lead

> Special sets = construct the studio apt and house to director’s needs and move more scenes there

SECONDARY VARIABLES

> Rights to music/brands/etc = use well-known jazz

> Explosions and Guns: guns get fired in target practice/demonstration, a scheme causes an accidental fire

> Kids: a lot more are around

> Animals: include a pet that causes problems

> Weather: rain hampers a scheme and sailing

> Water and underwater: storm damages boat

> Night scenes: most scheme set-up is at night

> Aerial views: maybe a drone one of the kids brings

> Green screen: rooftop?

> Make-up: co-lead goes into extensive disguise

> Archival footage: shots of foreign ports

> Anything dangerous: Construction on boat shown