How to set up a production budget

This page covers the first of the three ways to start a budget: Set up budget, which uses one of Storiara's built-in charts of accounts. If you have your own Movie Magic chart, see how to upload a Movie Magic template. If you already have a finished budget, see how to upload an existing budget.

You need budget edit access. The estimate reads the project's script, scenes, cast, crew, and locations, so set those up first if you want the numbers to reflect them.

Steps

1. Open Budget under Financing. With no budget yet, the page says No budget yet.
2. Click Set up budget. The dialog has three steps: Production, Schedule, and Financial.
3. Under Start from, pick Feature film (a full chart with payroll fringes, contingency, and a bond), Low-budget feature (the same without the bond), or Blank (topsheet sections only).
4. Leave Fill in estimates on. (Turn it off to create the chart with nothing in it. The button changes to Create budget and the rest of the questions are skipped.)
5. Choose a Format: Feature film, Short film, Documentary, Commercial / ad, Music video, Web series, or Series pilot.
6. Choose a Production level: Micro budget, Low budget, Independent, Mid budget, Studio, or Tentpole. Each shows its range and typical total for the format. The level fills in the schedule on the next step and suggests a union agreement.
7. Optionally type a Target budget. The estimate scales its deals, allowances, and packages to land within about 2% of it, and never goes below guild minimums.
8. Choose the Union agreement you will actually sign, then click Next.
9. On Schedule, check Shooting days (marked From schedule when the schedule has dates), Prep weeks, and Post-production weeks. Click Next.
10. On Financial, check Script page count, pick a Contingency, set Completion bond, and choose a Currency.
11. Click Set up budget.

While it builds

The page shows Building the budget with placeholder rows. It takes about a minute. You can reload, close the tab, or leave the page, and the build carries on. When it finishes, a Budget created message gives the grand total and how it compares with the typical range for the level you chose.

The script is read for counts and days only, such as speaking parts, locations, and stunt days. Every amount is then priced by fixed rules for the level, format, and union agreement. No dollar figure comes from AI.

A worked example

Say "Night Shoot" is a 98-page feature with 22 shooting days on the schedule. You pick Feature film, Independent, SAG Low Budget, and a target of $4,500,000. The schedule step arrives with 22 shooting days from your schedule and the level's prep and post weeks. The finished budget should land within about 2% of the target, so between roughly $4,410,000 and $4,590,000. If it can't get there without going under guild minimums, the message says how far off it is.

If it doesn't work

• A greyed-out Set up budget button means your role can view the budget but not edit it. "Your role on this project does not include the budget" means you can't view it at all. Ask the producer to change your role.
• AI limit reached means the plan's monthly AI requests are used up. A build counts as one.
• A red message with Try again means the build did not finish. Nothing was changed. Try again, or dismiss it.
• Numbers look thin for cast? Check that actors are assigned to characters and the Day Out of Days shows their days.

After the first build, use Sync when the project changes and Reconfigure to change the level, target, or contingency. The Budget guide covers the grid, and the top sheet and contingency entries explain the terms.