Has budgeting, scheduling and managing your documentary got you down? Are you struggling to prepare a realistic budget for prospective funders? Or is the phase-by-phase nature of indie doc fundraising frustrating your ability to make – or stick to – your planned budget?
In this practical weeklong D-Word special topic, Emmy and Berlinale winning filmmaker Robert Bahar and veteran producer Lisa Remington will provide an overview of the budgeting process and answer questions. The conversation will draw on Bahar's popular Documentary magazine article "A (Revised!) Introduction to Documentary Budgeting" (which includes a downloadable budget template) and his budgeting workshop, most recently presented at the IDA’s Getting Real ’18 conference.
Geared towards filmmakers who need to use a flexible approach for projects that are still evolving, and who may not yet know how much money they will ultimately be able to raise, the discussion will cover:
-
An overview of the budgeting process
-
An exploration of how a budget communicates a production's overall philosophy and approach
-
How funders will “read” your budget to understand how you are planning to make the film
-
The opportunity to discuss (and debate!) a detailed line item budget
-
How budgeting, fundraising and sustainability intersect
Discussion topics up next
Disability 2.0: Has the conversation evolved?: January 2020
DPA: Producing in the Wild West of Documentary: April 2020