Here at Flash Film, we have come up with a quick way to let you know how much we think that each film will take to make. It is by no means a fixed amount as everyone making films will either have some of their own gear, or know someone who has, plus they may have access to certain locations or crew that others don't.
What we have done is to make a judgement based on estimated production costs and assigned each film to one of our three budget brackets.
Films assigned this budget category can probably be made for nothing or, at most, a couple of hundred pounds for gear and actors. Locations should be free or easy to fake and there will be very few props or special effects required.
This bracket includes films that might cost from a couple of hundred to around a thousand pounds to film. That sounds too much but you'd be surprised how soon it all adds up. Perhaps a crowdfunding campaign will get you what you need, or a friend wanting a film credit will help out financially, who knows? The costs might be from more advanced props or location hire, or the requirement for specialist editing or composing skills to really finish your film to a high standard.
These are films that definitely require some sort of funding, probably more than a thousand but, given that they are usually only two pages long, unlikely to be more than five thousand.
We try really hard to work around the constraints of budget when accepting scripts to Flash Film, but sometimes the story or the idea is just too good to pass up simply because of money. Raising money for film is an art in itself, but one that many filmmakers/producers have to get their teeth into early in their careers.
Not every script that is submitted can be made within our strict time and budget constraints… but that doesn't mean they're not great.
If you would like to make a film that requires a larger budget or a longer timescale to complete it, please contact us at enquiries@flash-film.co.uk and we can put you together with some truly talented screenwriters and their more expanded scripts.