Film scoring first budget

Artist4 · 23rd January 2012

Hi Friends

This is the situation

Im a music producer and musician, and a Film producer from a sudamerican country contacted me for making the music for their film (indie i guess)

Its like the second movie made in that country, and nobody in there is capable to scoring for the film (no industry) that's why they contacted me.
All the actor are famous in that country

Ive talked to the guy via skype a couple of times and i trust him, so i made a demo for him that they loved, also they send me the movie with dialogue , foley. etc.

They just need the music,

Also they told me that the total budget for the movie was 16.000 US
They don't want session musician either, Libraries would be fine for them even for brass.

Also i would help them with the final mix on my studio.

I'm coming here because i have to make a budget for the work and i dont wanna make a mistake.

I've read that a 5% of the total budget is the average but in this case that sounds really low to me.

any advices, recommendations, questions'

Thanks in advance !

spiderman · 23rd January 2012

A feature film might have 25 cues averaging about 60sec each. You'll probably have a few rewrites too. Let's say each cue takes one 8 hour day to write, sequence, and mix. That's 30 solid days of work or 6 work weeks. How much money do you need for 6 weeks of full-time work? (Keep in mind, you probably could finish in just a few weeks but those type of sessions are 12hr days and working weekends.)

That's usually how I calculate my minimum fee. If the budget allows, add in hard-costs and license fees if they want to own the publishing rights.

Artist4 · 23rd January 2012

thanks spiderman

i will take your advice

about the publishing rights i'm not sure if i would see some money in return,

i guess the best option would be selling those rights

probably they will be using promos, trailers, radio ads, and such

and im not sure how well the industry works don't there

thanks again

NReichman · 23rd January 2012

Quote:

Its like the second movie made in that country, and nobody in there is capable to scoring for the film

Don't forget back-end. Get the royalty deal in writing. You need 100% of the writer's share. If the film gets any distribution at all, you'll be happy to get some additional money. Good luck figuring out the front-end.

Artist4 · 23rd January 2012

thanks nathaniel

i will learn about this..

spiderman · 23rd January 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by NReichman

Don't forget back-end. Get the royalty deal in writing. You need 100% of the writer's share. If the film gets any distribution at all, you'll be happy to get some additional money. Good luck figuring out the front-end.

How do you figure or negotiate distribution to benefit from the writers share? I get it if there were broadcast plays involved but I don't see how that would work with standard indie distro (direct to DVD). Just curious how you would get back-end agreements from the production company.

The films I've done that received distro haven't made a dime.

danijel · 23rd January 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by spiderman

How do you figure or negotiate distribution to benefit from the writers share? I get it if there were broadcast plays involved but I don't see how that would work with standard indie distro (direct to DVD). Just curious how you would get back-end agreements from the production company.

The films I've done that received distro haven't made a dime.

Besides, lots of small and 3rd world countries don't have copyright handling at all. So they might be like 'royal...what'?

Artist4 · 23rd January 2012

Yes , thats what it thought

The producer told me that its like the first movie made there..

So i see very hard to get some royalties money.

I guess i'll have to negotiate everything in front-end

Artist4 · 27th January 2012

So as a conclusion

We make an agreement for 4k usd .

Cosidering the total budget for the film (16k) and being my first work for film , i think its okay.

i will take me between one and two months, so im happy.

They asked me to do the scorings, production, mix and the final master,
Becase the is no master engieneer in there, less a proper dub stage.

quite a challenge for me because i've never mixed for cinema, i guess i have a lot to learn, but i'm motivated,

thanks for your advices,

NReichman · 27th January 2012

Terribly sorry you didn't get more for what might be 8 weeks of work, but on the other hand, you just scored a record 25% of total budget for SOUND!

That's for the history books...

spiderman · 28th January 2012

Kind-of depends on the film though... You could hit all your tracks in 3-4 weeks if the agreement and film were of the right variety. Not big league but could be a good run.

Money - Project - The hang
... hope you win 2 out of 3.

Artist4 · 28th January 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by spiderman

Kind-of depends on the film though... You could hit all your tracks in 3-4 weeks if the agreement and film were of the right variety. Not big league but could be a good run.

Money - Project - The hang
... hope you win 2 out of 3.

thanks mate

what do you mean with the hang? i don't understand

spiderman · 29th January 2012

Meaning that the people you work with/for are fun to hang-out with. If you enjoy the company of those you work with, the project has additional value.

If you can't stand the people you're working with/for, then hopefully the money and the project are good enough to make it worth your time.

23rd January 2012	#1
Artist4 Gear nut Joined: Apr 2011 Location: Planet Earth, Solar System, Milky Way Posts: 132 Thread Starter 1 Review written	Film scoring first budget Hi Friends This is the situation Im a music producer and musician, and a Film producer from a sudamerican country contacted me for making the music for their film (indie i guess) Its like the second movie made in that country, and nobody in there is capable to scoring for the film (no industry) that's why they contacted me. All the actor are famous in that country Ive talked to the guy via skype a couple of times and i trust him, so i made a demo for him that they loved, also they send me the movie with dialogue , foley. etc. They just need the music, Also they told me that the total budget for the movie was 16.000 US They don't want session musician either, Libraries would be fine for them even for brass. Also i would help them with the final mix on my studio. I'm coming here because i have to make a budget for the work and i dont wanna make a mistake. I've read that a 5% of the total budget is the average but in this case that sounds really low to me. any advices, recommendations, questions' Thanks in advance ! __________________ flowing with cosmos

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23rd January 2012	#2
spiderman Gear maniac Joined: Aug 2010 Location: NYC Posts: 221 1 Review written	A feature film might have 25 cues averaging about 60sec each. You'll probably have a few rewrites too. Let's say each cue takes one 8 hour day to write, sequence, and mix. That's 30 solid days of work or 6 work weeks. How much money do you need for 6 weeks of full-time work? (Keep in mind, you probably could finish in just a few weeks but those type of sessions are 12hr days and working weekends.) That's usually how I calculate my minimum fee. If the budget allows, add in hard-costs and license fees if they want to own the publishing rights.

27th January 2012	#9
Artist4 Gear nut Joined: Apr 2011 Location: Planet Earth, Solar System, Milky Way Posts: 132 Thread Starter 1 Review written	So as a conclusion We make an agreement for 4k usd . Cosidering the total budget for the film (16k) and being my first work for film , i think its okay. i will take me between one and two months, so im happy. They asked me to do the scorings, production, mix and the final master, Becase the is no master engieneer in there, less a proper dub stage. quite a challenge for me because i've never mixed for cinema, i guess i have a lot to learn, but i'm motivated, thanks for your advices,

27th January 2012	#10
NReichman Gear nut Joined: Nov 2009 Posts: 108	Terribly sorry you didn't get more for what might be 8 weeks of work, but on the other hand, you just scored a record 25% of total budget for SOUND! That's for the history books...

28th January 2012	#11
spiderman Gear maniac Joined: Aug 2010 Location: NYC Posts: 221 1 Review written	Kind-of depends on the film though... You could hit all your tracks in 3-4 weeks if the agreement and film were of the right variety. Not big league but could be a good run. Money - Project - The hang ... hope you win 2 out of 3.

29th January 2012	#13
spiderman Gear maniac Joined: Aug 2010 Location: NYC Posts: 221 1 Review written	Meaning that the people you work with/for are fun to hang-out with. If you enjoy the company of those you work with, the project has additional value. If you can't stand the people you're working with/for, then hopefully the money and the project are good enough to make it worth your time.