This director needs to apologize

Chapter 53: Budget Allocation and Cost Recovery Pressure
Ma Yunteng finally met Uncle Gao, whom he had been talking about for several days, and saw the living first-class meritorious service.

That's right, Uncle Gao is also here, and he also brings a comrade, a regimental commander named Fan from the engineering unit directly under the Imperial Capital Military Region.

Deputy Director Sun was accompanied by more people, including several responsible persons from several powerful units under the General Political Literary and Art Center.

Director of the Film and Television Production Department of the Literary and Art Center, Li Jing.

Xie Qianli, the deputy director in charge of business at the Bayi Factory.

Li Jian, deputy director of the Actors' Troupe of the Army Art Troupe.

Investment Director of Golden Shield Film and Television Company, Wang Changfeng.

The second uncle’s Demon Shadow Group was not to be outdone, and each had one leader in investment, distribution, theaters, and Demon Shadow Factory.

As for Bojue Media, the real producer of the movie, they only have two polished commanders: the chairman and the CEO.

There were more than ten people from three parties and five groups, and it took half an hour just to shake hands and make introductions.

There is a round table in the middle of the largest private dining room in the Twilight Teahouse. Sitting around it are Ma Zhongming, Deputy Director Sun and Ma Yunteng, the three main investors of "1951", as well as two "guest guests", Uncle Gao and Captain Fan. .

The subordinates who came with Moying and the General Secretary, as well as the attendants and secretaries, were scattered on the armchairs around the private room.

Chen Yiming stood in front of the whiteboard and explained the investment structure of the movie "1951".

Because the General Secretary has stepped forward to solve the big problem of filming, the partners can be further streamlined, that is, the three parties present today.

The total investment is 1 million, and the production schedule follows Chen Yiming's good habit of strictly following the proportions of Hollywood commercial productions.

First, the main creative team spent 2500 million, accounting for 25%.

There will be one chief producer each from Jindun, Moying, and Platinum Jue, and the production fee will be 1/3 of each company, totaling 450 million.

Director and screenwriter Chen Yiming also received a salary based on 150 million yuan, and the director's and screenwriter's fees totaled 300 million.

Moreover, assistant director Fu Ruixiang's hard work expenses were also paid out of Chen Yiming's 300 million.

That's right, Xiangrui's scars healed and he forgot about the pain. When he heard that Bo Jue's new film was about one scene to the end, he immediately dropped his graduate schoolwork and ran back to China, crying and shouting that he wanted to play with him.

Xiangrui volunteered to work hard, and Chen Yiming accepted it. At this moment, she was working as a volunteer photographer at the Shanghai Theater Academy with Xiaomei's casting team.

In fact, according to the conventions of film production, the costs of the three main creative actors, producer, director, and screenwriter, are generally more than 5% of the total investment. As long as it does not exceed 15%, they are considered to be "only making what you should make."

Based on this calculation, Chen Yiming should allocate 1000 million to himself. After all, he has a popular movie "Holiday in the City" and is no longer a complete newbie, so he is eligible to get double 5%.

However, "1951" is a main theme movie after all, and it has nothing to do with the country's industry practices. Everything is based on cost price!
The main creator's salary is the actor's salary, which totals 1750 million.

Since the cast has not yet been finalized, the pay is only an estimate.

This is a floor price. With the current market conditions, if a first-line actor from China appears in a large production with a total investment of hundreds of millions, the salary of 500 to 1000 million is the minimum. If he is a popular movie star in Hong Kong City and Bay Island, he will have to pay two to three times more. .

Of course, Chen Yiming couldn't choose the first-tier big names, because all the famous ones were called by Mr. Han to film the new version of the Founding Ceremony.

After being the main creator, the next major expense is the production cost, which is 5000 million, accounting for 50%.

Three-piece set for photography, lighting and recording, 1000 million.

What made Chen Yiming's heart twitch the most was the Steadicam cameraman's appearance fee. One person and one assistant had to pay Nut Coin, which could easily exceed 8 million if multiplied by 200.

But there is nothing we can do. Who makes our skills inferior to others? We have to spend the money gritting our teeth.

In addition, the rental and modification of camera trucks is also a major expense. Chen Yiming estimates that 500 million may not be enough.

Thanks to Alai’s generous sponsorship of the entire rental fee, otherwise the cost of photography would have been even higher.

"1951" was shot entirely on location, so the requirements for lighting engineers were not that high, while sound engineers had to be top-notch, and two sets of sets had to be prepared at one time for easy rotation.

Then there is the three-piece set of Fuhua Dao, which costs 800 million.

The most annoying thing is the heavy equipment in the movie, which is too expensive.

For example, a dozen nut-standard 105MM howitzers cannot use model wooden shells, they must be real ones that can fire.

There are not so many old cannons to be found in the whole of China, and even if they are found, they will probably not be fired. They can only rent Chinese cannons of similar caliber from the military and then modify their appearance.

Rent is a large sum of money, change is a large sum of money, and shells are a large sum of money.

Then the old Jiefang who was able to run is now equally hard to find and needs to be changed.

The 75MM mountain cannon we have deployed does not require real fire and can be used as a model, but it is still a lot of money.

Compared with expensive props, the salary of special effects makeup artists and the expenditure on equipment are simply negligible.

Next comes the three-piece package of art, scenery, and special effects, which costs 2700 million.

The biggest expenditure of the entire film was the set-up. In the middle of winter, we had to dig the earth on a hilltop in a barren mountain with inconvenient transportation. There was only a two-month construction period, and the cost went straight to the surface of the moon.

Chen Yiming consulted the most experienced set designer at Moying Factory, and also asked friends in the construction industry who knew the most about field construction through Master Teng to come up with this budget. It really couldn't be any lower.The overall project includes N trenches, as well as corresponding bunkers, shooting windows and anti-gun holes.

There are two cave-style tunnel entrances and one tunnel made of planks.

The camera truck tunnel parallel to the trench must be dug half a meter deeper than the trench.

A standard dirt road prepared for field battles.

There is one artillery position for us and two artillery positions for Nuts.

In addition, access roads for construction vehicles to enter and exit must be built in advance.

A construction team is also needed to follow up in case of emergencies.

Chen Yiming was shocked by the final calculation of the amount of earthwork excavated and the amount of logs used. Adding in construction equipment rental and labor costs, 2200 million may not be enough.

But this is the maximum amount that Chen Yiming can allocate under the premise that the total investment remains unchanged.

Even if this movie does not have high requirements for art and special effects, it still needs to set aside a minimum amount of money. 500 million is really not generous.

When Chen Yiming was making a budget, he was particularly envious of the little master of poetry recitation in his previous life.

Regardless of how good Brother Kai's movies are, his business experience in a movie or an attraction is something that even a director has to be convinced of.

The movie was shot smoothly, with all the costs borne by the local government. No matter how high the box office is, it won't stop people from making a lot of money.

The moves are really good, but it's a pity that "1951" couldn't learn them.

Who told him to have to show off to the sky, why would he do it in one scene?

If you want to launch real artillery shells, you must choose a training ground under the control of the military, otherwise no one can guarantee absolute safety.

It was a truly remote and inaccessible wilderness. Who would have the brains to travel to a place like that? Besides, the trenches and tunnels were nothing interesting to see.

Finally, there is the production reserve fund, 500 million.

Chen Yiming is relatively stingy and only reserves 10% of the production fee as a reserve.

Don't think that 500 million is a lot. For this "1951", it is not much at all because there are too many expenses that are unpredictable.

Take insurance, for example. Ordinary film personnel and equipment insurance only requires 1-2% of the production fee. However, "1951" has high risks and a lot of equipment, and even 5% of the insurance premium may not be affordable.

For example, if the shooting is postponed, since the rental of equipment and vehicles is calculated on a weekly basis, and "1951" has all the exterior scenes in one shot, in order to avoid shadows caused by the shadow position under the sun, it must be shot on a cloudy day.

So the question is, what should we do when it is sunny, rainy, or cloudy and sometimes rainy?
What can be done?Salad!Rehearse without turning on the camera, or just use it as a behind-the-scenes shoot.

Therefore, Chen Yiming had a word with the second uncle early in the morning. He would at most guarantee that the film would be released before the National Day. As for whether it would be released in June, he didn't know. He could only ask God.

While you're waiting for God's blessing, rental fees are constantly going up, so you have to set aside a reserve fund.

The main creative and production accounted for 7500 million, followed by the third big chunk, the crew's eating, drinking, and eating, which cost 1000 million.

As long as it is a large-scale commercial production, this area is basically 10% of the total investment, which is a fairly fixed expenditure.

Then there is the fourth piece of post-production, which is mainly a three-piece package of editing, music, and sound effects, costing 500 million.

Special effects are not included here, because the special effects of blockbusters are all done as the filming begins, even before the actors join the team to start shooting. Unlike the aforementioned editing and double-tone, which are basically started after the filming is closed.

The larger the production, the more expensive the post-production expenditures of the three brothers are. 10% is a normal proportion. Chen Yiming allocated 5% because he has a ready-made soundtrack in his mind. The proportion of editing is also high under the one-shot shooting method. Can be depressed.

Most of the 500 million miles were spent on sound effects.

The expenditure on sound effects for war movies is not low, and "1951" has a lot of explosion scenes, so it would be impossible not to spend this money.

The final fifth block of 1000 million reserved is for publicity and promotion expenses.

The ratio of 10% is very low, even far lower than the 30% of "Holiday in Magic City".

But Chen Yiming has no choice. 1 million is already the highest budget he can control. When it comes to 1.5, the pressure to return the capital is too great.

"1951" is an alternative "war movie" with almost zero combat scenes. The only highlight is the so-called "one shot to the end".

Nowadays, Chinese audiences are still keen on blockbusters and big scenes. Chen Yiming also wondered whether they could accept the boring-looking "1951".

An investment of 1 million requires a box office of 4 million to make a small profit. The domestic box office revenue is 3 million, and the overseas copyright is sold for 1000 million nut coins. Chen Yiming is relatively confident, so that all three parties involved in the investment can enjoy the meat.

If the investment is 1.5 million, the total box office will have to be 5 million to cross the cost line. This is a level that will significantly break the domestic box office record. Chen Yiming does not dare to imagine it.

Possibly focusing all profits on overseas copyright operations means risk management exceeds expectations, which is something that must be avoided during the film project development stage.

After all, no matter how many technical tricks "1951" plays, it can't conceal its underlying Chinese stance.

(End of this chapter)