Build a production budget for a commercial or video shoot
A line-item production estimate covering pre-production, shoot days, crew, post, and contingency, with assumptions the client can sign off.
The prompt
Help me build a production budget for a shoot.
Deliverables: [e.g. "one 30s spot, two 15s cutdowns, 6 vertical social edits, 10 stills"]
Creative scope: [SCRIPT OR TREATMENT SUMMARY - locations, cast size, special requirements like animals, stunts, drones, kids, night work]
Shoot days and location: [NUMBER OF DAYS, city or country, studio vs location]
Rates I know: [crew day rates, equipment quotes, talent fees, post house quotes]
Client budget ceiling: [AMOUNT, if known]
Who is producing: [in-house agency production / external production company / hybrid]
Organize the estimate into these sections, similar to a standard production bid form:
- Pre-production (casting, location scouting, permits, tech scout, prep days).
- Shoot crew by department, with day rates, prep and wrap days, and overtime assumptions.
- Equipment (camera, grip, electric, specialty).
- Talent (session fees and usage noted separately), wardrobe, hair and makeup, art and props.
- Locations, permits, studio, travel, catering, insurance.
- Post-production (edit, grade, sound mix, music, VFX, versioning).
- Production fee, markup, and contingency.
Return:
1. A budget table: section | line item | quantity | rate | days | total | source of rate (quote / my rate / estimate).
2. Subtotals per section and a grand total.
3. The assumptions and exclusions the client must accept.
4. Three ways to bring the cost down, with the creative trade-off of each.
Never present an estimated rate as a quote: label it [ESTIMATE - GET QUOTE]. Note where union rules, local permits, or insurance need checking.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Projects & Operations prompts
What to fill in
- NUMBER OF DAYS, city or country, studio vs location
- AMOUNT, if known
- ESTIMATE - GET QUOTE
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RTF structure (Role, Task, Format). RTF tells the model who to be, what to do and what shape the answer should take. It is the quickest structure that still gives noticeably better results than a bare request.
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