You can't control the story. But you can control the money.
Saturation gives documentary producers real-time control over spending, payments, and actuals. You're making a film in the real world. Your budget should survive it.
THE PLATFORM
One platform. From development to delivery.
Documentary budgets are built from assumptions, not scripts. Saturation replaces the spreadsheet you started in development with a single platform that adapts as the story changes — across months or years.
Bring your team together
Production budgeting, expense tracking, credit cards, approvals, and cost reporting in one cloud platform for video production teams.
Real-Time Collaboration
Collaboratively build budgets with line items, rates, fringes, and actuals. Start from industry-standard templates — feature film, TV, commercial, and more.
| Contacts | # Qty | Unit | $ Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelcy Moore | 3 | DAY | 30,065.24 |
| Freddy Trowill | 1 | WEEK | 10,000 |
| Jens Jacob | 1 | DAY | 0.00 |
| Brooke Dimsdale | 2 | HOUR | 50.00 |
| Alfredo Poulsum | 2 | DAY | 1,000.00 |
| Abbe Evers | 5 | DAY | 2,000.00 |
All Your Productions In One Place
Group projects into folders, switch between workspaces, and stay on top of multiple productions without losing context.
The Atom Splitter
Edited 20 minutes ago
Sand Kingdom
Edited 1 hour ago
Something Somewhere
Edited 3 hours ago
Centurion Rising
Edited 5 hours ago
White Smoke
Edited 1 day ago
Comments
Comment directly on line items or expenses, so context never gets lost.
Access Control
Control who can see, edit, and approve, so clients, vendors, and your team only access what they should.
Tailored
scenarios.
Segment budgets freely to your needs. Easily set up to compare different locations, versions, or phases of your production.
| Name | # Qty | Unit | $ Rate | $ Estimated | $ Actuals | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production Design | 1 | FLAT | 15,000 | 15,000.00 | 14,250.00 | |
| Director Fee | 1 | FLAT | 45,000 | 45,000.00 | 45,000.00 | |
| DP / Cinematographer | 5 | DAY | 950 | 4,750.00 | 3,800.00 | |
| Camera Operator | 5 | DAY | 550 | 2,750.00 | 2,750.00 | |
| Gaffer | 4 | DAY | 2,500 | 10,000.00 | 7,500.00 | |
| Location Sound | 3 | DAY | 4,500 | 13,500.00 | 9,000.00 | |
| Art Department | 2 | WEEK | 5,000 | 10,000.00 | 8,000.00 | |
| Wardrobe Stylist | 1 | FLAT | 9,500 | 9,500.00 | 7,125.00 |
More FeaturesIt doesn't stop here.
Enhanced Performance.
Time-saving shortcuts built for busy producers.
⌘KInstant access with global search.
Currency
International Currency Support
Budget in any currency with live conversion rates. Shoot in London, post in Tokyo, report in USD. Every line item stays accurate across borders.
Automatic Fringes
Assign union fringes, workers’ comp, and payroll taxes per crew member. Rates cascade across all budget scenarios so nothing falls through the cracks.
Globals & Formulas
Define prep days, shoot days, and custom variables once. Reference them anywhere in your budget and watch totals update instantly when plans change.
Markups
Apply agency fees, production markups, or contingency as a percentage on any subtotal. Totals recalculate instantly — no formulas to maintain.
Overtime Hours
Base Hours
Overtime Rate
Overtime Calculator
Configure daily or weekly OT thresholds and rate multipliers per role. Regular hours and overtime split automatically so your labor costs are always accurate.
Tags
Label line items by department, phase, location, or shoot day. Filter and report on exactly the slice you need without restructuring your budget.
Keep notes
where the
story lives.
Attach rich notes directly to every project: field production logistics, funder check-in reminders, interview subject details, or grant reporting milestones — formatted and organized right alongside your budget.
AICP, feature film, documentary, music video, branded content, and more. Start with a proven structure or build from scratch.
The same production finance layer used for budgeting, actuals, expense management, and payments.
Trusted across commercials, features, series, documentaries, music videos, and branded content.
Trusted on documentaries you know.
From independent features to streaming series, Saturation powers the finances behind documentary productions across every budget range.
What our customers are saying
Saturation made me have a much better sense of where I was at financially in my project at all times, rather than feeling like I had a vague understanding of where my money was and wasn't.
Noah Morse
Producer & Co-Founder, Sogbots
Budget the ideal world. Then make it fit.
Documentary budgets start as outlines, not scripts. Saturation lets you map your ideal creative plan — locations, characters, crew, archival needs — then collaborate in real time as the story evolves and the budget adjusts.
Built for every role on your documentary.
Whether you are wearing both hats as a director-producer or running a multi-project documentary company, Saturation gives you the tools and visibility your role demands.
- Real-time budget visibility alongside creative decisions
- Version snapshots when the story pivots — compare before and after
- Quick spend checks from your phone on location
- Share financials with your EP without email chains
- Track where you are across the entire project lifecycle
- Portfolio-level dashboard across all active projects
- Real-time budget vs. actual at a glance — no chasing producers
- Alerts when any project exceeds spend thresholds
- Approve high-value spend from your phone
- Historical data for greenlight decisions on new projects
- Auto-reconcile bank transactions against budget lines
- Process crew expenses with AI-categorized receipts
- Generate funder reports and network deliverables in minutes
- Manage accounts payable with approval routing
- Export seamlessly to QuickBooks, payroll, and tax filings
- Separate impact campaign budget tracking alongside production
- Funder-specific cost reports for impact grants
- Track community screenings, outreach events, and educational partnerships
- Grant disbursement and milestone tracking
- Holistic view: production spend and impact spend in one place
Saturation is fostering interoperability in the media industry as a proud member of the MovieLabs Industry Forum, supporting the 2030 Vision for the future of media creation.
Production finance demands production-grade security.
SOC 2 Certified
Independently audited security controls protecting your production financial data.
Audit-Ready Reports
Every transaction, approval, and change is logged with full attribution and timestamps.
Role-Based Permissions
Funders see what funders need. Networks see what networks need. Your team sees everything.
Before Saturation vs. with Saturation.
Without Saturation
- Budgets in spreadsheets that break when the story changes
- Grant reports compiled manually — a full weekend per funder
- Receipts lost in field equipment bags and email threads
- No visibility across multi-year projects
- Separate tools for budgeting, expenses, and payments
- Funders waiting weeks for financial updates
With Saturation
- Budgets that adapt when reality does — version control built in
- Grant reports generated in minutes with funder-specific formatting
- AI-powered receipt capture from anywhere, even offline
- Real-time dashboard across all projects and all years
- One place for every financial task on your documentary
- Funders get real-time read-only access to financials
Documentary FAQs.
Honest answers to the questions documentary producers actually ask.
Explore related solutions
See how Saturation works for other roles and production types.
Your story deserves to get told. Your budget should help, not hinder.
Join 8,000+ producers who trust Saturation to manage their production finances. Start for free — no credit card, no commitment, no sales call required.
Free plan available. No credit card required.