Independent filmmaking demands creative budgeting. Whether you are making a $15,000 passion project or a $500,000 festival feature, the financial structure is the same: above the line costs for your creative team, below the line costs for crew and equipment, and a 10% contingency that is non-negotiable. The Indie Film Budget Template in Saturation is built around this reality.
The template covers every stage of production: pre-production scouting and casting costs, principal photography departments (camera, grip, electric, sound, art, wardrobe, hair and makeup, locations, transportation, catering), and a full post-production section covering editing, VFX, sound design, music, color grading, and deliverables. Fringe calculations are built in, so you can set your rates per crew member and let the system apply them automatically across all wage line items.
Where the Indie Film Budget Template stands apart from a static spreadsheet is in how it handles actuals. As production expenses come in, they update against your estimate in real time, giving you a live cost-to-complete picture at every point in the shoot. No reconciling two separate spreadsheets at the end of each week. Your budget and your books stay in sync from day one of pre-production through picture lock.
