Below the Line

"Below-the-line" is where a lot of Hollywood's unparalleled "creative accounting" occurs. Since high-priced "talent"—actors and actresses—seem to drive much of Hollywood studio production these days, it is not unusual to see 60% of a film's budget allocated to their fees. Usually the costs of "below-the-line" personnel—camera people, propmakers, grips, wardrobe specialists, set designers and decorators, editors, etc.—range between 10 and 15 per cent of the total budget. A very low-budget film may see workers come in at 8 per cent of the total and, conversely, a very expensive film with many special effects, say, or much computer animation, may see below-the-line personnel costs rise to 25% of the total budget. This is, however, rare.

Statistically, the lower a film's budget, the more money will be spent below-the-line. In the most extreme example, ALL the money goes to the shoot—to film costs, camera rental, splicing tape and cheeseburgers. The actors and everybody else work for free.

The task of budgeting any film is as much art as it is science. There are computer programs that help the production manager to remember everything that needs to be included, but there is no substitute for experience in the black art of film budgeting.

And speaking of black arts, Below the Line is the title of the novel that is at the top of my too-many works in progress. It is a socio-political-comical-historical romantic fantasy that contemplates the revenge of the Aztecs on a Hollywood movie company shooting on location in Mexico City. It is also a bloody nightmare and it makes me crabby.

Only a fool would try to get that one right, on time and under budget.

Below the Line starts here.