$10,000. It’s actually more like $9,500, but Kickstarter takes 5% off the top. This is a far cry from the $22k I’d targeted last time out. Originally, I was aiming for a 3- or 4-person crew, a full set of lights, a boom mic, a shoulder-mounted camera (I was very self-conscious about the shaky shooting you can see in that trailer) and a van (these things drink gas).
The whole thing would’ve resembled something between a studio and a child’s studio playset. The whole way through figuring out the original budget, I used professional studios as a reference, and looked for every way to copy them without copying their budget. So, I came up with something, and did an alright job of it, but I was never satisfied with that list, or comfortable with finding two more people who knew how to work the equipment, had appreciation for the subject and could handle a month-long trip in cramped quarters.
So, as time went, and the rush of that first week of fundraising wore off (this took almost two months — I can get kind of excited about things), I didn’t like the way I was going about this. Considering the fundraiser closed at about one third of the funding target, neither did the world at large.
So! This time out, it’s a two-man crew: myself and Ronk, with a Pentax (reasoning: it’s dirt cheap, has a great sensor and I have some old K-mount lenses), an audio recorder, a computer for rough cuts and a car.
I feel a lot better about this setup than what I’d had in mind originally. There’s something special about being able to go from zero to filming in under a minute, and a vehicle with a low profile is a blessing when driving over mountain passes and through the deserts in monsoon season.
This post is getting really long, so I’m going to stop here. In the spirit of openness, I’ll list the full breakdown below:
Camera - Pentax K-x - $550
Memory Card - (2x) Kingston 16GB Class 4 SDHC - $80
Computer - Lenovo IdeaPad S12 - $450
Audio Recorder - Zoom H4n - $300
Lav Mic - MXL FR-355k Interview Kit - $100
Handheld Mic - Shure V64A - $70
Car - $3000 (this budget includes the car itself (whatever’s on Craig’s List, maintenance, taxes, fees and insurance)
Lodging - $900
Expenses (aka food) - $1240
Gas - $1000
Wage - $1700
Equipment taxes will total about $120 and I might catch a break on shipping.
By the way, if there’s any glaring omission here, please do let me know, I’m not quite interested in getting injured, stranded or arrested on this trip, or in losing hours of precious footage.
Thanks,
spinach
