FILM PRODUCTION VI
| Title | ΠΑΡΑΓΩΓΗ VI / FILM PRODUCTION VI |
| Code | 8ΠΑ3 |
| Faculty | Fine Arts |
| School | Film |
| Cycle / Level | 1st / Undergraduate |
| Teaching Period | Spring |
| Coordinator | Konstantinos Kefalas |
| Common | Yes |
| Status | Active |
| Course ID | 280007595 |
Programme of Study: UPS of School of Film Studies (2009-2013)
Registered students: 46
| Orientation | Attendance Type | Semester | Year | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core | Elective Courses beloging to the selected specialization | 8 | 4 | 6 |
| Academic Year | 2024 – 2025 |
| Class Period | Spring |
| Faculty Instructors |
|
| Weekly Hours | 3 |
| Total Hours | 39 |
| Class ID | 600261755
|
Course Type 2021
Specific Foundation
Course Type 2016-2020
- Scientific Area
Course Type 2011-2015
Knowledge Deepening / Consolidation
Mode of Delivery
- Face to face
Digital Course Content
- e-Study Guide https://qa.auth.gr/en/class/1/600261755
- At the Website of the School: http://www.film.auth.gr/el/spoudes/proptyxiaka/mathimata/paragogi-vi
- eLearning:
Erasmus
The course is also offered to exchange programme students.
Language of Instruction
- Greek (Instruction, Examination)
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- Clearly explain the role of the budget across a film’s lifecycle and link it to choices of schedule, cost, and production quality.
- Prepare, step by step, a detailed feature-film budget based on a specific script, beginning by identifying and documenting key assumptions.
- Use practical tools (Excel spreadsheets and, to a lesser extent, Movie Magic Budgeting) for category structure, formulas, calculations, and consistency checks.
- Translate creative and production choices into cost lines (personnel, equipment, locations, services, post-production, etc.) with realistic units and market rates.
- Identify and prioritize cost drivers and constraints (shooting days, company moves, INT/EXT, DAY/NIGHT, special permits, insurance) and assess their time and cost impacts.
- Link the shooting schedule to cost per day and per unit/sequence, and check consistency between the schedule and the budget.
- Understand how different financing scenarios (e.g., grants, tax incentives, private funds) relate to the structure of the budget.
- Describe key administrative and legal compliance issues that affect the budget (agreements, production insurance, music rights, etc.).
General Competences
- Apply knowledge in practice
- Retrieve, analyse and synthesise data and information, with the use of necessary technologies
- Adapt to new situations
- Make decisions
- Work autonomously
- Work in teams
- Work in an international context
- Work in an interdisciplinary team
- Design and manage projects
- Appreciate diversity and multiculturality
- Respect natural environment
- Demonstrate social, professional and ethical commitment and sensitivity to gender issues
- Be critical and self-critical
- Advance free, creative and causative thinking
Course Content (Syllabus)
The course focuses on systematically preparing a feature-film budget as a living, evolving decision-making tool. We work in small teams (2–3 people) step by step on a shared script, translating narrative requirements into clear cost lines and linking every choice to time and quality. A core principle of the course is that the budget is not just a spreadsheet but a documented working hypothesis that requires explicit buy-in from key stakeholders (director, producer, funders).
That buy-in rests on key assumptions drawn from the script itself and the production context: shooting schedule and length, types and number of locations, crew and equipment needs, pay scales and working hours, possible travel and accommodation away from base, use of incentives or co-productions, as well as identification of risks (weather, safety, availability). Throughout the semester we emphasize clear documentation of these assumptions, version traceability, and transparency of pricing sources, to ensure a shared language and understanding between the creative and production teams.
Keywords
ilm budget, film financing plan, budget compilation, budget management
Educational Material Types
- Notes
- Video lectures
- Audio
- Multimedia
- Interactive excersises
- Book
Use of Information and Communication Technologies
Use of ICT
- Use of ICT in Course Teaching
- Use of ICT in Laboratory Teaching
- Use of ICT in Communication with Students
Description
Use of equipment to reproduce and project audiovisual works
Use of audiovisual production equipment
Use of relevant websites to deepen the lecture's understanding
Use of email for frequent and instantaneous communication with the class
Course Organization
| Activities | Workload | ECTS | Individual | Teamwork | Erasmus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 39 | 1.3 | ✓ | ||
| Laboratory Work | 60 | 2 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Project | 58 | 1.9 | |||
| Written assigments | 23 | 0.8 | ✓ | ||
| Total | 180 | 6 |
Student Assessment
Description
Student evaluation will be based on the following criteria:
Attendance and participation (10%)
The course has a workshop format and requires consistency, active participation in small in-class exercises, review and discussion of the previous week’s deliverables, and discussion of the deliverables required for the following week.
Submission of weekly deliverables (40%)
Each week’s materials must be submitted electronically two days before the next class.
Every week a new section of the budget is completed, and the goals and assumptions for the next sections are discussed (e.g., personnel, equipment, locations, travel and accommodation, post-production, contingency).
Each weekly deliverable is graded on the following criteria: completeness & correctness of line items (40%), realism of assumptions and units (40%), structure and formatting (20%).
Final group project (50%)
During the exam period, students submit the completed project, which includes:
the full budget file,
a 2–3 page document of key assumptions,
a production timeline,
a shooting schedule,
a spreadsheet of overnight stays away from base.
Student Assessment methods
- Written Assignment (Formative, Summative)
- Labortatory Assignment (Formative, Summative)
Bibliography
Additional bibliography for study
1. Paula Landry, Scheduling and Budgeting Your Film (American Film Market Presents), Routledge, 2017
2. Eve Light Honthaner, The Complete Film Production Handbook, American Film Market Presents, 4th Edition, 2010
3. Deke Simon, Film and Video Budgets, Michael Wiese Productions, 5th Edition, 2010
Last Update
16-10-2025
