Pre-Production Unit Research - Hypothetical Budgetary Requirements
Researching Budgetary Requirements
One of the most important aspects of the pre-production package is the budgetary information. Even though I'm doing a hypothetical production as part of my unit, throughout this blog post I'll be referring to Game of Thrones as a reference point considering the similarities between Game of Thrones and No Man's Land: A Witcher Story I.e. Both air on the HBO Network and share a fantasy-lite/medieval setting.
Despite Game of Thrones being one of the most popular shows on television in 2018 and having a budget of ~$10,000,000 per episode as of Season 6 and 7, during Season 1 there was no where near that amount of money being thrown at the project - In-fact the executive producers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff specifically noted that they had to cut many scenes from the season 1 scripts in order to fall within the budgetary limitations that HBO had put in place - though this resulted in several 1 to 1 dialogue scenes that have become iconic to the series and beloved by the fan-base ever since.
Given that No Man's Land will be a new series on HBO, though drawing from an existing source material in the same way that GoT draws from George R.R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice & Fire' book series -- I'll be looking at a similar budget for my series. The exact figures for specific information such as actor/actress salaries, sound and pyrotechnics, special FX and location scouting isn't specified individually, however the figure that was given during an annual fiscal meeting from HBO was ~$6,000,000 per episode during Season 1, with the exception of the pilot that was estimated to cost approximately $7-8,000,000.
If we were to take this into account and apply it to my series, it would actually work out cheaper than Game of Thrones Season 1 given that No Man's Land consists of only 8 episodes for it's first season, rather than the 10 episode format that Game of Thrones followed from Seasons 1-6;
- $6,000,000 x 8 episodes
(~$48,000,000)
- Additional $1-2,000,000 for additional polish and pilot procedures
(~$49-50,000,000 total budget for Season 1)
This budget would be in line with HBO's spending on similar new projects that also hold a high potential of ROI on the grounds of The Witcher having an existing and passionate fan-base. I initially thought the budget would be a lot less than this given that No Man's Land will be a new show, however after having gone through my research and analysed similar budgetary requirements for other HBO shows - I believe this figure would be accurate, while still coming in cheaper than the total cost for Game of Thrones Season 1 at an estimated $62,000,000.
By setting a budget like this, it allows me to secure talented actors/actresses during the casting process - as well as hiring the necessary equipment and production crew for a smooth and high production value shoot that adhere to the standards imposed by HBO.
One of the most important aspects of the pre-production package is the budgetary information. Even though I'm doing a hypothetical production as part of my unit, throughout this blog post I'll be referring to Game of Thrones as a reference point considering the similarities between Game of Thrones and No Man's Land: A Witcher Story I.e. Both air on the HBO Network and share a fantasy-lite/medieval setting.Despite Game of Thrones being one of the most popular shows on television in 2018 and having a budget of ~$10,000,000 per episode as of Season 6 and 7, during Season 1 there was no where near that amount of money being thrown at the project - In-fact the executive producers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff specifically noted that they had to cut many scenes from the season 1 scripts in order to fall within the budgetary limitations that HBO had put in place - though this resulted in several 1 to 1 dialogue scenes that have become iconic to the series and beloved by the fan-base ever since.
Given that No Man's Land will be a new series on HBO, though drawing from an existing source material in the same way that GoT draws from George R.R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice & Fire' book series -- I'll be looking at a similar budget for my series. The exact figures for specific information such as actor/actress salaries, sound and pyrotechnics, special FX and location scouting isn't specified individually, however the figure that was given during an annual fiscal meeting from HBO was ~$6,000,000 per episode during Season 1, with the exception of the pilot that was estimated to cost approximately $7-8,000,000.
If we were to take this into account and apply it to my series, it would actually work out cheaper than Game of Thrones Season 1 given that No Man's Land consists of only 8 episodes for it's first season, rather than the 10 episode format that Game of Thrones followed from Seasons 1-6;
- $6,000,000 x 8 episodes
(~$48,000,000)
- Additional $1-2,000,000 for additional polish and pilot procedures
(~$49-50,000,000 total budget for Season 1)
This budget would be in line with HBO's spending on similar new projects that also hold a high potential of ROI on the grounds of The Witcher having an existing and passionate fan-base. I initially thought the budget would be a lot less than this given that No Man's Land will be a new show, however after having gone through my research and analysed similar budgetary requirements for other HBO shows - I believe this figure would be accurate, while still coming in cheaper than the total cost for Game of Thrones Season 1 at an estimated $62,000,000.
By setting a budget like this, it allows me to secure talented actors/actresses during the casting process - as well as hiring the necessary equipment and production crew for a smooth and high production value shoot that adhere to the standards imposed by HBO.
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