A self-paced online course for:
- Anyone (in the film industry or not) interested in scheduling & budgeting a low budget (under $16.5mil), feature film.
- Aspiring producers, line producers, UPMs, and production supervisors.
- Creative producers looking to learn the production side of things.
When you learn where every dollar is going in your project and how to pivot when needed, nothing can stop you.
That's exactly what we teach at Film Parliament. Everything that goes into a film budget and a film schedule, including how to prep your script for scheduling: union agreements, union rules, working with non-union crew, working with minors, and more. I'll take you through the entire scheduling and budgeting process from start to finish.
Everything you get.
I love details. Maybe a little too much. In the budgeting section I'll walk you through the budget, account by account, and show you how I estimate rates.
I also give you lots of practical insights on things to look out for and rules you may not know so you can avoid costly mistakes.
Your instructor.
I've been in the film/TV production world since 2010. I've worked as a producer, line producer, associate producer, co-producer and production supervisor for studio and independent films/TV since 2015, in Los Angeles, NYC, Boston, Portland (OR), Chicago, Austin, Albuquerque, and Las Vegas.
I created this course because I remember how hard it was to learn how to schedule and budget projects when I was first starting out. I had so many questions, and I'm the type of person who really hates bothering people to ask... but I did anyway. So I created this course as a shortcut for those who don't have access to mentors who can teach them the ins and outs.
Hope it helps you make your script a reality, or helps you move up in the film/TV world. Feel free to check my IMDB.
Real students, real projects.
Choose your access.
Access to course content and a private Telegram group, either tier. Pay in full or split into 3 monthly payments.
Schedule & Budget Your Film
- 18+ hours of video content
- Lifetime access
- Access to course content
- Private Telegram group
+ 1 Hour Session w/ Blair
- Everything in Course Only
- 1-hour private session with Blair Skinner
- Use it to troubleshoot your budget or schedule
- Get real about what's working and what's not
FAQs.
Everything that goes into a film budget and a film schedule, including how to prep your script for scheduling. I get into union agreements, union rules, working with non-union crew, working with minors, etc. I'll take you through the entire scheduling and budgeting process from start to finish. You can view the course outline on The Lessons page. In the course I budget for a Los Angeles shoot, but I also touch on shooting in other states and things to look out for. Note: this course does not cover short films, animated films, or documentaries.
Anything under $16.5 million. I use this as a frame of reference because it's the highest budget threshold that IATSE uses for their low budget theatrical agreement.
I'll show you, step by step, how to create a one-line schedule for your film. A one-liner breaks down each shoot day, scene by scene, so you can figure out how many days you'll need to shoot your film. This schedule gives you the essential information you'll need to budget your film.
Yes! The course is self-paced and on-demand, built for people who are brand new to filmmaking and want to learn film scheduling and budgeting from scratch. You'll learn industry-standard programs (Movie Magic Scheduling and Movie Magic Budgeting) plus how to break down a script into a schedule and understand every line item in a budget.
All the major low budget union agreements (SAG-AFTRA, DGA, and WGA) are listed on the Resources page with direct links to the official documents.
Film Parliament's Case Studies page has 100+ real budget and schedule breakdowns from low budget indie films, including films like I Will Follow ($50k budget, 15 shoot days) and Pillion ($1mil budget, 28 shoot days). Each case study is sourced from interviews with the filmmakers themselves.
Not totally sure if the course is right for you? No problem. You've got a 14-day money-back guarantee. That's two full weeks to dive in, check out the lessons, and see if it actually helps you budget and schedule your indie film like a pro. But if you're not feeling it, just let us know and we'll refund you fast.
Totally self-paced. No live Zooms, so you don't have to re-work your schedule to meet live. You get to access the course lessons whenever you want.
I'll be using Final Draft, Movie Magic Scheduling, and Movie Magic Budgeting. You can use these or the alternative options I give you, or what you already have. Final Draft and Movie Magic Scheduling currently offer 30-day free trials; Movie Magic Budgeting is a monthly subscription at $39.99. I'll be giving you templates for Movie Magic Scheduling and Budgeting. If you won't be using Movie Magic Scheduling, just make sure your script program can export a .sex file (schedule export file). I cover all of this in the course.
You need one or the other. I use a Mac, so you'll be watching me work through the programs that way, but you can definitely use a PC.
Nope! If you don't have a script you want to take through the course, I'll provide you with a copyrighted script to work alongside me.
You'll see as you go through the course that you'll have almost all the answers you need built right in. That said, once you sign up you'll get access to my email, so if something comes up, feel free to reach out. If your question needs more hands-on time, you're welcome to book a 1:1 session (30 or 60 minutes).
My approach is pretty informal. I don't talk like a professor because I'm not one. I once told my boss, a line producer, that I wished I could download everything from his brain into mine so I could know everything he knew about production. That's what I feel like I've done with this course: all my production knowledge and experience over the years is now downloaded here for you to soak up.
Glad you asked. One of my favorite things about filmmaking is that you could give five different producers the same script and they'd all come up with a different schedule/budget based on their experience and relationships. I'll show you my process, but that doesn't mean it's the process. Everyone schedules and budgets differently, so I'll show you how I do it.
Fortunately, yes! Check out some of the projects I've worked on as either a Producer, Co-Producer, Line Producer, or Production Supervisor on the About section above, and check out my IMDB.
Make your script a reality.
18+ hours of lessons, real templates, and a script to work alongside. Self-paced, lifetime access, 14-day money-back guarantee.