As you know, loyal readers, we have been chronicling our antics from the Filmable 2024/2025 series. From our epic VIFF party to learning how to give better feedback, we accomplished a lot, and are proud to share with you all.
In our fourth chronicle in this series, let’s take a look at them Filmable Budgeting Workshop!
TLDR:
One of the most asked questions is, what does a producer do? We thought, let’s answer this question by starting with the basics: script breakdown, budgeting and scheduling. And whom better to impart this wisdom than the one and only, Amanda Verhagen!
On a crisp Saturday in February, TWENTY-FIVE producers gathered at Boldly to learn from Amanada, gain some hands-on experience and deepen their practice.
Thank you to Creative BC and Boldly for supporting this workshop.
THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT
Amanda Verhagen, leading the budgeting workshop
What does a producer even do? That is the golden question. Everyone has their own take, but from what we’ve learned from doing for the last decade - it's a little bit of everything. A Producer is at the eye of the storm. They are the ones who are ultimately responsible for the production, the creative development, the crew, the financing - the whole enchilada. It’s a big job! Even as a creative producing your own films, you need a foundational understanding of your responsibilities, and yet where do you learn?
As far as we can tell, there aren’t Producing schools, or courses to take after Film School to learn the ropes. It’s often learning through doing, and that can be challenging.
Working together on the budget
At Filmable, it’s important that there is access to this knowledge so that producers can enter into their projects armed with the tools and skills they need to successfully see a project through. SO we started at the beginning. Producing 101. And who better to invite to impart this wisdom than the local legend, Amanda Verhagen.
Hands on scheduling
She led 25 local producers through a workshop that took us back to the basics:
Breaking down the script
Scheduling
Budgeting
It was a hands on experience, where the producers would break out into small teams to create their own one-liners, put their heads together on how to cost out a script and properly break it down.
It was a full day, and boy did we learn a lot!
Breaking it all down, together.
There was tremendous demand for this workshop, and unfortunately we couldn’t accommodate everyone, but we are definitely intending to do another one next season.
Keep an eye out!
