Introduction
Day 7 of a 20-day shoot, and the first AD pulls you aside: you are half a day behind schedule. The director wants to add a day to catch up. Before you say yes, you need one number: your daily burn rate. On a production that shot in Georgia, the UPM calculated a burn rate of $18,500 per day. Adding one day meant finding $18,500 that did not exist. They found $12,000 by compressing two travel days, but the remaining $6,500 came from post-production funds, forcing the editor to work on a compressed timeline.
The Shooting Day Cost Estimator totals every major cost category into a single per-day number. Enter your crew size, day rates, equipment rental, location fees, catering, and overhead, and the tool returns your daily burn rate and total cost across your entire shoot schedule.
What This Tool Calculates
The estimator accepts 11 inputs: crew size, average crew day rate, number of cast members, average cast day rate, daily equipment rental cost, location fee per day, catering cost per head, transport and fuel costs, permit costs, miscellaneous expenses, and total shoot days. It outputs a line-by-line daily breakdown showing the cost of each category, the total daily burn rate, and the total production cost across all shoot days. Catering is automatically calculated by multiplying the per-head rate by the combined crew and cast headcount.
The Formula and How It Works
The daily burn rate formula is a simple summation: Daily Burn = (Crew Size multiplied by Avg Crew Day Rate) + (Cast Members multiplied by Avg Cast Day Rate) + Equipment Rental + Location Fee + (Total Heads multiplied by Catering Per Head) + Transport + Permits + Miscellaneous. Total Production Cost = Daily Burn multiplied by Shoot Days. This follows standard production accounting methodology referenced in the Producers Guild of America production management guidelines.
Worked example: A 15-person crew at $450 per day ($6,750), 4 cast at $1,000 per day ($4,000), $2,500 equipment, $1,500 location, 19 people at $45 catering ($855), $300 transport, $200 permits, $500 miscellaneous. Daily burn: $16,605. Over 20 days, total production cost: $332,100.
Real-World Examples
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Micro-Budget Feature. A 5-person crew at $200 average day rate, 2 cast at $150, $800 equipment (owner-operated camera), $0 location, 7 people at $25 catering, $50 transport. Daily burn: $2,025. Over 12 days: $24,300. The producer budgeted $30,000, leaving $5,700 for post and contingency.
Example 2: Commercial Shoot. A 22-person crew at $600 average, 3 cast at $2,500, $4,500 equipment (ARRI Alexa Mini LF with anamorphic glass), $3,000 location (downtown rooftop), 25 heads at $55 catering, $600 transport, $400 permits, $800 misc. Daily burn: $30,475. The 3-day shoot totals $91,425.
Example 3: Mid-Budget Feature. A 35-person crew at $500 average, 8 cast at $1,200, $5,000 equipment, $2,000 location, 43 heads at $50 catering, $500 transport, $300 permits, $1,000 misc. Daily burn: $30,550. Over 25 days: $763,750. The line producer notices crew costs represent 57% of the daily burn and looks for 3 positions to consolidate, saving $37,500 over the shoot.
Daily Burn Rate Benchmarks by Production Type
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| The following benchmarks reflect typical daily burn rates. | |
| Your actual numbers will vary based on location, crew rates, and project requirements. Production Type | Typical Crew Size | Daily Burn Range | Primary Cost Driver Micro-Budget Feature | 3 to 8 | $1,000 to $5,000 | Equipment rental Low-Budget Indie | 10 to 20 | $5,000 to $20,000 | Crew labor Mid-Budget Feature | 25 to 50 | $20,000 to $60,000 | Crew and cast labor Studio Feature | 80 to 200+ | $100,000 to $500,000+ | Cast and above-the-line Commercial | 15 to 30 | $15,000 to $50,000 | Equipment and location Documentary | 3 to 10 | $1,500 to $8,000 | Travel and equipment Music Video | 8 to 20 | $3,000 to $25,000 | Equipment and location. |
Pro Tips and Common Mistakes
Pro Tips
- Line producers calculate the burn rate before finalizing the schedule, not after.
- If your burn rate multiplied by your planned shoot days exceeds 60% of your total budget, you have either too many days or too expensive a daily operation.
- Adjust before day one. Build a 'what if we lose a day' scenario into pre-production planning.
- Knowing that one rain day costs $16,600 changes how you prioritize weather-dependent exteriors.
Common Mistakes
- What counts as miscellaneous costs? Expendables (tape, gels, diffusion), petty cash, office supplies, cell phone charges, walkie-talkie rental, and any cost that does not fit another category.
- Budget $300 to $1,000 per day depending on scale. Should I include post-production in the daily burn rate? No.
- The daily burn covers production days only.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as miscellaneous costs?
Expendables, petty cash, office supplies, walkies, cell phone charges, and any cost outside standard categories. Budget $300 to $1,000 per day depending on production scale.
Should I include post-production in the daily burn rate?
No. The daily burn covers production days only. Post-production is budgeted separately. Including it inflates your daily number and distorts scheduling decisions.
How do I handle crew who work only part of the schedule?
Prorate their cost across the days they work. Or run the calculator separately for full-crew days versus reduced-crew days to get two different burn rates.
Does the burn rate include overtime?
The base calculation uses day rates, which typically assume a standard 10- to 12-hour day. For overtime exposure, use the Overtime Cost Calculator separately and add the premium to your daily burn.
Start Calculating
Your daily burn rate is the single most important number in production budgeting. It tells you what every schedule decision costs in real dollars. Before you lock your shooting schedule, run your numbers through the estimator above. What does your daily burn rate look like, and which cost category surprised you the most? Bookmark this page and revisit it each time your crew list or equipment package changes during pre-production.
