How Much? (ca 1963)

[Music] one of the first questions I asked about Film Production is how much well how long is a piece of string AEM motion picture is not a stock or invent ventory item it can cost surprisingly little or involve a budget that would choke an elephant now the cost of camera raw stock that's a fixed item maybe this is the place to start now let me see uh my movie should run about 20 minutes that'll take about seven Rolls a film and about $8 a roll that'll be $56 then magnetic striping let me see 20 minutes is 720 ft at 2 1/2 cents a foot that'll be $18 $18 and 56 are $74 so 20-minute film will cost about 70 $75 boy movie sure cost an awful lot yeah yes films can cost a lot but there's more to producing AEM motion picture than buying raw stock perhaps it would be better to go to someone with film [Music] [Applause] experience photo department Sawyer oh yes uh Jim this is Joe Madden sales promotion oh yeah Joe what can I do for you we want to make a product picture on that new tram jet 16 mm color say about uh 20 minutes how much cost well give me some more information Joe information what kind of information well you know who's the audience going to be how many locations how many actors how much equipment you know look Jim we'll whack all that stuff out later call me back huh in about 5 minutes we want to get going yeah but but but Joe [Applause] [Applause] Joe hello Joe $122,000 fine I knew you'd come up with a figure that it'd be right in the bullseye thanks Jim sure okay sometimes the bullseye is way off base certain basic information is required before a quotation can be made it might be best to call in an outside expert a practicing producer for some realistic and firm figures there's really no secret about prices you know there's no secret about our prices Mr Johnson no indeed I'll figure them out for you right now I'm listening yes sir now I want to be sure I've got all the facts straight now what you want is a uh a 20-minute film right that's right and uh you want it in uh full sound and uh full color that's right right all right now uh we want to show the uh the factory yes and uh any other scenes that are necessary to tell the story right that's right okay let me figure this now for a few minutes and uh I'll have it for you fine that's what I've got to have because well naturally price is a big factor got to fit into our budget on the other hand we don't intend to be unreasonable we realize that pictures cost money and I've discussed that angle pretty thoroughly with our board and I think they understand it you get about what you pay for and anything you buy so we can understand a reasonable proposition but we don't expect to pay Hollywood prices we wouldn't hold still for that indeed not so if you can convince me that your price is fair and that the picture will be good well I'll be able to get the money from my board fine that's the business-like way to look at it Mr Johnson oh yes the businesslike approach it involves many things how much you have to spend is a rather critic item as it will determine how much a producer can work into a film when you're contemplating a show discuss it with a producer in its earliest stages give him complete and detailed information and allow him to submit a proposal this proposal will contain a total budget and cost breakdown and a suggested story treatment this permits determination of cost in advance of expenditure and gives a comprehensive idea of the end product but without sufficient information the question how much can only be answered by how long is a piece of [Music] string