Lessons
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1. Preproduction v
vp1-0. Opening
vp1-1. Five skills
vp1-2. Writing
vp1-3. Keeping track
vp1-4. First impression
vp1-5. Successful scouting
vp1-6. Words of wisdom
vp1-7. Conclusion

2. Production
vp2-0. Opening
vp2-1. Five production skills
vp2-2. Pep talk
vp2-3. Lighting
vp2-4. Camera
vp2-5. Sound
vp2-6. Words of wisdom
vp2-7. Closing

3. Postproduction
vp3-0. Opening
vp3-1. Five skills
vp3-2. Editing
vp3-3. Grading and graphics
vp3-4. Sound
vp3-5. Speaking
vp3-6. Words of wisdom

4. Equipment
4-0. Opening
4-1. Camera
4-2. Tripod
4-3. Sound
4-4. Lighting
4-5. Editing
4-6. Packing
4-7. Closing

​

Lesson

vp1-3. Keeping track
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Introduction
In this chapter, we cover two items, the importance of keeping track of the shots you’ll need and keeping track of your expenses.

What you will learn 
You’ll learn about databases and the benefits and limits of trying to plan and predict a movie’s success.

The Perfect Budget
To prepare your movie budget, estimate sales income and expenses. Great. Now, subtract expenses from income. Next, throw the paper away. That’s right. You don’t need it. It’s just a fantasy. Think I’m kidding? Did you include the following:

• Credit card interest on all charged expenses
• Parking, not to be confused with -
• Parking tickets, flat tires, tow service
• Wear and tear on your car, per mile
• Gas and a snack
• Equipment wear and tear
• The thing that is missing
• Backup hard drives

​A lot of production companies use spreadsheets to keep track of information. But I prefer a database. It lets you search any word and sort any field. I love them.

For example, I’m preparing an outdoor shoot for this project. I search ‘Video’ and ‘Exterior.’ Bingo. I have my shot list. 

Of course, it took time to enter this data. But now I can find it in a second. Reports can include a contact or mailing list, language translations, sales, and expenses.

Conclusion
Movie-making is all about details, so the easier you can organize them, the better. A database helps keep track of all shot types needed. A spreadsheet does, too, but a database has the most options for sorting information and creating reports.

Practice

Create a 1:00-2:00 minute video telling about a time you kept track of expenses or forgot to and say then what happened. 

If you have a video project you can tell about keeping track of expenses. Tell about any problems or solutions you had.