Generates a structured production budget estimate for a specific project element or an entire short-form production, broken down by standard industry cost categories.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/autopunk-media-skills:budget-estimatorThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Generates a structured production budget estimate for a specific project element or an entire short-form production, broken down by standard industry cost categories.
Generates a structured production budget estimate for a specific project element or an entire short-form production, broken down by standard industry cost categories.
Required:
Optional:
A structured budget table with:
Currency matches the territory specified. Estimates given as ranges where exact costs depend on quotes.
Project: 3-part documentary series (3 × 45 minutes) about urban farming initiatives across three European cities. Production includes interviews, observational shooting, some aerial drone footage, and archival material. Budget territory: Germany/Western Europe. This is for a public broadcaster funding application.
Budget estimate — Urban farming documentary series (3 × 45 min)
| Category | Line item | Unit cost | Qty | Subtotal | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development | €18,500 | ||||
| Research & development | €3,000 | 1 | €3,000 | Desktop research, contributor identification | |
| Location scouting (3 cities) | €2,500 | 3 | €7,500 | Travel + 2 days per city | |
| Development producer | €4,000 | 1 | €4,000 | 10 days @ €400/day | |
| Rights research | €2,000 | 1 | €2,000 | Archive pre-clearance | |
| Legal (option agreements) | €2,000 | 1 | €2,000 | Contributor agreements | |
| Pre-production | €14,000 | ||||
| Producer (prep) | €400/day | 15 | €6,000 | Schedule, logistics, permits | |
| Director (prep) | €450/day | 10 | €4,500 | Treatment refinement, shot planning | |
| Travel & accommodation (recce) | €1,500 | 2 | €3,000 | 2 recce trips | |
| Insurance | €500 | 1 | €500 | Production insurance | |
| Production | €89,400 | ||||
| Director | €450/day | 30 | €13,500 | 10 shoot days × 3 episodes | |
| Camera operator | €450/day | 30 | €13,500 | ||
| Sound recordist | €350/day | 30 | €10,500 | ||
| Producer (shoot) | €400/day | 36 | €14,400 | Including travel days | |
| Drone operator + equipment | €1,200/day | 6 | €7,200 | 2 days per city | |
| Camera kit rental | €300/day | 30 | €9,000 | 4K documentary kit | |
| Sound kit rental | €100/day | 30 | €3,000 | ||
| Travel (crew, 3 cities) | €3,000 | 3 | €9,000 | Flights + ground transport | |
| Accommodation | €120/night | 75 | €9,000 | 3 crew × 25 nights | |
| Per diems | €30/day | 120 | €3,600 | 4 crew × 30 days | |
| Miscellaneous production | €700 | 1 | €700 | Parking, consumables, contingency items | |
| Post-production | €52,500 | ||||
| Editor | €400/day | 60 | €24,000 | 20 days per episode | |
| Edit suite rental | €150/day | 60 | €9,000 | Or license fee if in-house | |
| Director (post) | €450/day | 15 | €6,750 | 5 days per episode | |
| Composer / music licensing | €3,000 | 3 | €9,000 | Per episode | |
| Sound mix | €1,500 | 3 | €4,500 | Per episode | |
| Grade / online | €2,500 | 3 | €7,500 | Per episode | |
| Archive licensing | €5,000 | 1 | €5,000 | Estimated; depends on sources | |
| Graphics / titles | €2,000 | 1 | €2,000 | Series package | |
| Delivery | €7,500 | ||||
| Subtitling (3 languages) | €1,500 | 3 | €4,500 | DE, EN, FR | |
| Delivery masters | €1,000 | 3 | €3,000 | Broadcaster specs | |
| Overheads | €9,100 | ||||
| Production office | €500/month | 8 | €4,000 | 8-month production period | |
| Communication / admin | €300/month | 8 | €2,400 | ||
| Accounting | €2,700 | 1 | €2,700 | Production accounting | |
| Contingency | €19,100 | ||||
| 10% of total | €19,100 | Standard for controlled European doc production |
Grand total: €210,100
Budget notes:
npx claudepluginhub ur-grue/autopunk-media-skills --plugin autopunk-media-skillsGenerates a structured line-item budget estimate for documentary production using industry rate ranges. Useful for pitches, funding applications, or sanity-checking existing budgets.
Builds day-by-day production schedules for film/commercial shoots, balancing creative needs with crew, location, and budget constraints. Useful during pre-production planning.
Gives realistic time and cost estimates for each step in a plan, explaining in human terms. Useful for project planning and effort estimation.