Ask most production service providers whether their contributions are essential to a commercial production and you invariably get an affirmative.

And the truth is that most of them are right.

While agencies and clients demand greater efficiency and consistent high quality work for ever-declining budgets, services are often the target of their demands to find savings.

But where exactly do you cut? Productions need a director, a DOP, a crew, craft services, makeup, hair, props and sets.

Rather it’s how you approach many of these areas that savings can be found.

Acccording to Mark Bisson, executive producer at Mad Films in Toronto, savings usually come in the form of calling in a favor or two. Since you can’t cut a provider out completely, the best way to save is to leverage relationships with your regular suppliers, he says.

‘You go to the suppliers where you’ve been doing all of your work and say, ‘Okay, I need this one done cheaper.’

For instance, Bisson might go to a set builder he uses regularly and check out what they’ve built for other productions.

Coming up with creative solutions to meet tight budgets is after all a second calling for virtually anyone working in commercial production in Canada.

Producers, for example, may steer clear of a professionally designed studio with a full grid and soundproofing and opt instead for a simple warehouse that might cost $1,000 per day as opposed to $2,500. Bring along outhouses and cell phones, build a set with some used pieces and the production is ready to go.

Derek Sewell, executive producer at The Players Film Company in Toronto, says savings begin with the creative. Simple spots that require less going in can save money and still have the necessary impact.

However, Sewell adds, there is one area that is particularly flexible: the art department.

‘If you have a budget done for a job and you want to cut it, it almost always comes out of the art department – because it’s subjective. Who’s to say you have to have this or that.’

Nowhere is this truer than in set design.

According to set builder John Bankson, owner of Hotsets Film, there is a great amount of flexibility in set design. The fact is, there are few single areas where so much can be saved, he says.

Bankson has been called upon to build everything from a Plexiglas and steel squash court destined to be set up in a forest north of Toronto to a simple period apartment with hardwood floors and moldings – and that is just in the last few weeks. Budgets, he says, range from $10,000 to $100,000.

The more elaborate sets typically come through roadhouse productions, Bankson says, while local work requires far more attention to budgetary constraints.

‘We see a lot of variations,’ he says.

‘Sometimes we’re working backwards where producers will say, ‘The [client] is maxed out at $30,000 for paint and construction. So what can we do?’ It’s a very flexible thing.’

In such cases, Bankson might look at a storyboard and recommend new set plans and in some cases help rejig the shooting schedule accordingly to help meet the budget.

Bankson says one area that could save productions significant dollars but which producers rarely take advantage of is giving set designers more lead time.

The Artist Group, which provides makeup, hair, wardrobe and props to commercials, also can provide a certain level of flexibility to a production.

‘Our artists work a different rates so you go to more junior talent,’ says Julie Miller, director of The Artist Group. ‘You ask, how imperative is makeup on this spot? Maybe on a straightahead lifestyle spot, it’s something where they could go with a junior artist. But if it’s a beauty spot, definitely not. I would say splurge there and cut back the set. So it’s always a challenge.’

But Miller warns that these areas should not be the target for deep cuts because hair, makeup, wardrobe and props are relatively simple and inexpensive areas that can make a significant difference to the look of a spot.

Indeed, Bisson says that trying to cut in areas such as wardrobe by bringing in, perhaps, a less experienced and, therefore, less expensive buyer can actually end up costing more.

‘They don’t know the ins and outs as much. They might need three days to find what you want instead of half a day,’ he says.

‘You’ve really got to weigh your costs to make sure you’re working with the right people.’

And weighing your costs is always the bottom line when it comes to commercial production. *

-www.madfilmsinc.com

-www.playfilm.com

-www.artistgrouplimited.com