Shooting Days

The number of shooting days is the backbone of any film production—it determines whether your budget is realistic or collapses upon reading the script. We're talking about actual working days here: Monday to Friday, without weekends, without holidays, without days when the lead actor is sick or the location falls through at short notice. You multiply this number by your daily costs (crew, equipment, catering, location)—and you'll know if the project is financable or remains a dream.

In practice, you work backward: the budget is fixed, the story too. The producer looks at the available funds and tells the 1st AD, "We have 30 shooting days." The 1st AD then breaks down the script by locations and scenes, prioritizing by logistical blocks—not by narrative chronology—and fills out their shooting schedule. If this results in 42 necessary days, scenes must be cut, combined, or shot with a smaller crew on other days. Every additional day costs real money: hotel costs for actors and crew, equipment rental, catering, location fees. One day of overrun can quickly cost 5,000 to 15,000 Euros—depending on the production size.

Streaming series work differently: often 70–90 shooting days are planned for a 10-episode series, because more time = more quality = better chances with the audience. A feature film with a 40 million budget typically runs 55–75 days, a low-budget film with 500,000 Euros might manage 12–18 days. Documentaries are wild: they are often planned with fewer days, but then the shooting period drags on due to weather or lack of access—the shooting days explode.

A strategic tip: always plan for a 10–15% reserve. Weather, technical failures, unforeseen events—they always happen. Those who calculate their budget too tightly will be on set when the DP's camera fails and have to choose: continue and lose quality, or add an unplanned day and go bankrupt. The best productions build in buffers—that's not a waste, that's craftsmanship.