How Entertainment Industry Can Cut Production Costs & Budget Overruns

If you are in the entertainment industry you already know that making a movie or web series is always kind of messy due to the reason that you are juggling between cameras, lights, actors, VFX people, and most importantly the deadlines which are actually moving faster than checking your data sheets. ERP for entertainment industry might sound to you like we are talking about just the financing or accounting tool but in reality it far more than that. It is actually a glue that helps in joining and keeping all of your departments be it production to post production all on the same page.

ERP for the entertainment industry can be though of as a production assistant for all of your digital needs. It will help you in a lot of operational work like you can track budgets, schedules, your equipment, contracts, and all of your files all in one place.

So, you have every thing at the touch of your fingers and you can say good bye to all of the manual processes that included juggling between your work spreadsheets, sticky notes and WhatsApp groups.

Let’s See Why your Budgets Go Off the Rail

I have already seen that even if we talk about the experienced producers they also are not able to overcome their rising costs. Let us check why entertainment industry has cost explosions and brief you through the main reasons that we have seen on the ground –

Sometimes you get to know that a location is going to charge extra for overtime or a VFX shot will be requiring a re-render due to the some issues or even you find that extra travel along with hotel bookings for the actors are required. So, if you are not tracking these expenses in that case your expenses will shoot.

Scheduling can sometimes bring anxiety to you when you come to know that your lead actor will only be free for 3 days in Mumbai, cranes for the camera are already booked, and the shoot window for outside locations have vanished due to the permits. So, one missed call or a double booked resource and you get to pay for the hold days.

Freelancer and talent payments are also one of the reasons for cost explosions, for example – you are in a need of a gaffer for five days but tracking the same manually or your invoices are piling up and payments are late, along with crew getting frustrated due to the same. So, delays can for sure be the reason to spark any disputes and step towards union penalties.

Managing the equipment is always a chaos be it your cameras, sound gear, OB vans. Rented gear will always end up not completely used or some times double booked most of the times. The issue here is that you are loosing money because you are not able to see what is available and foremost when.

Post production headaches include issues wherein the editors are still waiting for the raw footage to arrive, you are sharing the large VFX files that are huge through insecure drives, there are multiple versions of a scene which causes rework. All of this is basically killing out your time and money.

How does ERP Fixes the Problems?

Let us check now for the production people how they can fight the cost overruns in a way that ity actually makes sense for them.

You must always check your budgets in real time what does this mean is for example imagine that your producer’s dashboard is able to show every expense in live be it regarding location fee to catering or when a VFX shot is exceeding the budget ERP system sends in a notification. So , this will help you in dodging last minute panic without any surprises.

You can have a mart scheduling system, that will know when your lead actor will be free or when the camera cranes are booked and where the drone is. So, the system will help you in bringing up the conflicts before they even happen along with that for you there will be less waiting, fewer hold delays and lesser extra costs.

If we look towards contracts and freelance payments the these can be set on auto pilot mode. What i mean by that is you will have to digitize all contracts in one place for actors, gaffers, editors, and freelancers. So, when you have this at place the system tracks the payments, schedule, union rules, and taxes automatically. Finally every one will get paid on time, disputes if any will drop, and the working staff’s morale will always stay high.

You can even track assets and equipment like – camera, drone, light kit, dolly as you have already logged them into the ERP system. You have the insight to where everything is, when their maintenance will be due, and if it is available for the next shoot. So, you have a clarity and you will have to rent only what you will be in need of thereby saving you money and headaches.

Now, you will have a painless post production wherein your editors, colorist and VFX artists will be able to access latest versions of every shot that you have take online. All of your large files will move securely and fast to the recipient. All in all you are off will email chains, lost dives, or overwrites that happened accidentally.

What kind of Saving Should you Expect?

Well, to be on ground most of the studios and production houses using ERP have reported that there is a –

• Cost reduction by avoiding over spending by almost 15–20%.
• Faster shooting and editing due to the proper scheduling option.
• Better crew satisfaction as now their payments and contracts are automatic.
• Less wasted equipment rentals that helps them to freeing cash for other creative needs.
• Clearer accounting and reporting without any last minute surprises when investors ask for ROI.

Why Does Odoo ERP Works for Entertainment Industry

Below i have listed four major points and that are –

• As it is a modular unified system so you can start with scheduling or accounting, add other tools later.
• Being fully customizable helps it to fit to your workflow, whether web series, indie films, or feature films.
• It is cloud based hence if you have remote editors or producers in other cities they you never have a problem.
• It is cost efficient unlike legacy ERPs as it will never eat up your production budget.

Odoo ERP is basically your production partner that will always watch over your budget while you are focusing on your story, shots and creative magic.

Lastly, for any production house who is serious about their growth adopting Odoo ERP is like hiring a supercharged producer for your entire operation.

To know more, drop us a line at sales@apagen.com or call us on +91 9971800665.