Figuring Out Your Audio Budget at Soundcrafter

Crew members work on projects of all sizes and budgets. For low-budget, the client works directly with the crew member, who typically works from home and may only use the facility for the final days of the mix. For medium and large budgets, crew members are paid through payroll — either by the client or by Soundcrafter — and the facility is open for full project use, with the fee calculated as a percentage of total labor.

We typically put together budget estimates based on a review of your locked picture. If you already know which crew member you'd like to work with, contact them directly through their page on this website. If you're not sure, or your project isn't locked yet and you'd like more information, contact Soundcrafter and one of us will help.

For Low Budget — When you first contact us, let us know if your project is low budget. As a general guideline, a 90-minute narrative under $15,000 is considered low budget, and a 90-minute documentary under $5,000 is considered low budget.

We can share example budgets, but if your project is locked (or close to it), sending us a link so one of us can review it will get you the accurate estimate. The crew member putting together your estimate may ask a few questions — maybe about dialogue issues, or how much sound design you're looking for, or your schedule. If the estimate comes in higher than you'd like, we can connect you to another crew member.

Once you approve an estimate, that crew member will likely be the one you work with throughout the project. Their responsibility is to do quality work and stay within the estimate. Sometimes the filmmaker provides a contract; other times the crew member does. Often, no contract is signed at all.

For new filmmakers, payment is typically split — half at the start and half before delivery. Additional costs, if any, are most often related to picture changes. More info about picture changes is here.