Budgets, production costs, and salaries

[JoeD80]

When it was shooting on film Enterprise cost in the neighborhood of 2.2 mil per show. After the switch to digital in the fourth season the cost dropped to 1.8 mil. The start up costs for the new sets for Enterprise we around 10 mil. Remember, the studio was looking to spread that cost over the projected seven season run of the show.

You don't cross budgets between seasons. Each season has its own separate budget because shows are ordered season-by-season.

 

[scotpens]

Whoa, this ep went waaaay over, then. I know pilots are expensive, but why so expensive?

Real silver in the contact lenses?

 

[Nerys Myk]

Whats with Gary's shirt?

 

[scotpens]

Whats with Gary's shirt?

And Sally's too. Looks like somebody flopped the photo.

It wasn't me.

 

[Sir Rhosis]

^^^Aren't they looking in a mirror in that shot?

 

[Cepstrum]

FWIW, here's the cost breakdown of the second Star Trek pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” taken from The Making of Star Trek. (Remember, we're talking 1965 dollars here.) According to the book, production actually ran $12,000 over budget.

Wow, that's fantastic information, just the kind of breakdown I was hoping for! I don't suppose there are any similar data for the TNG era shows, are there?

 

[Cepstrum]

Just so people don't have to do it themselves:

http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm says that $1 in 1965 dollars is worth $6.93 in 2010 dollars, so the $12,000 over the stated budget equals $83,115.43 in today's terms. That $215,644 for "total costs excluding overages" equals to $1,493,611.96 in 2010 dollars. "Adjusted total costs including overages" of $299,974 equals $2,077,705.63 in 2010 terms. If it went $12k past the "adjusted total costs" in 1965 dollars, thus, that pushes it up to approximately $2.1 million for one episode in 2010 terms.

Pretty expensive, even taking into account the fact of it being a second pilot.

Penta: thanks for doing the calculations for us.

But don't you think it's a little more complicated than just adjusting for inflation? Even though the USD's inflationary history is easily calcuble, some things change in real cost *while* inflation is occuring. One obvious example is the real cost of integrated circuits/computing power per dollar. They changed at a rate very different than say, bread.

I imagine the same is true in the film industry. As someone noted, the cost of Enterprise dropped from $2.2M to $1.8M following the introduction of digital filming.

But I'm just being an annoying nitpicker. Adjusting for inflation is a good ballpark figure. Besides, in terms of bottom-line cost from the studio's POV, the dollar amount is all that matters; they don't care how the inflation-adjusted costs of TOS measure up to those of Enterprise. The accounting guys couldn't care less. It is only for people like I who might want to compare on series to another. Other than that, the real cost is all that matters.

Thanks again, Penta!

 

[Anji]

Not sure if this will help much but if you could research a trade magazine such as Variety or The Hollywood Reporter you may get the numbers you need? I'm sorry I can't quote any numbers off the top of my head.

 

[Cepstrum]

^^^

thanks for the tip. I'd not thought of such things.

Of course, I could as a last resort hire a private investigator...

but seriously: thanks.

 

[Therin of Andor]

One obvious example is the real cost of integrated circuits/computing power per dollar. They changed at a rate very different than say, bread.

A ST example: Andorian antennae. TOS antennae were made of wooden cotton spools. TAS antennae were drawn cels. TMP antennea were moulded slip latex (a new innovation of the late 70s), ST IV antennae were an advancement on the 70s method, while ENT used miniaturized electronic parts that had been too large to do the job only a year or so earlier.

You don't cross budgets between seasons. Each season has its own separate budget because shows are ordered season-by-season.

But... TNG's standing sets were charged across the first five seasons. This is what I meant about "creative accounting". Seasons 2-5 would not have been permitted to spend what Season 1 spent on sets because the "allowance" had already been spent.

 

[JoeD80]

All the sets weren't built at once. Ten-Forward wasn't built until season two because they needed the season two budget for it. Otherwise you could have had Ten-Forward in the first episode, and the new observation deck (the first season used a redressed set; it was built new later). Those sets were built when new budgets were allocated for them. Rearranging the season budget is fine because you already have guaranteed money for 22 or 26 episodes or how ever many, but there's no guarantee of the next season, and you'd be totally screwed if you used $10,000,000 from the next season's budget and the stations that carry you decided to pass on the show and gave you $0.