When I’m hired to direct a job, the client and my company have a kick-off meeting to go over the product and the client’s production expectations. A budget is designed based on that information. The important thing is that both client and production company are clear on what is being delivered for the agreed-upon-dollar figure, so there is no confusion later on.

Below are three budget ranges. These are general budget ranges, based on my experiences producing in Los Angeles and New York. There are many unique factors that go into a final budget, but at least you’ll have a place of reference before you start calling companies or raising funds.

If you’re shooting a series (multiple workouts), everything takes longer: development, production and post. Conversely, if you’re shooting one workout, your costs will be lower. These general budgets are for production and post production. They do not include marketing or distribution costs (more on those in the next section).