The guiding principles of departmental budgeting in high-end TV and film

• Do you work in a craft or tech department in HETV of film?
• Do you want to improve your knowledge about budgeting and/or spreadsheets?
• Do you find budgeting and tracking costs a challenge?
• Are you about to take on a role where you need to develop budgeting skills?

The guiding principles of departmental budgeting course will be delivered online as a mixture of live sessions interspersed with on-demand learning.  The entire course is designed to provide High-end TV and film professionals the skills and confidence to prepare departmental budgets, so that productions have access to a highly skilled workforce.

This training is supported by the ScreenSkills High-end TV Skills Fund with contributions from UK high-end TV productions and by the ScreenSkills Film Skills Fund with contributions from UK film productions.

Who it's for

This course is open to HETV and film professionals who:

• have three years’+ experience in HETV or film
• work in art, costume, hair & make-up, locations or AD departments
• are a craft/technical co-ordinator. 3rd AD or a head of department
• lack experience and/or confidence in budgeting
• would like to develop their skills and learn how to put together a departmental budget; that can be backed up with credible and consistent assumptions

We also welcome applications from those looking to return to work following a career break who have equivalent experience.

We always welcome applications from under-represented groups, including, but not limited to: those from minority ethnic backgrounds; people with a disability; people from the LGBTQ+ community and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

We offer inclusive training. If you have any needs which we can accommodate during the recruitment process and beyond, or would like support completing the booking form and/or would like us to send it to you in an alternative format, please email: training@mission.guru.

This is a nationwide scheme so we welcome applications from across the UK. 

What it covers

The training course will be delivered as a mixture of on-demand and live content sessions. The on-demand modules will be made available to participants as soon as they have been accepted onto the course. 

Module 1: Introduction to Budgeting - live zoom session facilitated by trainer Addie Orfila

• • introduction to the course
  • aims and objectives
  • why departmental budgeting is important
  • introduction to key elements of the course

Module 2: A series of four on-demand e-learning lessons to guide participants through creating and tracking a departmental budget.

• • Lesson 1 – introduction to the production budget
  • Lesson 2 – how do you create a departmental budget
  • Lesson 3 – tracking and forecasting budgets and actual costs
  • Lesson 4 – estimating labour and material costs

• There will be AD department specific budgeting content available

Module 3: Everything you ever wanted to know about budgeting for your department. Following the completion of on-demand Module 2, these sessions will be delivered live via zoom and will be department specific (AD, Art, Costume Hair and Make-up, Locations). Participants will be given the opportunity to learn first-hand from an experienced head of department, relevant to their department, about the specifics of budgeting for their department. This module will be hosted by the trainer, Addie Orfila, and includes a structured conversation with a HOD, using real life examples from productions.

Module 4: Everything you ever wanted to know about working with a Production Accountant. These sessions are live and wrap up the course. Participants will be given the opportunity to learn first-hand from an experienced Production Accountant, about the specifics of working with accounts.  This module will be hosted by the trainer, Addie Orfila, and includes a structured conversation with a Production Accountant.

By the end of the course, participants will have the knowledge and confidence to prepare and present their own departmental budgets and will :

• have confidence using spreadsheets
• be able to troubleshoot spreadsheet problems
• be confident in estimating materials
• be confident in estimating labour
• prepare consistent budgets based on information and tangible assumptions
• be able to communicate their budget to a line producer, head of department and/or production accountant
• understand the impact of production changes on their budget
• know how to revise and communicate budget impacts following changes in production

How to apply

This course combines live Zoom sessions with on-demand e-learning. All participants begin with an introductory live session and on-demand training.

The final live session with a Production Accountant is open to all participants eligible for the live modules. This session provides valuable insight into what Production Accountants need from you and practical tips for effective communication.

Within 48 hours of acceptance onto the course, you will receive access details for the on-demand training.

Please select the block of dates for your Introduction and Production Accountant sessions. Each block is designed as a pair so you must be available for both sessions within the same block.

Click the 'Apply Now' button to select one of the following blocks.

Block 4

• Introduction : Saturday 6 December 2025 09.30-11.00
• Production Accountant: Saturday 31 January 2025 11.30-13.00

Block 5

• Introduction : Tuesday 3 February 2026 19.00-20.30
• Production Accountant: Tuesday 24 March 2026 19.00-20.30

Please note that participants with 3+ years’ experience who have completed on-demand Module 2 will be invited to join a department-specific live session (Module 3), offering the chance to learn directly from an experienced Head of Department.

Dates TBC

 

Contact information

Name: Viktorija Safonova
Email: training@mission.guru