Sounds like a mildly tedious process.
Heh.
Mildly? Not at all.
It's mind numbingly tedious. But when other people are giving
you money, be it donations from friends and family or accredited
investors, a full, line item budget must be done. Every single
expenditure must be researched and accounted for. I have line
items for batteries, tape (gaffers, camera, marking and double-sided),
phone calls and even pens.
As you know from reading these forums, many filmmakers come
here asking about how much they can expect to make when their
movie is distributed. The distributors must keep detailed records of
how much they spend and what is coming in to pay out accurate
percentages.
We - the makers of the movie - must do the same thing.