How to split a production budget across set, 3D and post
How a budget is split across each stage shapes the final result as much as creativity itself. Here are the benchmarks we give clients to help them decide.
The budget question comes up early in every project, and the standard answer — 'a third for set, a third for 3D, a third for post' — almost never actually makes sense. The right split depends entirely on what the campaign is carrying.
When the product is the absolute star of the visual — a packshot, a product launch — we recommend concentrating the budget on 3D and compositing, even if it means reducing live shooting to a minimal reference capture.
When the film relies on acting or a human performance, the opposite is true: no amount of 3D replaces good casting and enough shooting time to capture a genuine emotion.
Post-production, on the other hand, is rarely the line item to cut first — it's often where the difference between decent content and content that lands actually happens, through grading, sound design and editing.
Our most reliable rule of thumb is to start from the final deliverable and work backwards: what's the one element the viewer will look at first? That's the one that should get the most generous share of the budget.
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