1. Arts, Media, and Entertainment Pathway Standards Production and Managerial Arts Standards 6.2 Create a budget for an aspect of an arts, media, and entertainment production of the arts, media, and entertainment industry. Mathematics Standards - Statistics and Probability Using Probability to Make Decisions 5b. Evaluate and compare strategies on the basis of expected values.

2.  Create a budget to predict the cost of a simple video production's labor. Production:  A feature news package produced by a three-person team

3.  Assign roles to your team.  Research hourly rates.  Use a spreadsheet to create your budget.  Produce your project.  Compare your estimated budget to the actual cost.

4.  Make a list of each person on your team and assign them roles:  Producer/Graphic Artist  Reporter/Writer  Videographer/Editor

5.  Research typical professional hourly rates for each role.  Producer  Reporter  Videographer  Editor  Writer  Graphic Artist

6.  Sections headings:  Pre-Production  Production  Post-Production  Line-item subheadings:  Item #  Description  Quantity  Unit  Rate  Total

7.  Create and format a line item formula  Quantity x Rate = Item Total  Format Quantity at number  Format Rate & Total as $0,000.00  Duplicate line item formula for each assigned role in each section.  Pre-Production Producer, Director, Videographer  Production Producer, Director, Videographer  Post-Production Editor, Writer, Graphic Artist

8.  Enter each line item  Description (from your roles)  Unit (hours)  Rate (from your research)  Estimate production hours  Think about how much time will be spent by each person in each section pre-production Production post-production.  To make your estimate, think about the time it took to accomplish similar roles in previous productions.  Enter your estimated quantitities for each line item.

9.  Add totals  Insert lines at the end of each section and label each “Subtotal”  Use the sum tool to total each section’s line items.  At the bottom of your spreadsheet at a “Grand Total” line.  Include each subtotal as part of your Grand Total.  Save your spreadsheet  Use the name "Estimated Budget"

10.  Produce your project  Keep track of the actual hours each person spends in each stage of production.  When your production is complete  Make a copy of your "Estimated Budget"  Save it with the name "Actual Budget“  Update the “Actual Budget”  Replace your estimated quantities with the actual hours each person worked in each stage.

11.  Were your estimates higher, lower or right on target?  If your estimate was off, why do you think it was?  If this was a production that used real money for labor, how would you get extra money if you went over budget?  What would you do with any money you saved by being under budget?  How do you think you could make your next budget more accurate?

12.  Many budgets include a "contingency" factor to allow for possible cost overruns.  If your actual budget ran over your estimate, what percentage should you add to your original budget to allow for your overrun?