CCP CCP Budget and Resource Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does 'below-the-line' budget typically cover in a production?
- Script development and option fees
- Crew salaries, equipment, and technical production costs (Correct answer)
- Actor residuals only
- Marketing and distribution expenses
Correct answer: Crew salaries, equipment, and technical production costs
Below-the-line costs encompass the technical and logistical expenses of production, including crew wages, equipment rentals, and set construction.
Question 2: A purchase order (PO) system in production primarily serves to:
- Schedule actor auditions
- Authorize and track vendor spending before invoices arrive (Correct answer)
- Create the editing timeline
- Manage social media postings
Correct answer: Authorize and track vendor spending before invoices arrive
A purchase order system authorizes specific vendor expenditures in advance, creating a paper trail that helps producers control spending.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes a 'deal memo' in creative production?
- A brief contract outlining compensation and terms for a crew member or vendor (Correct answer)
- A detailed script breakdown
- A marketing distribution plan
- A post-production color grading guide
Correct answer: A brief contract outlining compensation and terms for a crew member or vendor
A deal memo is a short-form agreement that captures the key terms of engagement for crew, talent, or vendors before formal contracts are issued.
Question 4: In production resource management, what is a 'day-out-of-days' (DOOD) report?
- A schedule showing each cast member's working days across the production (Correct answer)
- A financial report of daily expenses
- A list of shooting locations per day
- A log of equipment usage hours
Correct answer: A schedule showing each cast member's working days across the production
A day-out-of-days report maps each actor's or key crew member's scheduled workdays, helping producers manage contracts and holdout payments.
Question 5: What is the purpose of a 'budget actuals' reconciliation at the end of production?
- To finalize the script for delivery
- To compare final expenditures against the approved budget and identify variances (Correct answer)
- To schedule the marketing campaign
- To select the film's distribution platform
Correct answer: To compare final expenditures against the approved budget and identify variances
Budget actuals reconciliation compares every expense to the original budget, documenting variances and informing future project estimates.
Question 6: When managing freelance creative resources, which practice best prevents scope creep from inflating costs?
- Avoiding written contracts
- Defining deliverables, revision rounds, and fees explicitly in the contract (Correct answer)
- Paying all fees upfront without milestones
- Hiring only full-time employees
Correct answer: Defining deliverables, revision rounds, and fees explicitly in the contract
Clearly defined deliverables, revision limits, and fees in the contract prevent unauthorized work expansions that inflate project costs.
CCP CCP Budget and Resource Management 2
What does 'below-the-line' budget typically cover in a production?