How to Schedule, Budget, and Prepare Your Production for Financing
Session: June 2026
About this Live Online Course
You have your screenplay. Now you are in development and need to put together the building blocks of your film production so that you have all of the elements you need to present to investors for financing and move into pre-production.
In this introductory four-week online course, you will learn the basics of feature film scheduling and budgeting, location scouting, hiring a casting director and making offers to talent. Creators at any level of experience are welcome to join.
What you bring to the course:
- an interest in the tools and techniques to advance a project from the script stage into pre-production. (You do not need to have a screenplay or active project to participate.)
What you’ll get from the course:
- An understanding of how to schedule and budget a feature film
- How to scout and compare locations with production and financing in mind, including an overview of the basic tenets of tax incentives
- A path to casting your film
- An approach to putting materials together for talent and investors
This course will:
- provide tools and techniques to apply to your project.
- demonstrate the core concepts of feature film scheduling, budgeting, location scouting and casting through lectures and examples, with opportunities to pose questions to the instructor in an open forum. Interaction with the instructor will take place only in the classroom.
- not require outside class work. Suggested action steps will be provided for those with active scripts in development.
A limited number of need-based scholarships are available and are considered on a rolling basis as they are received. Those who apply earlier will have a greater chance of getting support. To apply for a scholarship, please complete the course registration form.
Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Accommodations and services are designed to meet the needs of each participant. Please email us at accessibility@sundance.org to arrange for services.
Live Online CourseScholarships
Sundance Collab offers a limited number of full and partial need-based scholarships for individuals who need assistance.
Due to limited scholarship funds available, we prioritize one course scholarship per participant in a 12-month period. Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline and do not stack with discounts or promotions, including early registration.
Outline
Topics covered include:
- Elements of a solid package
- How to approach talent and make offers
- Hiring and working with a casting director
- Tools for pitching to investors
- Identifying how to engage and monetize audiences
Topics covered include:
- Scouting locations for the story
- Working with film commissions
- Understanding tax incentives
Topics covered include:
- The Big Picture Timeline
- Breaking down a screenplay
- Considerations for scheduling your days
- Considerations for post-production
Topics covered include:
- The idea of three budgets
- Financial production and post-production budget assumptions
- Budgeting for the operational business of the film
- Budgeting for post-production, festivals and delivery
Team
Summer Shelton
Instructor
Summer Shelton was the recipient of the 2018 Independent Spirit Producers Award.
In 2023, her directorial debut You & I which she also wrote, produced and co-starred opposite veteran actor Clayne Crawford screened as an Official Selection at the Nashville Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, River Run International Film Festival and debuted internationally at the American Film Festival. The film was released in 2024 by Slated.
Feature works she produced included Maine (Orion Classics, 2018 Tribeca Film Festival) and Keep the Change (KINO LORBER, 2017 Tribeca Film Festival Best Narrative Feature; FIPRESCI Critics’ Prize at the 2017 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival).
She was Executive Producer of People Places Things which premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, produced Icarus (short) which premiered at the 2015 New Directors/New Films Festival and produced Little Accidents, which had its World Premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
She worked alongside critically acclaimed director Ramin Bahrani as Associate Producer of Goodbye Solo (2008), an official selection of the Venice Film Festival; Co-Producer of Plastic Bag (2009), opening night short film of the Corto Cortissimo at the Venice Film Festival and Associate Producer of At Any Price (2012), which premiered in main competition at the Venice Film Festival and most recently as Co-Producer of short documentary If Dreams Were Lighting, Rural Health Crisis (2023), which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival.
She was the recipient of the inaugural Bingham Ray Creative Producing Fellowship, awarded by the Sundance Institute (2012), a Rotterdam Producing Fellowship (2013), Film Independent Sloan Producing Fellowship (2014) and Cannes Producing Fellowship (2021) awarded by the Gotham.
Prior to her filmmaking career, Shelton was a former high school English teacher, she remains connected to the classroom as a University Lecturer, Adjunct Professor and provides educational consulting services to arts non-profits. You can find more on her website: summershelton.com
FAQ
In Sundance Collab’s Live Online courses, participants attend live, virtual class sessions on the same day and time for a specified period. These sessions are led by an instructor and in some cases, supported by a team of advisors. In some courses, you are given assignments with submission deadlines to help you take the next step with your work.
- Each week you will be able to attend live lectures via Zoom video and ask questions of your instructor.
- In some courses, you will receive individualized feedback from your course advisor on elements of your work.
- In some courses, you will have the opportunity to have a 1-on-1 session with your advisor. Depending on the course, this session may be included or may be purchased separately for an additional cost. Check the course description for specifics.
All members of the Sundance Collab community are welcome to register for Sundance Collab courses. Please review the course description and any eligibility requirements to ensure the course is a good fit. If you have any questions about a course, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.
Note that space is limited. If the registration window is open, you will see a “Register” button on the course page. If there is an application, applications are considered as they are received and applicants are accepted on a rolling basis until the course is full or the deadline has passed, whichever comes first.
We do not allow creative partners to do our live online courses as a team. However, both creators can individually register for the course.
Part of Sundance Collab's unique educational approach is to create a teaching team for every course. Each class is led by an instructor who may be accompanied by additional course advisors. This allows us to keep an intimate ratio of participants to advisors and to provide a diversity of voices and approaches to the course content.
We often offer a limited number of need-based, full or partial scholarships. Check the course description to see if that course currently has scholarships available. Scholarships are prioritized for one per person per year (from the date of issue). Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline. To apply for a scholarship,complete the registration form by clicking the REGISTER button and selecting the option to apply for a scholarship, if available.
Applicants will be notified about their scholarship decision prior to the first day of the course. Due to the volume of applicants, we are not always able to provide a scholarship, but we may still offer a spot in the course. In this case, depending on the course, payment plans may be available and can be selected at checkout.
Yes, we offer two or three-part payment plans for Live Online courses, depending on the length of the course. In all cases, the first payment is due at the point of registration. The remaining payment(s) are spread out throughout the course term. For specific payment plan dates for a course, please reach out to our team at: collab_courses@sundance.org.
Yes, you are welcome to take a live, online course even if you can’t make the live sessions. Recordings of each class session are available online by the following day so you can keep up with the course lectures. For courses that include a 1-on-1 session with an advisor or instructor, the meeting is scheduled according to your (and their) availability.
All sessions are recorded and usually made available within one business day. The videos will also contain the chat and transcript from the class session, viewable in the video playbar.
Participants will have access to the recordings for one year following the last class session.
All participants will receive a Certificate of Completion. The certificate will include the name associated with your Sundance Collab account.
You can find any courses that you are enrolled in or have already completed in the profile section of your Sundance Collab account under “Courses.”
You can join a course via a computer or mobile device. All of our live, online courses are conducted via Zoom.
Download and set up the Zoom software (https://zoom.us/download) and make sure you have the latest update. Here are some great resources from Zoom’s Knowledge Base to take a deeper dive into using Zoom:
- Watch Zoom's Video Tutorials or review training materials on the Getting Started page
- Join a Live Training from Zoom
If you have any further questions, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.
Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Please contact us at (435) 776-7790 or email us at accessibility@sundance.org to ask any questions or to discuss your specific needs after you have been accepted into the course.