The production costs of Firefly by 6250Thomas

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The production costs of Firefly

POSTED BY: 6250THOMAS
UPDATED: Saturday, March 25, 2006 17:30
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Saturday, March 25, 2006 10:16 AM

Does anyone know what the average cost per episode of Firefly was? And how does it compare to what SciFi is spending on BSG or either of the Stargate shows? I was wondering how many fans it would take, contributing $100 each, to sponsor the show. Would I? Certainly! At 22 eps per year, that's $2200 each year. And yes, I would invest that amount also. Presumably the cast could be recalled - afterall, I'm sure they'd like some steady employment. Besides, from the interviews and commentaries, it's easy to tell their hearts were really into the show. My main point is, if SciFi is willing to front all the money they do for some of the shows and movies they broadcast (some of dubious quality), why wouldn't they put Firefly back into production? The fan base is already in place (how many real fans are there?).

Tom

"I'm in!"

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Saturday, March 25, 2006 10:38 AM

FLETCH2

Well figures have been bandied about in the $1.8-2.1M range though where those figures come from I don't know. The problem with SciFi shows is that they have big startup costs, you have to build a ship, have costumes made, make custom gadgets and set up an SFX department. These kinds of costs tend to remain the same if you make 1 or 21, so in the run of a 22 episode series the standing costs may add very little to the cost of an episode but in ones and twos it becomes a bigger deal.

For example, let's assume that building the ship, costumes, guns, and gadgets, setting up production offices et al costs $10M and from then on each episode costs $1M to make.

One episode would cost $11M
22 episodes would cost 10+22 = $32M or $1.45M each.

We've been down this road before. There are not enough 'coats to fund even a direct to DVD movie directly.

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Saturday, March 25, 2006 11:28 AM

6250THOMAS

Thanks for the info, Fletch2. I figured this had been discussed in the early days of the board and now lost in the archives (I'm a late joiner). Good to know the approximate figures. Dang, I wish Bill Gates was a huge fan. Financing the series would be pocket change for him.
Tom

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Saturday, March 25, 2006 1:17 PM

RKLENSETH

The two hour Serenity pilot costed 20 million dollars (I assume this included the initial start up costs as well) with each episodes after that about 1.8 million to 2.1 million dollars for costs. Firefly was pretty expensive and is probably one of the reasons why Fox stopped it o top of its poor ratings.

And that is why you'll see more shows like the OC, which have barely any costs at all in the beginning and has very little risks, than shows like Firefly and Battlestar Galatica on network television.

Sci-Fi is also in danger especially with Congress trying to pass legislation that will make the cable companies only give you and make you pay for what channels you choose. It is still up in the air whether or not this legislation will ever pass but if it does that will spell the end of Sci-Fi and many other channels. I'm thinking soon enough we are only going to be getting MTV crap as those are the highest rated and remarkably lowest costing television. And the scary part is that MTV with their brand of television is trying to break into the movie industry though so far they have had only minor successes.

I think HBO will soon be the only place for great television to survive. And we might hope for surprise network hits like Lost and hope that Congress doesn't mess around with cable.

Oh, and play Cantr II at www.cantr.net.

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Saturday, March 25, 2006 1:58 PM

CHRISTHECYNIC

A trailer for serenity claimed that firefly was loved by "millions" now I'm fairly sure I can count and that means that millions is at least 2,000,000 and Firefly goes for $2,000,000 an episode we are told. Would that we had the orginization to get ten bucks (USD I mean) a fan for a pilot and $1 after that.

Of course I'm not sure what are numbers truely are, and we have no orginization. But tell me, tell me truly, if We could pay for it do you think the cast would mind not being on TV when they were getting a steady paycheck and being seen by fans on DVD and in rented movie theaters and whatnot.

I have a dream, many actually, and this is a recurring one.

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Saturday, March 25, 2006 3:39 PM

MUDDERSMILK

Serenity was the test by which the networks, like the Sci-Fi Channel, judged whether Firefly II would be viable. I wish the movie had taken off. But it didn't. And the DVD sales are just so marginal, everyone looks at this project as dead. I think the actors have moved on as well. (Before angry threads come in response)- I wish it were otherwise. You're seeing the same thing with Star Trek, and even shows like Seventh Heaven. The production costs just don't justify its continued production, no matter how devoted the fan base is. If my job is on the line, and my decision is between making Fear Factor for $500,000 an episode and getting a 5 share, versus Firefly at $2.1 M an episode and getting a 5 share, I'm going with Fear Factor. What happened when radio went from three channels to 50 channels is happening with TV. No more big productions. Quality is diminished. Cheap, common denominator shows rule the day. We are lucky when we get something like Lost, or Firefly when we did.

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Saturday, March 25, 2006 4:09 PM

NUCLEARDAY

Quote:
Originally posted by rklenseth:
Sci-Fi is also in danger especially with Congress trying to pass legislation that will make the cable companies only give you and make you pay for what channels you choose. It is still up in the air whether or not this legislation will ever pass but if it does that will spell the end of Sci-Fi and many other channels.

Well, the other side of that coin, is if the bill does go through, even as an optional package, there'd be at least one new subscriber here. I've got Comcast out here, and they used to have the SciFi channel in with the basic package, and then moved it so now I have to get the premium digital package if I want SciFi, G4, etc... There's only about three or four more channels I'd want to watch, so it's currently not worth the money for me to upgrade. If they changed it to a pay-per-channel sort of thing (and it seems like something of a longshot anyways) I'd definately pickup SciFi, there's alot of good shows on there that I've been missing out on.

________________________________________________
You can take my hope when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

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Saturday, March 25, 2006 5:05 PM

SADLITTLEKING

Quote:
Originally posted by nuclearday:
Well, the other side of that coin, is if the bill does go through, even as an optional package, there'd be at least one new subscriber here. I've got Comcast out here, and they used to have the SciFi channel in with the basic package, and then moved it so now I have to get the premium digital package if I want SciFi, G4, etc... There's only about three or four more channels I'd want to watch, so it's currently not worth the money for me to upgrade. If they changed it to a pay-per-channel sort of thing (and it seems like something of a longshot anyways) I'd definately pickup SciFi, there's alot of good shows on there that I've been missing out on.

Have you looked into getting satellite? DirecTV or Dish Network or something?

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Saturday, March 25, 2006 5:30 PM

CHRISTHECYNIC

Milk,

What I think you are not taking into account is that no one involved in this is remotely sane. What we have heard and what we have seen is that these people are as devoted as we are. That means that if something happens in our favor they will return (unless the take their medication and get over it.)

So what if we have to wait five years for them to finish their contract on another show? I can wait, I have no choice but to waith. So long as they remain as passionate as they have thus far been there is hope of a return.

-

On the other side there is money, I know enough math to know that if DVD sales stay marginal for long enough that means that people are continuing to climb on board. I know enough business to know that there are accountants who have already set up a system that is using probability tests and demographic estimates to figure out if any movie in storage makes enough to warrant a sequel, and I've seen enough movies lately to know that they'll pull anything out of the sewer if they think it will make a buck.

We're not even in the sewer yet, as far as I know. We're sort of caught in the drain.

Where there is an accountant, a computerized sales record, and a chi squared test there is hope. (Ok, forget the chi squared test, but people are familiar with it and know what I mean.)

If over the course of two years a movie picks up two million (I like the number two million, it has a nice ring to it) fans that means that a sequel will have two million fans paying at least $7 each when it first comes out. $14 million may not be a lot, ok it's actually very little, but that's before any advertising is taken into account. Plus they'll probably go at least an average of twice. So now you've got 28 million, you have not even considered friends and family or indeed dates. Not a single trailer convert is yet taken into account.

28 million isn't even enough to pay for a movie, the figures are crap, but what it does mean is that now you're risking 12 million instead of 40.

I honestly don't know how many fans there are, what I do know is that movie companies have a system, good or bad, correct or outrageously flawed, that they use to calculate how many fans are out there. They make estimates and approximations, they fuck with the numbers in ways that would make a mathematician belch, and in the end they have nice set of convoluted incomprehensible algorithms and one day a flag pops up that says, "Bob the Impeller (the story of a hard of hearing vampire buff) is ripe for a sequel."

Marginal DVD sales can do incredible things, if they remain marginal and don't become crap.

The US post office has ordered letter carriers to walk over peoples lawns killing the grass and making ruts in order to save seconds. Large organizations do not pass up the chance for a buck no matter where they are and if we've learned nothing else this past decade it is that Hollywood is checking all of it's records to find out which movies they can remake, reenvision, or add a "2" to.

You make the situation sound hopeless, it isn't, it's merely very, very grim.

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