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Your Production Handbook.
Your Production Handbook.
Master the mechanics of modern filmmaking. From calculating complex union fringes to understanding international tax laws. We decode the industry so you can budget with confidence.
Guides
Guides
🇨🇭 Switzerland
SSFV Weekly Engagement Wages in Switzerland (2026 Guide)
Swiss set crews are paid on a 50-hour week, post crews on 40. Here's how to read, calculate, and budget the SSFV Richtlöhne correctly.
🇨🇭 Switzerland
How to Calculate Cancellation and Postponement Fees for Swiss Film Crew (2026 Guide)
Under Switzerland's AAB Tagesengagement 2014, still the binding standard for day-rate freelance crew as of September 2026, what you owe a cancelled or postponed crew member depends on how many hours of notice you gave and whether the cancellation had a genuine "schwerwiegender Grund" (serious reason) behind it, not on how sorry the production is.
🇩🇪 Germany
How to Calculate Commercial Buyouts in Germany (2026 Guide)
In German advertising, talent compensation is split into two separate fees: the Day Rate (Tagesgage) for time on set, and the Buyout (Nutzungshonorar) for the right to use the footage. The Buyout is almost always calculated as a percentage of the Day Rate, multiplied by the media channel, territory, and duration. The industry standard for this calculation is the VELMA list, published by the association of licensed German model agencies.
🇨🇭 Switzerland
SSFV Weekly Engagement Wages in Switzerland (2026 Guide)
Swiss set crews are paid on a 50-hour week, post crews on 40. Here's how to read, calculate, and budget the SSFV Richtlöhne correctly.
🇨🇭 Switzerland
How to Calculate Cancellation and Postponement Fees for Swiss Film Crew (2026 Guide)
Under Switzerland's AAB Tagesengagement 2014, still the binding standard for day-rate freelance crew as of September 2026, what you owe a cancelled or postponed crew member depends on how many hours of notice you gave and whether the cancellation had a genuine "schwerwiegender Grund" (serious reason) behind it, not on how sorry the production is.
🇩🇪 Germany
How to Calculate Commercial Buyouts in Germany (2026 Guide)
In German advertising, talent compensation is split into two separate fees: the Day Rate (Tagesgage) for time on set, and the Buyout (Nutzungshonorar) for the right to use the footage. The Buyout is almost always calculated as a percentage of the Day Rate, multiplied by the media channel, territory, and duration. The industry standard for this calculation is the VELMA list, published by the association of licensed German model agencies.
Check Lists
Check Lists
How to use the free Splinde budgets Templates
How to use the free Splinde budgets Templates
AICP Bidding Reference Guide: The Full Checklist (2026)
AICP's 2026 Bidding Reference Guide sets out every question to ask before bidding a commercial. Here is the full checklist, organized by category.
Music Video Budget Template: Built for the Format, Not Borrowed from Another One
Music video budgets need playback lines, DSP fees, and PRO registration. Commercial templates don’t have them. Here’s why the format demands its own structure.
The AICP Budget Template Explained: What Every Section Actually Covers
The AICP format organizes every US commercial budget into sections A through W. Here is what each section covers, why most templates are drifting, and how Social Versions changed everything.
The Digital Content Budget Template: Why Your Budgets Keeps Slowing Down Client Approvals
Using a commercial template for a two-day social shoot creates approval friction that has nothing to do with your budget. Here's what actually slows things down, and how to fix it.
AICP Bidding Reference Guide: The Full Checklist (2026)
AICP's 2026 Bidding Reference Guide sets out every question to ask before bidding a commercial. Here is the full checklist, organized by category.
Music Video Budget Template: Built for the Format, Not Borrowed from Another One
Music video budgets need playback lines, DSP fees, and PRO registration. Commercial templates don’t have them. Here’s why the format demands its own structure.
The AICP Budget Template Explained: What Every Section Actually Covers
The AICP format organizes every US commercial budget into sections A through W. Here is what each section covers, why most templates are drifting, and how Social Versions changed everything.
The Digital Content Budget Template: Why Your Budgets Keeps Slowing Down Client Approvals
Using a commercial template for a two-day social shoot creates approval friction that has nothing to do with your budget. Here's what actually slows things down, and how to fix it.
What a BBC Budget Temlate Actually Requires (And Where Generic Templates Break Down)
How to use Budget Templates
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July 13, 2026
The Digital Content Budget Template: Why Your Budgets Keeps Slowing Down Client Approvals
How to use Budget Templates
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July 13, 2026
How to Budget a Documentary: The Cost Structure Narrative Template Get Wrong
How to use Budget Templates
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July 13, 2026
Why Your TV Budget Template Keeps Getting Sent Back by HBO
How to use Budget Templates
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July 13, 2026
Tax Incentives
Tax Incentives
🌍 World Wide
The Effective Rate Problem: What European Film Incentives Actually Pay Out
European film tax incentives promise 30%+ returns. The effective rate after caps, qualified spend haircuts, payout delays, and broker fees tells a different story. Here's the framework.
🇪🇺 Europe
Film Tax Incentives: Why the Headline Rate Is the Wrong Number
European film tax incentives promise 30%+ returns. The effective rate after caps, qualified spend haircuts, payout delays, and broker fees tells a different story. Here's the framework.
🌍 World Wide
The Effective Rate Problem: What European Film Incentives Actually Pay Out
European film tax incentives promise 30%+ returns. The effective rate after caps, qualified spend haircuts, payout delays, and broker fees tells a different story. Here's the framework.
🇪🇺 Europe
Film Tax Incentives: Why the Headline Rate Is the Wrong Number
European film tax incentives promise 30%+ returns. The effective rate after caps, qualified spend haircuts, payout delays, and broker fees tells a different story. Here's the framework.
More helpful articles
More helpful articles
What Is a 10% Contingency in a Film Budget? How Much You Need (2026)
Learn
•
July 13, 2026
The Production Collaboration Stack Has Five Layers. Four Are Solved. One Is Broken.
Features
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July 13, 2026
Your Budget Is Always Out of Date. Here Is Why That Is Not Your Team's Fault.
Learn
•
July 13, 2026
Payroll Is Not Financial Control. Here's What Is.
Learn
•
July 13, 2026
Why German Film Funding Applications Get Rejected Before Anyone Reads the Budget
Learn
•
July 13, 2026
Built for production teams who budget for a living.
From next-gen producers to established media productions.
Say goodbye to spreadsheets.
Discover, how Splinde can streamline your budgeting.
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Built for production teams who budget for a living.
Say goodbye to spreadsheets.
Discover, how Splinde can streamline your budgeting.