In 2024, the cost of making a film in Nigeria has added up extensively, this came as a result of the decline of VCD and DVD film mediums and the advent of online media which has made it possible for people to stream or play movies on-demand directly from their mobile devices.
Let’s not even talk about the economic situation of the country where the prices of goods and services have risen drastically.
Another thing that has brought this great change in filmmaking is the upgrade in the equipment and gears that are used for film production.
During the early days of Nollywood, films were shot with a Canon camera, but today Nigeria has upgraded to the stage of shooting films with the powerful Red Magic camera and also record amazing audios with the use of an external audio recorder.
Therefore, anyone who sets out to make a film in Nigeria today must be able to come up with a budget that will help him to get quality visuals and audios.
In this article therefore, I am going to walk you through the cost of making a film in Nigeria in 2024, and without much ado, let’s get started.
The cost of making a film in Nigeria in 2024.
The cost of making a film in Nigeria will range between 2 to 20 million Naira and there are certain factors that will influence this amount, but the most outstanding are your storyline, choice of actors, the kind of props and equipment or movie gears you are going to use.
For example, if your storyline is based on a village settings and requires 4 casts at most to interpret the whole story, you won’t spend more than 2 million to get your feature film ready, even if you are going to hire popular casts to interpret your story.
But if your storyline is based on a city setting and requires big houses and cars, then expect to spend close to 20 million if you are going to hire popular casts to interpret the story.
Therefore, when you set out to shoot a film in Nigeria, the first thing you must put into consideration is your storyline because all your expenses is going to wrap around what the story relates.
It is worth noting that the amount of money you invest into shooting your film in Nigeria is what will determine the standard of your entire film production.
Now let’s move on from here to look at the costs that are involved in making a film in Nigeria.
Costs involved in making a film in Nigeria.
The costs involved in making a film in Nigeria are: cast and crew wages, equipment hiring, costumes, welfare, location management, transportation, post-production expenses etc.
Now let’s discuss these costs one after the other.
1. Cast and crew wages.
The first costs involved in making a film in Nigeria is the money you are going to pay to your cast and crew, and if you want your film to become successful, you need to hire popular casts and crew who has had years of experience in Nollywood.
The most outstanding charges in this respect are going to come from your lead actors and director, and I’ve seen several actors in Nigeria who charge as high as 1.5 million or more to appear in a feature film here in Nigeria.
Take for instance, actors like Richard Mofe Damijo has made so much money as a one-time Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State, and Desmond Elliot is currently an elected lawmaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Surulere Constituency. And you can imagine how much you are going to pay these category of actors if you want them to appear in your film, especially if you want them to play lead roles.
2. Equipment hiring.
Equipment hiring is another important costs that is involved in making a film in Nigeria.
For your film to meet the Nollywood standard of film production, you must ensure that you capture high quality visuals and audio which can only be made possible by hiring first class movie gears like the red magic camera, and capturing your audio from a high quality external sound recorder.
3. Costumes.
To get the best costumes for your film, you need to look for a high class boutique that is willing to rent out their clothing’s.
As for epic movies, you need to hire a professional tailor that will be able to sew the kind of materials that is needed for your film.
4. Welfare.
Welfare is another cost that is involved in making a film in Nigeria and it is concerned with what your casts and crew are going to eat and drink.
And in this harsh economy where a cup of garri is sold for 300 Naira, you need to figure out how much you are going to spend on food and drinks during your entire production.
5. Location management.
Another area you are going to spend during your film production here in Nigeria is location management.
The location management in film making involves both the location for y your story and where your casts and crew are going to stay through out the entire production.
It is not advisable to allow your casts and crew come everyday from home as this will delay your production because most of them will not be able to turn up in time because of one reason or another.
Thus, you need to hire either a hotel or a free apartment where your casts and crew will stay until the whole production is over..
6. Transportation.
During film production, you must have a vehicle on site that will transport your cast and crew from one location to another.
7. Post-production expenses.
Post-production expenses is another cost that will come into your movie production and this is concerned with the film editing that will enable you get your film in your preferred medium.
