How much does it cost to make a movie or a road trip with friends?

“Welcome to Hollywood, newbie!” This is how they welcome us in the video game Lights, Camera, Budget!, a title that takes us back to the famous “Lights, Camera, Action”. However, instead of the sound of the clapper board giving the actors a cue to enter the scene, here we are greeted by a seemingly unexciting “Budget”. And, yes, we said “apparently”, because the game (in English and with versions adapted for third cycle or secondary school students), has no difficulty in hooking even the oldest – like us… to the role of cinematographic producer. Newcomers to Los Angeles, we have to quickly learn to deal with the moods of movie stars, the problems of filming locations or the turbulence of the media. And this at the same time we try to stay within the budget for the film.

Costs and benefits of financial decisions

The player is asked to take rational decisionsmaking choices based on a cost and benefit analysis. It’s okay that hiring a super well-trained poodle costs a small fortune, but the investment can even be justified if spectators love the canine skills and fill the movie theaters. Ah, but how to know beforehand if a decision will be, effectively, “rational”? In the skin of inexperienced producers, we can fortunately count on the help of people who already have a lot of progress. The advice received facilitates money management and financial decision-making. And we really need to.Read more: Preservation and Profit: Enemies Hand in Hand

Financial literacy worth millions

The 100 million dollars earmarked for the film’s production, which initially seem inexhaustible, disappear in the blink of an eye. Believe me! Do you know how much it costs to hire a world-renowned actress? And nothing guarantees that hiring her, by itself, will be enough for critics and audiences to give five stars to our film. Plus, there’s plenty more to spend your money on. Right in the pre-production phase we have to choose the genre of film, the title, hire the director and the main and secondary actors, decide what the shooting scenario will be. Next comes the production team, the material, the catering…It all adds up to the expenses, but if we get the answers to some questions about financial matters right, we received a few more millions of dollars in bonuses.

Did we save and spend in the right places?

You will be welcome. In the post-production phase, we still need strong marketing, editing, soundtrack and visual effects. After twelve arduous decisions, the producer’s job is finally done. It remains to wait for box office success. But, did we choose the most appropriate title? And was the dynamic between the technical team and the actors the best? And why did we skimp so much on catering, at the risk of making our lead actress sick? Drum roll… All in all, three stars for our horror movie. It could have been better. Let’s start over and, this time, shoot a romantic comedy. Read more: From want to power, goes a whole budget

Hit the road in the best company

The proposal of Hit the Road: a Financial Adventure is no less attractive. After all, who wouldn’t want a road trip with their best friends? The problem is that the money does not abound and the budget has to be enough to buy food, gasoline, medicine when someone gets sick, and spare tires in case of a puncture. There’s always many ways for money to disappear. And few to enter, because in this game everything is paid in cash: there are no more credits here, besides the initial loan of 500 dollars (which we have to pay off). We got stuck in the middle of the road because we didn’t have money for the necessary fuel? He turns around, courtesy of another traveler, and there we have to go get some change. So we never reach the destination again!

Even in games the prices vary…

Leaving Washington, no one would say that we would be left with empty pockets. Thirty units of food in the trunk, fueled up in the car, three friends ready for anything. Here everyone helps, working along the way, sometimes in roles adapted to their profession (the photographer can take portraits of people; the nurse can work a shift in a hospital, etc.), other times in tasks without specialization, such as distributing leaflets. Capital injections are essential. The prices of food and gasoline change along the route, sometimes tolls and breakdowns appear, and the professions of travelers do not always match the available job offer. So what do you do when you arrive at a service station? It’s time to wash cars and clean windshields.

All work, no play?

But traveling across the United States without enjoying anything wouldn’t make sense either. Going to New York and not seeing the Statue of Liberty would be almost a crime. In every city, there are monuments to visit, souvenirs to buy… All of this, of course, costs money.. There you will fold cardboard boxes in a supermarket and take purchases to customers’ homes. In a big city, we might be extras on a television show. We can also volunteer to distribute food to the homeless. Earn to spend next, because a road trip should stay in the memory as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Working to pay off debt

And then, with a little money in our pockets, we’re off to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Columbus, Ohio. Is more money needed? You wash dishes, replace a cook, write an article for a travel magazine, and earn enough for a boat ride on the famous Mississippi River. As the calendar days pass by, our debt decreases as long as we deposit money into the account to pay it. In Santa Fe, we cut the grass for a few bucks. It is convenient to arrive in Los Angeles with a very positive balance, which may require several days to work on the previous stops. After so much effort, we well deserve a trip to the Hollywood wax museum or some extra spending on Venice Beach.

A well-deserved snow vacation

The long drive ends in Colorado. If everything has been calculated correctly, we will have paid off the debt and still have a $500 balance. Without this, there will be no snow vacation week for anyone. It’s time to see how we got away financially from the trip. Congratulations: 10 points for never having gone bankrupt. Still, we scored 130 out of a possible 170 points, which gave us 3.5 stars. Where did we fail? We ran out of gas or food a few times… And we had to buy some souvenirs. Well it seemed to us that we should have brought that t-shirt from New York. What matters is that in video games it’s easier to go back and try again.Read more: How to beat Monopoly (and then discover other worlds) Paulo M. Morais grew up playing street football and listening to proverbs told by his grandmothers. He graduated in Social Communication and specialized in the areas of cinema, videogames and gastronomy. He is the author of novels and non-fiction books. He collects board games and continues to watch many movies. He likes to cook, look at the sea, read. The information contained in the article is not binding and does not invalidate the full reading of documents that support the matter in question.