Cost Estimation Services

Cost estimation for Chinese productions translates creative ambition into yuan-denominated projections built on current market data from the country's main production hubs. Our estimators track crew day-rates and head-of-department fees across Beijing, Shanghai, Hengdian, Qingdao, and Shenzhen, gear rentals from the major rental houses around the China Film Group base and the Sunshine and Filmgear depots in Beijing's Chaoyang, location fees at heritage sites under cultural heritage permits, and post-production at facilities in the 798 Art District and around Pudong.

Here is how this works in practice. Budgets account for 17% VAT, the inter-city travel grid that connects Beijing with Hengdian and Shanghai with Qingdao, and the cost of NRTA on-set monitor protocols that apply to any production shooting under a CFCC co-production permit. Provincial rebate calculations are modelled in detail — Qingdao's 40% spend rebate at the Oriental Movie Metropolis, the Wuxi production subsidies, and the Xiamen incentive packages. So producers see the net cost after Chinese support.

Our process begins with a script breakdown converted into board days, stunt and VFX complexity ratings, and a location plan that flags every permit category and dialect coordinator requirement. We benchmark against historical data from comparable productions at Hengdian's Tang Dynasty Imperial Palace and Republic of China street, the China Film Group sound stages, and the Wanda complex in Qingdao, then build scenario models for best-case, worst-case, and base-line outcomes.

The picture on the ground is more specific. Contingency planning factors in Chinese New Year and National Day Golden Week shutdowns, air-quality contingencies during Beijing's October-to-March pollution season, and the lead times CFCC needs for co-production approvals. Typically four to twelve weeks pre-shoot. Estimates are delivered inside twenty-four hours for standard requests, with detailed vendor comparisons, negotiation leverage points, and a tracking framework that maps actual spend against the model throughout principal photography.