Australian feature films duration of shoot and post-production films shot 1998/99–2013/14, by budget range (2014 dollars) Next update March 2016 The average production period for Australian features is around 50 weeks: approximately nine weeks of shooting followed by about 40 weeks of post-production. Films in higher-budget ranges tend to have longer shoot and post-production periods than lower-budget films. The more-than-$20 million category includes the animated features Happy Feet, Happy Feet Two and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, with total production durations of around two to three years each. Features in the less-than-$1 million category also tend to have longer shoot and post-production periods due to the stop-and-start nature of low-budget filmmaking. No. titles Average duration (weeks) Principal photography Post-production Total duration All films 482 8.5 38.4 47.0 Budget range1 Less than $1m 102 8.5 43.9 52.3 $1–3m 129 6.4 38.0 44.4 $3–6m 94 7.0 34.2 41.2 $6–10m 86 7.8 34.6 42.4 $10–20m 40 10.5 35.0 45.4 More than $20m 31 22.3 50.1 72.4 Source: Screen Australia. Notes: Productions under Australian creative control, including domestic productions, official co-productions and other productions involving shared creative control, i.e. with a mix of Australians in key creative positions. 1. Adjusted using the non-farm GDP deflator; base year 2013/14.