Film Production and The Money

Workshops – Los Angeles and Toronto

filmproduction — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:24:41 +0000

Just a quick reminder to all of the Film Accounting 101 workshop this weekend in Los Angeles. If you’re interested in Film Accounting and would like to get a full understanding this is the time, as I won’t be back in LA for a while. Next ti Toronto on June 2nd and 3rd. Best to [...]

THE FILM PROFESSIONAL ON-LINE TRAINING SERIES – Part 2

filmproduction — Mon, 14 May 2012 01:52:44 +0000

TO START – TWO TRAINING TOPICS: There are a variety of skills to start with. I’ve decided to start with Managing Film Budgets (as opposed to creating a film budget). This is a vital step for anyone wanting to work in film as a producer, line producer or unit production manager. The send topic is Daily Hot Costs. Again, this is just as much a tool for the Line Producer as it is for the production accountant. Just different levels of skill are required.

THE FILM PROFESSIONAL ON-LINE TRAINING SERIES – Part 1

filmproduction — Thu, 10 May 2012 01:30:14 +0000

For the past few years I have been doing live weekend workshops – sometimes in a flurry and sometimes spread out over time. The biggest hurdle is scheduling the location and time. Not just for me, but for you all as well. DILEMMA It’s a dilemma. Some of you want more than I have on [...]

Film Accounting – Los Angeles/Toronto May/June 2012

filmproduction — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:48:19 +0000

The workshops are on Film Accounting with a follow up series of 6 live on-line webinars - all on the topic of Managing Film Budgets and Cost Reports - something which all levels of Producers should know about. You can find out more by visiting my web site at http://www.talkfilm.biz. As a freebie, here area couple of interesting videos about SAG and an introductory video to IATSE crew agreements for the "National Low Budget Agreement" and the "Area Standards Agreements". The Low Budget Agreement covers all crew agreements throughout the US and Canada for all union productions under $12Million.

Just to catch u…

filmproduction — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:30:36 +0000

Just to catch up with you all. Last spring I started wto work on a David Cronenberg picture, “Cosmopolis” starring Robert Pattinson and Paul Giamatti, then about last August I started working on a Guillermo Del Toro feature called “Mama”. He hand picked a young Spanish director, Andre Muschietti – it’s in post now in [...]

The New Dearth of Film Payroll Accountants

filmproduction — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 02:09:29 +0000

Today I spoke with a representative from Quebec who has asked me to deliver film production payroll training in Montreal. I knew that this was a need in the newer tax incentive States, but I didn’t think it was so prevalent in other more established film production centers. This has also occurred in Georgia, Louisiana [...]

Emily’s List – About 43% of All Listings Are For Film Payroll Accountants

filmproduction — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 20:24:57 +0000

So … I did a little home work. I checked out several pages at the top of Emily’s List and several pages at the bottom of the listings. Out of a sample of 120 listings, 52 were for a Film Payroll Accountant. That’s over 43% of the listings are for local Film Payroll Accountants.

The Hot Cost Report – Knowing Film Payroll

filmproduction — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:46:00 +0000

About 2 or 3 times a month I get a comment on this blog asking me if I can send a copy of a Hot Cost. From the tone of the request I sense that I am the last resort and the Hot Cost is a matter of getting the job as a key accountant or not getting it. I always oblige, but with a cringe because I know that without the background understanding of film and television payroll the Hot Cost won't mean a whole lot to them. Let's see what I can do about that.

Film Accounting 101 – Orlando and Atlanta

filmproduction — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 20:49:25 +0000

For the last 3 or 4 years I've been holding these workshops in various production cities around the US and Canada. I haven't made it to Orlando, nor to Atlanta, before. So, I'm excited about the prospects in these two cities.

Film Production Hot Costs – Webinars?

filmproduction — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 20:34:35 +0000

A young man, newly starting as a Key Production Accountant, asked me about Hot Costs. Below is the response that I wrote to him. It occurred to me that a lot of people have asked for a template of the Hot Costs that I use and perhaps there is a demand for a webinar on Hot Costs. Have a look at the info below and please give me your comments.