I love the look on people's faces when I discuss my immense
passion for the world of accounting; their eyes become glazed over, or their
faces shrivel up from their internal fear of numbers. Luckily, I have learned over the past few
months that this passion can open many doors to the entertainment
industry. In fact, film production
accounting is the most recent opportunity that I am considering as I begin my
journey into the professional world. I
came across an informative interview with David Melito, a current Hollywood
production accountant, on Billfold.com. This particular interview with Mr. Melito not only provides a great
insight into this financial side of the industry, but it instills a sense of
encouragement for my ambitious future.
Success and Accounting
Mr. Melito explains how important his role is during a
production of a particular film. Not
only does he handle all of the money that is being paid out, but it is his duty
to ensure the budget for the film is staying on track. Consequently, the potential success of a
particular production rides on Mr. Melito's analytical mindset and knowledge of
accounting methods. Let us think about
this accounting role on a vast production like, "Star Wars.” The sheer volume
of money being paid out for a particular project like this is mind boggling to
say the least.
“Walk the Talk”
An additional resource that I found on this fascinating
field is this blog post written by a former production accountant, John
Gaskin. In this beneficial piece, Mr.
Gaskin explains that this area of the business is not overly competitive and
has the benefit of not requiring any sort of CPA qualifications. In fact, he discusses how this type of work
can be very rewarding, and how accounting talents are welcomed due to the high
amount of spending during any given production.
John Gaskin is also the author of the book, “Walk the Talk.” This book discusses his personal experiences
in the field of film production accounting and the steps one must take to enter
this specific field. You can find Mr.
Gaskin’s book here.
Production Guild Insight
To offer a better understanding of this particular field,
here is a video from the Production Guild that provides keen insight into the
life of a production accountant. In
fact, it features one of the accountants for the new Star Wars movie, "The Force Awakens."
This is what excites me the most about this potential career
within the industry. Not only do I get
to play to my strengths but I have the potential of working on amazing
productions from around the world. I
look forward to seeing where I land in the next year or two!
