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!
Very interesting topic, Mark. Production accounting is extremely important when dealing with any type of production, from any scale. Smaller, independent productions can do wonders with limited budgets if used wisely and can always end up looking for additional funds and resources or partnerships in order to better utilize the money available. Meanwhile, as you mention, gigantic productions on the scale of Star Wars will definitely require close attention to the budget and expenses because it can be easy to waste money when there is so much to spend. As you mention, staying on track in terms of budget is such an important task to achieve, and unforeseen expenses must always be taken into account because they will likely take place sooner or later. Personally, I can say I have had some experience with production accounting and I must admit it was extremely helpful to develop a budget spreadsheet and have a daily supervision of the costs and expenses to monitor the progress of the project. I hope you can develop your career in this area.
ReplyDeleteGreat article Mark! You know I do not like accounting but after reading this I still don't like accounting, however, you did make it interesting. The article made me rethink how I should have paid more attention in accounting class haha. Anyway, good topic and looking forward to reading more!
ReplyDeleteMark! It's clear that from the previous two comments you have enLIGHTening blog posts. Your word usage creates a variety of expression and a colorfully insightful read. I loved how the video first summarized film as a circus. It's so awesome to have multiple passions and be able to bridge them. The film industry would be a great outlet to incorporate your creative thinking and accounting skills together. This could easily take you into filmed concerts as well! Overall great read my friend. (Ya damn right!)
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