Entertainment Services Glossary

1ST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR (1ST AD)

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Batman had Robin. Shaggy had Scooby Doo. Thelma had Louise. Who is a hero without their sidekick, their number two, their right-hand (wo)man? While the director is in charge of the creative aspects of the production, the first assistant director is responsible for the logistical aspects of carrying out those creative decisions. The First AD sets the daily schedule, creates the call sheet, ensures compliance with health and safety regulations, and generally makes sure things are in order. 

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ACA COMPLIANCE

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No matter the industry you're in, knowing you have excellent healthcare coverage will help you be your best. An ACA compliant healthcare plan includes a variety of coverage that must be included according to the 2010 law. You can learn more about it here.

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ACH

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An ACH payment is a payment made directly from one bank to another through the Automated Clearing House. Although it sounds like something from Harry Potter (who wouldn't want a house that clears itself?), this is the name of the institution that sends and verifies these types of payments in the US. It eliminates the need for paper checks or wire transfers.

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ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

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In It's a Wonderful Life, there's a run on George Bailey's bank - all of his customers want their savings they have stored in the bank paid out to them. Each of his customers represents an account payable on the bank's ledger - the bank owes each customer the same amount of money they've deposited, even if the bank has already invested that money elsewhere! Accounts payable are rarely so dramatic in the course of business payroll - but you can see how high the stakes can be! 

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AGREEMENT OF CONSENT

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If you've ever signed a waver before going skydiving or participating in another extreme sport, you're already familiar with agreements of consent. These documents are agreements between two parties demonstrating that the participant recognizes the risks of the activity and reducing the liability for the party providing the service. 

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AICP

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AICP - Are Iguanas Cooking Pasta? As quirky as that would be, AICP stands for Annual Cash Incentive Plan and is actually a form of compensation that's sometimes used in show business. As long as certain conditions for performance and/or output are met, as well as other conditions of the plan, the employee would be entitled to a cash lump sum at the end of the year. 

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ALLOWANCES

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Allowance may conjure images of quarters dropped into a piggy bank, but in the production payroll world, it means basically the same thing. Allowances are items within an individual's contract or a production's budget that are paid to cover certain expenses employees will have during the course of their employment. Common allowances include mobile phone, computer, kit, box, and car allowances. 

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ASSUMPTION AGREEMENT

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It's always better not to make assumptions - unless it's an assumption agreement! This legal document defines the conditions where one party can take over the obligations and/or rights of another party. It's useful in the entertainment world in case of unforeseen circumstances (see force majeure). 

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BANK RECONCILIATION STATEMENT

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Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and Jessica Fletcher are all fantastic detectives who seek out the truth with a combination of their skills and tools of the trade. They might look at a bank reconciliation statement to determine if any fraud is happening at a company, since this document compares the balances on the bank accounts with the actual movement of money in and out of the account. If something doesn't match, then the game is afoot! 

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BOND

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Bond. Financial bond. In the cinema world he’s a spy, but in the finance world, a bond is a specific type of loan typically issued by governments or companies to individuals in order to raise capital for their day-to-day operations. 

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BUDGET IMPORT

 

It does what it says on the tin - it's the process of importing the budget you've created into the appropriate accounting software. 

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BUDGETING (process)

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The process of budgeting in the entertainment world is tricky, technical, and extremely detailed. However, once you determine the budget for a film or TV show, you know whether your grand vision is possible - real fireworks or CGI effects? Expensive period drama or cheaper modern setting? Budgeting is one of the first steps towards creating the project of your dreams and moving it from theoretical to practical. 

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BUSINESS AGENT

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Agent of chaos, double agent, real estate agent - human beings need a lot of agents to manage their lives. Of course, we all hope that the agents will be benevolent, especially when they're your business agent. A business agent is the counterpart that handles the financial and contractual obligations of their client. 

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CALL SHEET

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Call Me By Your...Sheet! Each day, the production office or first assistant director creates a document containing essential information about the next day's shoot: the schedule, the scenes that will be shot, which actors are needed and when, location information, sunrise and sunset times.

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CALSAVERS

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Since California is the headquarters for many studios and production companies, it's worth understanding how Calsavers impacts payroll and employees. Since it's inception in 2019, this retirement scheme allows eligible employees in California to contribute to an IRA through automatic payroll contributions.   

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COA

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If payroll were a TV show or film, then the chart of accounts (COA) would be the end credits. This document is a list of all the accounts found on the general ledger and contains information about each financial transaction that took place over a specific period. 

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COMMERCIAL ACCOUNTING SYSTEM

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The sheer number of people involved in creating a piece of visual media means you will have a lot of people to pay for their work on the project. The accounting system is a combination of the tools, processes and procedures the accountants use to perform their job and without it, the entertainment world would truly grind to a halt. These professionals perform complex calculations to ensure vendors are paid on time, union and guild members receive the correct compensation, state and federal taxes are paid, and more. Thank your local entertainment accountant today! 

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COMMITMENTS

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In 1885, Doc Brown gave Wells Fargo a letter to be delivered to Marty McFly in 1955 at a specific place, on a specific date, at a specific time, because he knew Marty would be there - time travel!  This is a perfect cinematic illustration of a legal commitment; Wells Fargo made a commitment to Doc Brown to deliver that letter, 70 years after the letter was given to them. 

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CONTRACT SERVICES LETTER

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A contract services letter details the agreement between two entities to exchange products or services for money. You might sign a contract services letter to reserve a filming location or to hire an animal trainer for a specific date. It helps keep both parties organized and aware of their outstanding commitments. 

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COST REPORTING (process)

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If budgeting is the initial process of trying to predict how much a project will cost, cost reporting is receiving an actual cost estimate from vendors. Sometimes the number is represented as an entirely new budget, and sometimes it is shown just as the variance between the budget and what the actual cost will be. You can still dream during the budgeting process, but once cost reporting starts, it's time to start reconsidering expensive sets and locations! 

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COST TO DATE

 

The classic movies we love today were notorious for going over budget - it's part of what makes them so mythical; nothing like money could stand in their way! But during production there was no doubt someone from the studio worrying about the cost-to-date of the film. The cost-to-date is the amount of money spent on the production up to that date, contrasted with the projected budget. If the numbers from the budget were lower than the cost-to-date, it meant your movie was on its way to being too expensive! 

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CREDITS

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Give credit where credit is due, as the saying goes - and that's nowhere more important than in the entertainment business! Everyone is familiar with the end credits that scroll at the end of a movie or TV show and - even if not everyone watches them all the way through - it's important to make sure the credits, names, and roles are all accurate. Who knows - maybe one day your name will be on that list! 

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DAILY RATE

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There may be a few days during production when a specialist must be on set - animal trainers, historians to ensure accuracy for the time period, consultants, etc. Because of their expertise and the intermittent nature of when their services will be required, they often charge a daily rate (rather than hourly). Payroll will need to know this rate and arrangement so the specialist can be paid accordingly. 

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DIRECT DEPOSIT

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In the olden days before the internet and online payments, you would receive a physical paycheck you had to cash at the bank. It is more and more common that employers pay their employees through direct deposit, where the employer (or the accounting firm on the employers' behalf) deposits funds into the employee's bank account through a bank transfer. See also EFT.

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EFC

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The estimated final cost, or EFC, represents the running estimate of the final cost of your project based on the entries you've made in your accounting or budget software. It also would be a cool title for an accounting-themed movie. "Estimated Final Cost - this time, the numbers calculate YOU!" 

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EFFECTIVE DATES

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What do you think of when you hear "effective date"? Did it go well enough to get a second date? Hopefully you picked a pleasant, light-hearted movie and not a serious drama for the first date! If you'd also like to have effective dates in the payroll world, you should know these dates have nothing to do with your performance and are instead the first date that the payroll data is available for a specific employee. 

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EFT

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An electronic funds transfer (EFT) can make accounting and payroll easier for everyone. Rather than printing and sending paper checks to pay salaries to employees, they can be sent directly to employee's bank account, commonly known as direct deposit. EFT refers to any payment made electronically, and an ACH (see also ACH and NACHA) is a type of EFT. 

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EMPLOYEE DEDUCTIONS

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If you've received a paycheck, you're all too familiar with the painful sting of seeing the difference between gross pay (your salary before taxes and deductions) and net pay (the amount of your salary that will go in your bank account). These employee deductions vary according to geography (city, state, and federal taxes), your personal situation (child support, retirement withdrawals, health savings account, etc.), and the amount you asked to be withdrawn on your W-4 document. 

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EXHIBIT G

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Although it sounds like evidence submitted during a crime drama, an Exhibit G is simply the name given to the time sheet issued by SAG (the Screen Actor's Guild). The specific format allows the union to process the timesheets quickly and easily. 

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EXPENSE

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"We spared no expense!" says John Hammond during the tour of the facility in Jurassic Park. Although John was referring to the construction expenses of his failed theme park, payroll expenses are related to the salaries, wages, and taxes an employer owes to its employees and the government. 

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FORCE MAJEURE

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Although it wasn't shown on screen, the accountants and insurance professionals in The Day After Tomorrow were no doubt swamped by the sheer number of claims they could deny due to force majeures. The giant tidal wave and resulting freeze were two examples of force majeure - events that no one had any control over and, therefore, relieves one party from fulfilling a contract to the other. 

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FORCED CALL

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A forced call isn't a spy technique used by James Bond to infiltrate fancy Swiss parties. In fact, it's a rather serious regulation set by SAG (the Screen Actor's Guild). If a SAG member is called to set less than 12 hours after they were dismissed, the production company must pay them a full day's salary as compensation for the reduced rest hours (a similar stipulation exists for the 56-hour mandatory rest between worked weeks). Luckily, with proper accounting and scheduling, these forced call fees can be completely prevented.

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GENERAL LEDGER

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The general ledger (often accessed in the form of a general ledger report) allows you to list every transaction for a given set of criteria related to the project. For example, you could run a general ledger report to see what transactions took place on a certain date, or to see how many transactions took place for a specific vendor or account code. Hopefully whatever you discover will not bring about any uncomfortable conversations about overspending or underreporting! 

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GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE

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No one ever enjoys planning for the worst-case scenario, but running a business, from a neighborhood bakery to a film studio, requires that you to be prepared. General liability insurance helps businesses with expenses related to claims that might come up during regular business operations. Film sets will have expensive and specialized policies compared to a bakery (no one is expecting Tom Cruise to skydive through the window of a bakery with specialized camera equipment attached to his mask!). 

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GOLDEN HOUR

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For a cinematographer, golden hour is that magical time of day just after the sun sets when everyone and everything is lit by soft, romantic light. For everyone else in production, golden hours mean cold, hard cash! If you're working golden hours, it means you're earning double your regular rate - in other words, you're raking in the gold. The major unions have specific criteria for when 2x pay kicks in, so make sure to schedule your shoots carefully!

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GREENLIGHT

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If you read that a movie has been greenlit or received the green light, it means the studio or production company has given permission for the movie to be filmed. A film that receives a red light is effectively killed...much like the contestants playing Red Light, Green Light in Squid Game. 

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HBSVOD

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HBSVOD looks like alphabet soup but it's actually money in your pocket! High-Budget Subscription Video On Demand Programs must account for specific residual payments for WGA (Writer's Guild of America) members. If these programs use or reuse material you've written, they must pay you this residual payment. 

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I-9

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It's virtually impossible to make tax forms exciting, so we'll cut to the chase: an I-9 form is a form you must fill out when starting a new job in the United States to prove you have authorization to work in the country. 

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IANBF

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The IATSE National Benefit Funds, or IANBF, is the benefits and insurance counterpart of the film production union IATSE. It's important for entertainment payroll professionals to be knowledgeable about the benefits the IANBF provides and the rules and regulations for calculating payroll for covered employees. 

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JOB CLASSIFICATIONS

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Although similar to a job title, a job classification goes beyond detailing the responsibilities, tasks and authority of a given job. Job classifications can also help determine salary ranges, tax deductions, or other job-related benefits when it comes to payroll. It has little to do with the individual performing the role and more to do with the function of that job within an organization. 

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JOB TITLE

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Anyone who's been desperate for a job has combed through job boards by searching for job titles. A job title describes the responsibilities, tasks, duties and expectations for a given role, all of which will have consequences for payroll. See also job classification. 

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JURISDICTION

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Jurisdiction traditionally has connotations with law enforcement and criminals (an individual cannot be pursued across a state border because an officer does not have authority in that new jurisdiction), but jurisdiction applies to any legal framework, including labor and tax laws. Entertainment payroll professionals should be well versed in the different legal limits that apply to specific productions and employees to ensure the payroll is accurate and compliant. 

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LIABILITIES

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The whole structure of the studio film system relies on generating massive liabilities and hoping the profits from the film will cover and exceed those costs. In the accounting world, a liability is any outstanding (aka unpaid) cost or legal obligation to another entity. 

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LOCATION

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Location, location, location! Never mind the eternal debate between building a set or using an existing building to film your scenes (which is cheaper? more convenient?). A location is simply the place where you film scenes. Whether on a soundstage, a glacier, someone's home or an empty field with a green screen, the location of your scene is vitally important! 

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MEAL PENALTIES

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It can often feel like choosing something to eat is a penalty - is this too unhealthy? Is there enough fiber? Do I actually like this food? Will I regret this later? Meal penalties are an avoidable but common production accounting issue. Because film shoots try to maximize every minute of the workday, it's easy to work late into night or go over the union-sanctioned work periods. A meal penalty is accrued if filming infringes on meal periods set by entertainment unions or labor laws. 

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MID-BUDGET

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Making a film is not cheap, and studios are always hoping to keep costs as low as possible to maximize profits. Mid-budget films tend to be story- or character-driven rather than based around expensive effects and stunts. There isn't a consensus on the range but, in general, a mid-budget film can be made for between $10 million to $80 million dollars. 

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MINIMUM WAGE

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Political, economic, and ethical debates swirl around the concept of minimum wage. Practically speaking, the federal minimum wage is the lowest amount of money you are legally allowed to pay your employees. There are certain exceptions for specific industries, such as restaurants.  

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NACHA

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The National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) is a vitally important entity not only for entertainment payroll, but for the entire American economic system. They're responsible for the ACH Network that oversees, monitors and executes the electronic transfer of funds throughout the country. Without NACHA, payroll professionals would only be able to issue paper paychecks. Thank goodness for NACHA! 

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NIGHT PREMIUMS

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Gritty detective dramas and superhero action movies wouldn't be the same without the dramatic scenes that take place at night. However, shooting at night has a human (and budgetary cost): you'll have to pay additional night premiums during shoots that take place overnight or extend into the night. Top up on your coffee and use your time wisely! 

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NON-EXEMPT

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While exempt employees do not qualify to receive overtime pay if they work past a certain number of hours in a week (such as those who receive a monthly salary for working 40 hours per week, regardless of the actual number of hours worked), non-exempt employees must be provided with overtime compensation if they work past the number of hours stated in their contract. It's important to know the designation of any employee when calculating payroll so they are compensated correctly! 

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OCC CODES

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Big-budget films need code names to preserve secrecy and prevent spoilers. Your job may not have the same stakes, but the United States census still uses OCC codes to classify the type of job that makes up the majority of your income in order to generate statistics on the labor market in the United States.  

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PROFIT AND LOSS (P&L) STATEMENT

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P&L statements summarize the profits, costs, and expenses during a designated period. It’s a document that can tell you at a glance if you’re on the right track with the finances of your project. See also cost to date and cost reporting.  

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PAYROLL

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Video production is an art form and has produced some glorious works of art. But it is also a massive business with many moving parts and people waiting to get paid. Entertainment payroll makes sure that happens. In essence, payroll is the process of paying employees accurately, quickly, and within various compliance rules related to the location and industry of the company. It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it! 

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PAYROLL INTERFACE

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A payroll interface is the element in the payroll software that will allow you to move your data from one program or software to another. This makes it easier to coordinate reporting between teams and companies. 

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PCARD

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Jean Luc Picard is the captain of the Starship Enterprise, but a PCARD is a payment method that allows purchases to be made on behalf of a company without having to submit a receipt for reimbursement afterward. 

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POST PRODUCTION

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Once everything is "in the can" (in other words, once all the film has been shot and put back into the film canister), the post production professionals take over. They're responsible for creating the soundtrack, rendering digital special effects, editing the film, and promoting it, among other things. In the relay race of film production, they're the teammate who takes the baton across the finish line! 

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PRE-PRODUCTION

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You've got the script, the story, and the green light - but you're a long way from getting started! Before "lights, camera, action!", a whole universe of production professionals must coordinate to get the show on the road. This period is known as pre-production and involves hiring actors, setting schedules, scouting locations, securing permits, polishing the script with last minute changes, deciding on the appearance of the film through its costumes and set design, etc.

 

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PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY

 

This has nothing to do with picture day at school, but rather denotes the period during a production when they are filming the main actors performing their roles. 

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PRODUCER

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"I wanna be a producer!" sings Leo Bloom from Mel Brooks' _The Producers_. The appeal of the profession is clear: you'll be the liaison between the creative team responsible for the story and the creation of the work and the people in charge of supplying the funds for the project. Producers must have excellent organizational and people skills, delicately balancing negotiation, cheerleading, leadership and management. 

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PRODUCTION CALENDAR

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When you read about celebrities dropping out of projects due to scheduling conflicts, it often has to do with competing production calendars. These calendars outline all the activities that must be done to complete the project - from pre-production, casting, principal photography, wrap, post-production (including editing, creating the soundtrack and marketing the film), and film promotion (when celebrities go on talk shows to reminisce about making the movie). The length of these projects can last years, so the planning is essential! 

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PRODUCTION REPORT

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In contrast to the call sheet, which states what is scheduled to happen, the production report is a record of what actually happened during filming that day - how much film was used, what scenes were shot, the reason for any delays, incident reports, etc. 

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PURCHASE ORDERS

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As an individual consumer, you're familiar with receiving a receipt from a merchant after you make a purchase, indicating the item, the price, the taxes and the total. Because you paid for the item at that moment of sale, you owe no outstanding money to the seller.  In business-to-business transactions however, the buyer will usually issue a purchase order (PO) to the seller - a document similar to a receipt that also contains price, items, and amount information. The PO helps the buyer's accounting team keep track of what money is owed by the production to various vendors. 

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RETRO

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Retro fashion and furniture are hip, in-demand, and stylish. But retro payments are even better than nostalgia! Accountants, payroll professionals and software are not perfect and sometimes make mistakes. If your pay was calculated incorrectly and there was a shortfall, the payroll department will issue a retro payment in the next period to cover that shortfall. 

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RETRO ADJUSTMENT

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Marty McFly had to make a retro adjustment to the space time continuum in Back to the Future Part II, but from a payroll perspective, a retro adjustment is a fancy term for correcting a mistake. 

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SCHEDULING (process)
 

Any human being on planet earth with a clock and an obligation is familiar with scheduling. Only a few human beings, however, are familiar with the scheduling process of film and TV production. In order to film a blockbuster or a season of a TV show, a complex web of interlocking commitments must be interpreted, woven, untangled and reset - the talent must be available, the equipment must be rented, the relevant crew members hired, brought to the filming location, fed, and housed, the marketing team must produce materials, the talent must go on a press tour, the premier has to happen...without scheduling, showbiz would grind to a halt! 

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SET STRIKE

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A set strike isn't a political protest by the sets demanding better working conditions (but that would be an interesting story idea...). Rather, a set strike is the moment when a set is taken apart at the end of a shoot, or when the set is no longer needed for additional scenes. The elements of the set are repurposed, recycled, reused, or sometimes auctioned off as collectors' items. 

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SHOOT

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We've been encouraged all our lives to shoot for the stars - aim high, dream big, and execute your plan with enthusiasm! So when it's time to shoot (aka film) a scene, it means all the stars have aligned - you've got the budget, the crew, the cast, and the schedule. Quiet on the set! ACTION! 

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SICK LEAVE

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An inevitable part of being human doesn't have to be an inevitable inconvenience or source of additional stress. Since everyone gets sick at some point, sick leave or sick days are accrued hours or days that an employee can take to heal, rest and recuperate. They are coded differently from regular workdays in the payroll system so that the taxes and deductions are correctly taken out. 

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SPLIT SHIFT

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Just like studios sometimes split big ticket movies into two parts to maximize profitability, sometimes crew members work split shifts to accommodate unique or irregular shooting schedules. These shifts must be worked on the same day and the length of time between the shifts must be longer than a union-standard meal break. 

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TAX INCENTIVES

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In a film script, the traditional rule is to increase the stakes of the story to maintain the audience's interest and incentivize them to keep watching. In entertainment payroll and accounting, tax incentives are used to attract physical productions to specific cities or countries and keep them coming back. Lower taxes for the production + economic stimulation for the location = major win for everyone! 

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TAX WITHHOLDINGS

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Anyone who has received a paycheck is well aware that the amount of money you earned is not equal to the amount of money you take home. The difference is usually due to tax withholdings - money taken from your paycheck for various state and federal taxes. It may be tough to see the differences between those numbers, but rest assured your payroll professionals will ensure only the appropriate amount is withdrawn! 

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TOTAL COST

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When Titanic came out in 1997, the average price of a movie ticket in the US was around $4.60. But there were other costs involved, including 3.25 hours of your life and the gut-wrenching emotional hangover. The temporal, emotional and financial costs combined make up the total cost of seeing Titanic. Similarly, the total cost of a project represents the overall cost, incorporating many different factors and elements.   

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TRANSMITTAL FORMS

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Beam me up, Scotty! When sending documents (not people) between companies (not planets), a transmittal document is used to indicate which documents are being sent to which company. It just helps keep things organized and makes sure nothing gets scrambled during transit - digital, physical or otherwise! 

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TRIAL BALANCE

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The trial balance is a summary of a production's financial health at a moment in time focusing primarily on funding, expenses and assets. See also cost-to-date. Orson Welles' film The Trial has nothing to do with this – except sharing the word "trial." 

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UPM

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The Unit Production Manager, or UPM, is considered the chief operating officer of a film production. They are the highest ranking "below the line" (in other words, not part of the creative team making decisions about the content, appearance and structure of the film) crew member in a production. They're responsible for all the logistical aspects of shooting - securing permits, renting equipment, hiring the rest of the crew, creating a schedule and budget, etc. They put the magic in motion and turn dreams into reality! 

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W-4 SETUPS

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"This is a stick-up!" Wait, this isn't a 1940s mobster movie! We're talking about W-4 set-ups, the step in the payroll process where the employees fill out the W-4 form and indicate how much federal tax they would like withheld from their paychecks. No bank robbery required! 

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WORKERS' COMP

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There are a lot of moving parts in physical production - heavy set pieces, electrical wires snaking along the floor, special effects and explosives equipment that requires special care and monitoring. Although the risk is present in many industries, it is especially important to have workers' compensation insurance and payment schemes for physical production employees. That way employers can provide resources for employees who are, God forbid, injured on the job.  

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WRAP

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A wrap can be many things; a delicious type of sandwich, an elegant type of scarf, or the moment when an element of a film production has finished. An actor is wrapped once all their scenes are finished, or you can wrap for the day or - most exciting of all - you can wrap the entire movie! 

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WRAP PARTY

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If there is one image the word Hollywood inspires, it is the quality, quantity, and luxurious opulence of its parties. From awards shows to premiers, Hollywood parties celebrate the stars in glorious excess! It's only natural, therefore, that many productions have a wrap party at the end of principal photography to celebrate their accomplishments.