Meet Angela

Angela has been in the production accounting business for 22 years. She was born in Kingston, New York, grew up in Los Angeles and attend high school in Boston. Angela received a BA in Speech Communications from Northeastern University and an MA in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University. After college she was not sure of what career she wanted to pursue. She comes from a family that was in the film industry so took lots of film classes. A friend was a set painter on a film in Santa Fe and they had a position open in the accounting department; Angela was hired on the spot and she has been working ever since on projects such as “The Mandalorian,” “Bullet Train” and “Transformers.” She currently divides her time between Santa Fe, NM and Orange County, CA. 

What was your favorite project and why? I have had many positive and memorable experiences working on film and TV shows over the past 22 years. My favorite project was “The Hi-Lo Country” which was filmed in Santa Fe. I met some of my closest friends on that show, enjoyed the pace, the atmosphere and the connections I made. 

What is the best part of being a production accountant? Working on a very large team of people to create something that touches so many people all over the world. Being engaged in all the moving parts during production then seeing the final product, and how the film or TV show is strung together at the end because of the hard work and dedication of so many people. I am very detail and task oriented and being able to tackle lots of paperwork in a timely and organized fashion makes me happy. Taking pride in paying vendors and crew members. Connecting with like-minded people and making lifelong friends while working on projects. Being a member of a union (Local 871) has given me great benefits, retirement and pays well.  

What advice would you give someone starting out in the profession? Connect and network with as many people as possible in the film/TV industry. There are numerous production accounting groups on Facebook that have job postings, events and classes to take in the industry. There is a website called emilyrice.com where they post accounting related positions. The payroll companies such as Cast & Crew, Entertainment Partners and Greenslate have lots of courses that you can take which will also assist you in networking for jobs. They also have resume portals where you can post your resume.