This post is intended to offer general ideas to independent production professionals, rather than legal advice. Please consult a tax specialist with your specific legal questions.

April 15th is fast approaching, which for Editors, Cam Ops, PAs, Producers and every other freelance TV and Film industry worker across the country, is a fearful date: something about all that tax jargon just isn’t as appealing as cutting a new showreel, or checking the latest local feature. Well, Media Match thought we should share a few last minute helpful tips, ideas, and reminders on deductibles, seeing as the independent media industry worker can often take deductions that are normally not available to most people. Oh, and there’s additional good news this year: April 15th coincides with a District of Columbia holiday, and so all 2010 tax payments are instead due on Monday, April 18.

Common tax deductibles for freelancers and professionals in the TV and Film industry

- Equipment purchases, rental, repair and maintenance.
- Subscriptions and purchases of Variety / The Hollywood Reporter and other trade publications.
- Being a service that you use to find employment, your subscription to Media Match is tax deductible.
- Rehearsal hall, studio, office or storage rental.
- Acting / Singing Lessons.
- Stage clothes/makeup (but you can’t use the clothes for everyday use.)
- Memberships in professional associations and the unions.
- Website and email database setup and maintenance costs.
- Production of physical promotional materials; DVDs, photos, newsletters.
- Whilst away from home, you can deduct 100% of travel and accommodation…
- And 50% of business meal expenses – while shooting on location, all of your meals are business meals.
- Report payments to other freelancers. Legal fees are also deductible. (Note: You must send a 1099 to any independent contractor, such as the sound assistant you hire for a music video shoot, to whom you pay $600 or more.)

Finally, a little soundtrack to give you the motivational kick you may need Happy filing!

The Media Match Team.

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The quote below is taken from this recent post by Michael DeHart of KeyPA.net and I thought I would expand on it further, relating back to our TV and Film Jobs.

“Nothing is more frustrating to employers than getting applications for different positions that aren’t advertised and don’t exist. Trust me, they get enough unwanted e-mails just from posting a job online. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the ol’ “Spray and Pray” approach to job hunting, I just think it doesn’t have it’s place when it comes to existing advertised positions. Most employers I’ve talked to send those “other” submissions straight to the trash. That’s even if they have different positions available.

When it comes to job postings just keep it to the point. Give them what they want, trust me, if they were looking for something else, they would have posted it. However, it is a good idea to apply for jobs that are a little out of your reach. Not only will it keep you excited about the job hunt, it’ll push you to make better and stronger cover letters and resumes.”

Employers are often inundated with applications for each job vacancy we offer – it is a tough time out there, and there is a lot of competition. Tweaking your application to add focus for a specific job is definitely one of the biggest pieces of advice we can give. We have recently re-structured the Media Match website so that you can have multiple resumes on your profile, and each one can be targeted for different areas of employment – here we see my various resumes, each slightly different, depending on which position I may be applying for…

Whilst applying for jobs slightly above your position is fine – everyone wants to move up, and it shows you have ambition – beware applying for something that you are not right for, or something that the employer is not offering. To expand on something Mike mentioned; some employers may say, “Anyone who is responding to my post for an Editor job, asking if we have a PA job, either can’t read, or is desperate.” Even if you are both of those things, you’re not going to want to broadcast that to your potential boss.

Maybe something to take from this post is, choose your specialties well, establish and re-configure your resumes on Media Match for each one, and that way you will be prepared when an opening in your field comes up.

Best of luck!

Lee Jarvis
Marketing Coordinator
Media Match

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My first production assistant job was misleading, to say the least. It was back in the year 2000; I’d recently graduated from USC, having PA’d on various student films before. But I’d never worked a true production, and as such had little idea what to expect. So when the offer came to work a music video with a friend of mine, I figured it would give me a good chance to learn what a production assistant job entails in a short amount of time (I was assured the production wouldn’t go over two days, unlike a film, which could stretch out over a longer period).

I showed up at a studio in Hollywood dressed in comfortable clothes: sneakers, jeans and a tee-shirt, as I’d been instructed. I was met by my friend, who handed a walkie-talkie and showed me how to key the various channels. So far so good. He then took me around and introduced me to his boss, along with some of the other production assistants I’d be working with. More importantly, he taught me some of the valuable lexicon I would need while working on set: “what’s your 20?” (where are you?)… and “ten one hundred” (I’m in the bathroom). Personally, I didn’t think I’d ever feel comfortable letting thirty or so people know I was in the can, so I figured I’d just skip over that part. But I got a kick out of saying “what’s your 20?”, and used it often that first day. I think I even started throwing in things like “ETA five minutes”.

Anyway, only once I was on set was I told what they’d be shooting: turns out Bob Dylan was filming a video of his original song from Curtis Hanson’s film “Wonder Boys”. Everyone was instructed in no uncertain terms that, once Mr. Dylan was on set, we were all to maintain our distance, avoid prolonged eye contact, and lastly, under no circumstances, were we to talk to him. Ever. I nodded, figuring it was cool enough that I’d get to see Bob Dylan in person. And sure enough, when he walked on set, it was a bit of a thrill that he was standing only five feet away.

I didn’t expect what came next, however: in between shots, to help pass the time, Dylan decided to practice. He started strumming his guitar, and singing songs like “Hurricane” under his breath. I looked at the other production assistants around me, and could see the same barely-suppressed excitement on their faces: we were basically being treated to a private concert by the man himself. I didn’t think the day could get better from there, but it did.

Because of my limited experience, I was plucked from the set and sent to work the monitors in the video village, the area where the director (Hanson), the producers, and the talent all gathered to watch the various takes; in this case, the talent included Dylan, as well as Michael Douglas, who was there to reprise his role in the film for some scenes with Dylan. My job was simple: press play and rewind. I took drink orders, handed out coffee and pastries, and then settled in a chair next to Michael Douglas for the next couple of hours. The highlight came when everyone wandered away except for myself and Bob Dylan; figuring it would be rude not to talk to him, I struck up a conversation and we chatted for about five minutes. At that point, I couldn’t believe they were actually paying me to be there! When the day finally ended, I walked away whistling, having had one of my best days in this city. This is showbiz, I thought to myself; I now have a PRODUCTION ASSISTANT job, and I love it!

Two weeks later, I PA’d a music video in downtown Long Beach, for some crappy boy band that no one had ever heard of. It rained… I was stuck outside, hauling cables and lights, from 10p.m. to 9a.m…. I made $75… I got yelled at twice by the psychotic 2^nd Assistant Director… and I broke my walkie-talkie (and nearly my hand) when some idiot slammed a metal pipe into it. As the rain poured down, I marveled at just how much I had been misled.

This is showbiz, I thought to myself the next morning as I trudged home; and I now have a production assistant job. Yay.

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