On Production

Cameron sits down with Josh Rogin, Senior Vice President of Federal Government Affairs at the Motion Picture Association (MPA), to examine a federal production tax credit introduced in Congress to keep more film and television production in the United States.Josh spent 20 years on Capitol Hill, including more than a decade as chief of staff to Rep. Ted Deutch, before joining the MPA. There, he advocates before Congress, the administration, and federal agencies on intellectual property, copyright, AI, technology, trade, and tax. He previously served as Vice President of Federal Affairs at the Computer & Communications Industry Association, was named to the 2023 Washingtonian list of the 500 Most Influential People Shaping Policy, and holds a JD with honors and a BA in history from the University of Michigan.Josh walks through the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act, a bipartisan, bicameral bill that, as introduced, would create a federal credit of 20% of qualifying U.S. labor costs, with bonuses that could raise it to 30%. Productions would need to spend at least $1 million and shoot at least 75% of their principal photography days in the United States. The credit is designed to stack with state incentives. It includes bonuses for independent productions, rural locations, shooting across multiple states, and bringing work back from overseas, plus separate provisions for post-production and visual effects.He explains why the credit is tied to wages and makes the case, in his telling, that the U.S. share of production for the domestic market has fallen from about 65% to about 39% as Canada, the UK, Australia, and South Africa have built national incentives. He also discusses an MPA-commissioned economic study and what the credit could mean for below-the-line crews, small vendors, and local communities.The conversation also covers how a bill like this moves through Congress, the broad coalition behind it, and what producers and crew can do, from contacting their members of Congress to getting involved through usfilmandtv.org.The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are solely their own and do not reflect the views of Wrapbook, its employees, or affiliates.ABOUT WRAPBOOKWrapbook is the AI platform for production finance.Built for today’s fast-moving production landscape, Wrapbook brings payroll, spend, and accounting into one AI-powered system, giving production teams the tools they need to do more, faster.Built for features, TV, or commercials, Wrapbook helps the industry’s biggest production companies stay compliant, track every dollar in real time, and eliminate the paper-chasing that slows everything down. AI handles the busywork, reading invoices, flagging issues, and syncing data, so your team can focus on the work that really matters.But software is only half the story. Wrapbook pairs powerful automation with concierge support from industry experts who’ve worked on set and know what’s at stake. It’s how the best production teams scale smarter, protect their budgets, and keep their crews happy.See how Wrapbook is a force multiplier for production finance teams at www.wrapbook.com.

Cameron sits down with Kory Orban and Scooter Corkle, two of the creators behind The Comprehensive Dictionary of Cinema, to explore the language of filmmaking and what it reveals about the industry itself.Kory began his career as a production assistant and rose to unit manager on large-scale Hollywood service productions, working on shows for HBO, Netflix, Marvel, 20th Century Fox, and ABC, including the first two seasons of The Last of Us. He is a full member of the Directors Guild of Canada and a graduate of Capilano University’s Motion Picture Arts program, and he holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta. His debut short film, Insert Short Film Title, screened at more than 100 international festivals. He is also the co-founder of Cinematicalism, a Vancouver-based film culture brand dedicated to advancing cinematic literacy.Scooter started in 2003 as a PA on music videos and worked his way through the camera, grip, and electric departments, as a grip on Air Buddies, a lamp op on Tron: Legacy, and a gaffer on Beyond the Black Rainbow. He went on to shoot independent films as a cinematographer before directing his own work. His shorts have screened at Tribeca, Telluride, Toronto After Dark, and Clermont-Ferrand, and his features Hollow in the Land and The Friendship Game have streamed worldwide on Netflix, Crave, and Shudder. The Austin Film Festival and MovieMaker Magazine named him one of their 25 Screenwriters to Watch.Together with co-author Chrissy Mozylisky, Kory and Scooter created a dictionary spanning 11 sections, from on-set terminology to fan culture. It began as a passion project under Cinematicalism and grew into a Kickstarter that raised more than $220,000 against a $7,500 goal, from nearly 3,000 backers.Kory and Scooter discuss the challenge of documenting an industry where the same term can mean entirely different things across departments, regions, and stages of production. Drawing on their experience in locations, lighting, writing, and directing, they explain how specialized vocabularies develop. Depending on who’s asking, “AC” can mean an assistant camera, a power cable, or air conditioning. And when communication breaks down on set, it costs productions time and money.The conversation also goes behind the making of the 1,312-page dictionary. They describe building its 5,424 entries from more than 2,300 distinct references, through a review process that drew on more than 35 contributors, including writers, fact checkers, and copy editors. Along the way, they share the terminology debates that took the longest to settle, how technology and culture keep reshaping film language, and why understanding the words of cinema can deepen an appreciation for the craft.Correction: Kory and Scooter’s podcast is Podcast & Crew, not Below the Line, and the dictionary has 11 sections, not nine.The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are solely their own and do not reflect the views of Wrapbook, its employees, or affiliates.ABOUT WRAPBOOKWrapbook is the AI platform for production finance.Built for today’s fast-moving production landscape, Wrapbook brings payroll, spend, and accounting into one AI-powered system, giving production teams the tools they need to do more, faster.Built for features, TV, or commercials, Wrapbook helps the industry’s biggest production companies stay compliant, track every dollar in real time, and eliminate the paper-chasing that slows everything down. AI handles the busywork, reading invoices, flagging issues, and syncing data, so your team can focus on the work that really matters.But software is only half the story. Wrapbook pairs powerful automation with concierge support from industry experts who’ve worked on set and know what’s at stake. It’s how the best production teams scale smarter, protect their budgets, and keep their crews happy.See how Wrapbook is a force multiplier for production finance teams at www.wrapbook.com.

Cameron sits down with Nik Kleverov, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Native Foreign, to explore what AI actually changes in filmmaking, and what it doesn't.Before moving into AI-native production, Nik spent two decades in traditional filmmaking. He worked his way up from PA to editor and earned an Emmy nomination for designing the opening titles to Narcos. Today, Native Foreign produces commercial campaigns and original films with AI. Its work includes the Toys"R"Us spot Nik describes as the first true AI commercial, and Critterz, an AI animated feature Nik is directing.Nik walks through how production has changed since that first commercial. Back then, getting one usable shot could take a thousand generations. He explains why AI-native projects still rely on teams of about a dozen specialists and timelines close to traditional work. The conversation covers where costs actually come down, from savings of around 20% on commercials to making an animated feature for roughly a tenth of a traditional studio budget. It also covers why world building, character design, storyboarding, and editorial review still depend on human creative judgment.Nik also shares the story behind Critterz. It began as a short film that he believes was the first animated AI short to earn U.S. copyright. He describes building Native Foreign's proprietary workflow, Woven, and what happened when OpenAI discontinued Sora midway through production. Plus, he explains why Native Foreign is bringing artists in on profit share.If you're interested in AI but want to hear from someone who came up through traditional craft, this one's for you.The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are solely their own and do not reflect the views of Wrapbook, its employees, or affiliates.ABOUT WRAPBOOKWrapbook is the AI platform for production finance.Built for today’s fast-moving production landscape, Wrapbook brings payroll, spend, and accounting into one AI-powered system, giving production teams the tools they need to do more, faster.Built for features, TV, or commercials, Wrapbook helps the industry’s biggest production companies stay compliant, track every dollar in real time, and eliminate the paper-chasing that slows everything down. AI handles the busywork, reading invoices, flagging issues, and syncing data, so your team can focus on the work that really matters.But software is only half the story. Wrapbook pairs powerful automation with concierge support from industry experts who’ve worked on set and know what’s at stake. It’s how the best production teams scale smarter, protect their budgets, and keep their crews happy.See how Wrapbook is a force multiplier for production finance teams at www.wrapbook.com.

Cameron sits down with Alfred Cervantes, Executive Director of the Houston Film Commission, to talk about what a film commission actually does and how Houston is positioning itself within Texas' new incentive era.Alfred is a native Houstonian who has worked in the Texas film industry since 1992. Before joining the Houston Film Commission, he worked as crew on productions including The Chase, Jason's Lyric, Reality Bites, Apollo 13, and Powder, giving him a ground-level understanding of what productions actually need when they arrive in a new market. That on-set background informs everything about how he runs the commission today.In the conversation, Alfred explains how film commissions help productions navigate the practical realities of filmmaking: locations, permits, crew, vendors, municipal coordination, and the countless logistical challenges that determine whether a project succeeds. He also addresses what producers most often misunderstand about what a film commission can and can't do, and why building a relationship with the commission early in the process makes a meaningful difference.The conversation explores the early impact of Texas Senate Bill 22, how Houston's local incentive stacks on top of the state program, and why affordability, infrastructure, and crew depth continue to attract both independent features and larger productions. Alfred also discusses Houston's diverse location palette, from urban downtown corridors to rural landscapes, and why the city's growing crew base is creating new opportunities for filmmakers who haven't previously considered Texas.If you're thinking about filming in Houston or just want to understand what a film commission can do for your production, this episode's for you.The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are solely their own and do not reflect the views of Wrapbook, its employees, or affiliates.ABOUT WRAPBOOKWrapbook is the AI platform for production finance.Built for today’s fast-moving production landscape, Wrapbook brings payroll, spend, and accounting into one AI-powered system, giving production teams the tools they need to do more, faster.Built for features, TV, or commercials, Wrapbook helps the industry’s biggest production companies stay compliant, track every dollar in real time, and eliminate the paper-chasing that slows everything down. AI handles the busywork, reading invoices, flagging issues, and syncing data, so your team can focus on the work that really matters.But software is only half the story. Wrapbook pairs powerful automation with concierge support from industry experts who’ve worked on set and know what’s at stake. It’s how the best production teams scale smarter, protect their budgets, and keep their crews happy.See how Wrapbook is a force multiplier for production finance teams at www.wrapbook.com.

Cameron sits down with PJ Accetturo, founder and CEO of Genre.ai, to talk about what happens when generative AI moves beyond experimentation and becomes a real production business.Known online as the "viral AI madman," PJ built his reputation with the Kalshi commercial that aired during the NBA Finals, one of the first AI-generated ads to run on broadcast television at scale. Since then, he has led AI-native campaigns for Nike, LVMH, Qatar Airways, Oracle, Popeyes, Ramp, Google, and more, generating hundreds of millions of views across platforms. Through Genre.ai, he has built one of the most active AI-native production studios working in commercial production today.But instead of focusing on prompts and workflows, this conversation digs into the questions that rarely get asked: pricing, margins, creative constraints, failed campaigns, staffing, and what AI actually means for the economics of production. PJ explains how AI-native productions are structured today, why some projects still work better as traditional shoots, and how agencies, production companies, and filmmakers are adapting as the technology rapidly improves. The discussion also explores the changing relationship between AI and traditional craft, from commercials and VFX workflows to narrative filmmaking, virtual production, performance capture, and the emerging hybrid models being tested across the industry.The conversation also touches on the Wonder Project's hybrid approach to narrative production, blending volume stages, performance capture, and AI-generated wide shots as a model for what ambitious mid-budget storytelling could look like going forward.Perhaps most notably, PJ reflects on how his own thinking has evolved. A year ago he was telling Hollywood it was doomed. Today his message is different: the tools are coming regardless, the talent is there to adapt, and what's ahead may look less like a reckoning and more like a golden age of creativity.For producers, creative directors, and anyone trying to understand where AI fits in the production landscape, this is one of the more grounded and honest conversations on the topic you'll find.The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are solely their own and do not reflect the views of Wrapbook, its employees, or affiliates.ABOUT WRAPBOOKWrapbook is the AI platform for production finance.Built for today’s fast-moving production landscape, Wrapbook brings payroll, spend, and accounting into one AI-powered system, giving production teams the tools they need to do more, faster.Built for features, TV, or commercials, Wrapbook helps the industry’s biggest production companies stay compliant, track every dollar in real time, and eliminate the paper-chasing that slows everything down. AI handles the busywork, reading invoices, flagging issues, and syncing data, so your team can focus on the work that really matters.But software is only half the story. Wrapbook pairs powerful automation with concierge support from industry experts who’ve worked on set and know what’s at stake. It’s how the best production teams scale smarter, protect their budgets, and keep their crews happy.See how Wrapbook is a force multiplier for production finance teams at www.wrapbook.com.