Subject: Bookkeeping Position – Laugh Cry Wow Productions
Dear Laugh Cry Wow Team,
My name is Jeanette Aguilar, and I’m reaching out to express my interest in the bookkeeping position you recently posted. I came across your listing through a Mandy.com alert. While I’m not very active on the site these days, this opportunity stood out—and I knew that I needed to reach out immediately.
I’ve worked in the entertainment industry for 21 years. That may make me sound seasoned, but I hit the ground running straight out of college and film school. That’s my way of saying that I’m still fairly young and not outdated in my experience. My first industry job was with Blue Cactus Pictures, where I was hired as a production coordinator/office manager—though I was ultimately tricked into taking on the role of bookkeeper for both the company and its productions. I held this role for two years until the company relocated out of state. I was invited to join them, but as someone who had only moved to Los Angeles two years prior, I had no interest in leaving.
When I joined the company, it was led by three talented creatives three years into running their production company. They were thriving creatively and commercially—but the financial side of the business had been largely neglected. While they managed to pay their crews, talent, and vendors on time, the rest of the bookkeeping was in serious disarray—so much so that an IRS audit was triggered, and three years of financials were scattered across the office. They asked me in desperation for help and I took it upon myself to learn QuickBooks, organize their records, and bring their books up to date—both at the company level and on a per-project basis. I successfully led them through the audit, which resulted in nothing more than a minor penalty and a small bill. That crash course led to my becoming an IATSE production accountant just a year later. While I’m no longer in the union, that early experience laid the foundation for a career combining production and finance ever since.
Over the years, I’ve served as the dedicated bookkeeper and production accountant for companies including Kool Kids Entertainment, Detour.com, and Link Technologies—totaling more than seven years of hands-on experience across just those three companies. You won’t see “Production Accountant” or “Bookkeeper” in my recent LinkedIn titles, as those keywords can confuse hiring teams and ATS when I’m applying for production roles. But make no mistake: at Kool Kids, I was originally hired as a Production Accountant and later promoted to a Line Producer/Accountant hybrid role, where I spent 12+ hours a day buried in QuickBooks, Excel, and Movie Magic—five to six days a week.
At Link Technologies, I acted as both Production Accountant and Production Manager. And at Detour, while I was initially brought on to oversee production operations, my accounting expertise quickly became indispensable—I was soon managing all company financials along with the budgets and tracking for nearly 100 projects and teams worldwide. In fact, I’ve handled financial responsibilities on nearly every production I’ve worked on. From budgeting and cost reporting to payroll, expense tracking, petty cash, reimbursements, and wrap reconciliations—if it involved numbers, I handled it. After moving into production management and line-producing roles, I’ve continued to bring my bookkeeping and cost-tracking skills to every project. I’m fluent in Movie Magic, QuickBooks, Excel, SAP. Concur, Showbiz Budgeting (you can budget and track costs), and more—and I adapt quickly to new systems and workflows.
I’m deeply familiar with the financial and logistical needs of a wide range of production types, but in recent years, I’ve focused primarily on documentary and docu-series content. My credits in this space include:
Two documentary projects with Peter Berg at Film 45
A CNN docuseries
A BBC documentary
Three Seasons of Unsolved Mysteries (Documentary Crime Series)
A Discovery travel documentary
Numerous documentary programs for KQED (PBS San Francisco)
Nearly 100 audio-based travel documentaries for Detour.com
These experiences have given me a strong grasp of the unique financial demands of documentary work—especially field shoots, archival licensing, sensitive subject matter, and long-form timelines.
After two decades of freelance work—and a particularly unstable year for our industry—I’m looking for stability and a chance to bring my skills to a company that truly values them. I’d be thrilled to support your productions and contribute meaningfully to your growing team. Please look beyond my titles. While my job titles may not always reflect it, I’m a bookkeeper at heart, and I’m ready to return to what I do best—especially on documentary projects, a genre that has become a personal passion in recent years. And as a bonus, I can always jump in to support production logistics whenever an extra hand is needed.
I also want to highlight that I’m professional and trustworthy with confidential and sensitive information. At the same time, I’m easygoing, adaptable, and fun to work with. I have a natural ability to get along with a wide range of personalities and thrive in collaborative environments.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration. I’d be happy to provide a production accounting/bookkeeping resume, credits, and/or references upon request.
Warmly,
Jeanette Marie Aguilar
📞 323-637-3219
📧 jaguilarmarie@gmail.com
🌐 www.riotandahalf.com