Breaking into union payroll can feel overwhelming, especially if you're new to the entertainment industry. The FTV Graduate Program is built to change that. It offers a clear, structured path into payroll accounting for film, television, and streaming productions. Whether you're a new payroll clerk or looking to grow into a more senior payroll accountant role, FTV Consulting provides targeted, contract-specific training that builds confidence and ensures compliance from the start.

In this article, we’ll explore how the program works, who it’s designed for, and why both studios and payroll companies trust it to prepare their teams.

What Is the FTV Graduate Program?

The FTV Graduate Program is an online, self-paced training platform that teaches the specialized skills needed for union payroll processing in entertainment. Created by industry veterans, it focuses on the real-world workflows, rules, and contracts that payroll professionals encounter on union productions.

This isn’t a generic payroll course. It’s built for the unique demands of film and TV. Students learn how to process union timecards, calculate fringes, interpret collective bargaining agreements, and meet tight payroll deadlines with accuracy.

The program is practical, immersive, and designed to give learners the language and skills needed to work effectively in payroll from their very first production.

Who Should Enroll?

This program is ideal for anyone looking to build a career in union payroll or deepen their knowledge of entertainment payroll operations. Common participants include:

• New payroll clerks or assistants aiming to enter the union payroll space
• Payroll accountants transitioning from non-union to union productions
• Paymasters and payroll coordinators working at payroll companies
• Labor coordinators and production accountants who want a better understanding of contract compliance
• Studios or production companies training in-house finance teams

There are no prerequisites. Whether you’re new to the industry or have some experience, the course is structured to teach foundational concepts first, then build toward more advanced skills. Learners move at their own pace and can revisit key concepts as needed.

Studios often use the program to onboard junior staff, while payroll companies use it to standardize training across departments and reduce compliance risks.

Real-World Skills Covered

The FTV Graduate Program focuses on the actual day-to-day work of union payroll. Each lesson is built around tasks that payroll professionals are responsible for during a typical production cycle.

Topics include:

• Onboarding and start paperwork: How to collect, review, and organize start packets, including W-4s, I-9s, union dues forms, and wage theft notices
• Timecard processing: How to interpret timecards, apply overtime rules, calculate penalties, and flag compliance issues
• Payroll workflow: A full walkthrough of the weekly union payroll cycle, from timecard collection through edit review and payroll submission
• Fringe calculations: How to calculate and apply fringe rates correctly, based on union, budget tier, and agreement terms

Students work through case studies, interactive exercises, and contract simulations to reinforce their learning. By the end of the program, they’ve practiced solving the kinds of problems they’ll encounter on real productions.

Contract-Focused Curriculum

One of the hardest parts of union payroll is learning how to read and apply collective bargaining agreements. Each union has its own unique language, rules, and penalty structures. Misunderstanding a term or applying the wrong rule can create major issues for the production and the payroll company.

The FTV Graduate Program is built to teach contract fluency. Instead of focusing on abstract rules, the course walks learners through the actual contracts used in the industry, including:

• IATSE Basic Agreement and Low Budget Theatrical Agreement
• Teamsters and Basic Crafts agreements
• SAG-AFTRA theatrical and television contracts
• DGA agreements
• High-budget SVOD sideletters and modifications

Each module teaches learners how to navigate these agreements through real examples. Topics include minimum calls, rest periods, health and pension contributions, premium pay, turnaround, and holiday provisions.

Learners are not expected to memorize clause numbers. Instead, they’re taught how to locate the information they need and apply it in context, just like working payroll professionals do.

Career Paths After Completion

The FTV Graduate Program is designed to help learners qualify for a range of roles within union payroll. Graduates leave the program with the knowledge and skills to hit the ground running, whether they’re joining a set payroll team or working in-house at a payroll company.

Typical career outcomes include:

• Payroll Clerk: Collects start paperwork and timecards on union productions
• Payroll Assistant: Supports the payroll accountant with data entry, calculations, and edit prep
• Payroll Accountant: Oversees the full payroll process for union productions and coordinates directly with payroll companies
• Labor Coordinator: Ensures union compliance and supports contract interpretation during prep and production
• Paymaster or Payroll Coordinator: Processes payroll at a payroll company across multiple shows and clients
• Labor Compliance or Audit Consultant: Specializes in contract enforcement, recordkeeping, and benefit fund audits

Graduates also receive a Certificate of Completion. For employers, the program includes tracking and reporting features that make it easy to monitor team progress and assign relevant modules based on job function.

Why Studios and Payroll Companies Trust FTV Consulting

The FTV Graduate Program was developed by professionals with years of experience in union payroll and studio compliance. Every module is designed to reflect real job functions and industry standards. That’s why major production companies and national payroll firms use the program to onboard new team members and cross-train internal staff.

Studios value the contract-specific focus and the ability to quickly bring junior staff up to speed. Payroll companies use it to create consistency and reduce errors during high-volume production periods.

In a high-pressure, deadline-driven environment like entertainment payroll, this kind of specialized training is essential. The FTV Graduate Program ensures that learners are not only prepared to do the work but are ready to do it right.

Conclusion

The FTV Graduate Program is the industry’s most practical and contract-specific path into union payroll accounting. Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to build on your current knowledge, this program gives you the tools to understand contracts, process payroll correctly, and support union productions with confidence.



If you're ready to build a career in union payroll, this is where you start.