Film Accounting Glossary
Hot costs
What are hot costs?
Also called daily costs, or hot cost report.
Hot costs are the daily report of what yesterday's shooting actually cost in the volatile, schedule-driven categories: crew overtime, meal penalties, extras, additional equipment, and unplanned vehicle or transportation spend.
They are issued the next morning, well ahead of the weekly cost report, so a producer can react while the schedule can still be changed. Hot costs are the single most useful early-warning document in production accounting.
Example
Tuesday's hot costs, issued Wednesday morning: 16-hour day, $22,400 of overtime, $9,800 of meal penalties across the crew, $4,200 of unplanned vehicle standby, 68 extras instead of 40. Total $41,000 over the day's allowance, with 19 days still to schedule.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Issued each morning to the producers, line producer, and UPM, well ahead of the weekly cost report. The most useful early-warning document in production accounting.
Common mistake
Filing them without acting on them. Their entire value is that they arrive while the schedule can still change, and a day later that value is gone.
Related questions
- What is included in hot costs?
- The volatile categories from the previous shooting day: crew overtime, meal penalties, extras, additional equipment, and unplanned vehicle or transportation spend.
- How are hot costs different from the cost report?
- Hot costs are daily and narrow, covering yesterday's schedule-driven spend. The cost report is weekly and covers every account against budget.