Picture North 
does payroll 
four times faster 
with Wrapbook.

From their founding in 2008, Picture North—a boundary-pushing production company based in Chicago—has never stopped evolving. Their human-centric approach to filmmaking—anchored by impactful projects that feature real people and real stories—has earned them a high-profile group of clients, including Conde Nast, Gillette, State Farm, Nissan, and more.

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But just because they work with brand-name, blue-chip clients doesn’t mean they’re satisfied with doing things the way they’ve always been done. The company is always looking for ways to push the envelope—both creatively, and operationally.

As Picture North’s Head of Production, Matt Bobbitt works closely with the company’s producers and clients to align their creative visions and create production budgets that can bring those creative visions to life. Under Bobbitt’s careful guidance, Picture North delivers authentic and compelling commercials and campaigns with cinematic production value.

Perhaps nowhere is Picture North’s commitment to constant evolution more apparent than in the company’s approach to the Covid-19 pandemic. Faced with a once-in-a-generation emergency that threatened to shut down production, the company found opportunity in adversity, dramatically expanding their business by embracing new and more efficient ways of working. Yet as the company evolved, one facet of their business remained frustratingly stuck in the past: payroll.

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Picture North’s old payroll service was slow and unreliable. On smaller projects, producers spent days hand-writing checks to pay independent contractors. On large projects, their payroll service took days to respond to questions and provide payroll updates. For a company committed to delivering compelling, cinematic content to their clients on time and under budget, these kinds of delays were disastrous. Not only that, consistent payroll delays also carried the risk of opening Picture North up to liability.

Worst of all, Picture North’s professionally processed and reviewed payroll came back peppered with errors. Bobbitt recalls spending hours—valuable time he would rather have been spending with clients and creatives—reviewing everything line by line in order to correct mistakes and ensure every payroll was accurate and compliant.

“We had production teams spending a day or two hand-writing checks, and when it came to jobs where we had payroll, our old payroll service wouldn't respond for 48 hours. When they did, they had miscalculations.” — Bobbitt

Wrapbook saves Picture North days on every project, freeing their teams to focus on delivering impactful stories that captivate audiences and wow their clients.

The digital-first solution also makes paperwork a thing of the past, which Bobbitt loves, both for its simplicity and its impact on the environment. Picture North no longer has to store stacks of binders filled with production payroll—their onboarding documents, payroll, and reporting are accessible from anywhere, stored securely, and backed up by the cloud.

“We have reduced our production team's need for work by about 75% when it comes to payroll.” — Bobbitt

Over the last few years, Picture North has built upon their already impressive track record, acquiring a powerful new array of tools that will allow them to further expand their reach while still delivering high-quality, impactful work.

Wrapbook, their all-in-one digital payroll solution, makes onboarding, payroll, and reporting more seamless, secure, and efficient, allowing Picture North to keep evolving and reaching new heights.

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