While it might seem intimidating at first, finding and working with experts on a certain subject matter is well worth the benefits to your project.
The first “Hollywood” money that anyone I know ever earned was as a consultant. Sure, folks we knew had made money editing industrials or PA’ing, but the first time someone I knew made money from a major studio production, they were paid to help with the translation of the head credits of a major action film from modern English into an ancient language they happened to know. That particular example was under the table, and in honor of it being “Hollywood” money, our friend spent it all in a Sunset Strip nightclub that evening in celebration. Easy come, easy go.
The benefits of hiring a consultant are huge. At its most basic level, a consultant helps ensure that your project is accurate. For most of us, there is something we desperately love and have deep knowledge about, and when we see that portrayed incorrectly on screen we are driven nuts.