Any advice for moving to LA?

jk briceman, oh and that movie you posted of you as a kid ... ridiculous, although it took me a minute to realize it was you.
 
lol..pot is all over here, anytime you want it, you can have it, cheap, free.

But, heres the worse part of LA..everyone is acting. No one is true, no one is being themself, everyone acts like what they see, or think is cool. Anything under 21 acts like something they hear on the radio, or in a music video, they talk with an 'ghetto' accent, when they were raised in beverly hills, they wear 2 pounds of silver and call themselves thugs.

get used to that, they will stare at you, you stare back, you get a black eye, you talk about anyone to anyone, they'll find out, and I'll guarantee that. Don't wanna scare you, lol, I'm sure its the same in NY, but, its the truth.
 
If you want to stay away from being in the car all the time, it's important to live close to where you work in LA. If you like traffic, I guess anywhere in the metro area will do. Anything up in the valley is gonna be cheaper than in the central area or the westside, but if it is farther away from where you are working, it probably wouldn't be worth it in terms of time or the gas money.

In my experience, I lived in Hollywood for about a year and a half and freelanced all over the city - it turned out to be pretty central as far shoots went. The farthest I ever had to go for a shoot within the metro area was Santa Clarita, which was like a 40-50 min drive (@5am). But that was not as often as shooting downtown, burbank, hollywood, venice, santa monica, or malibu. I only had one shoot ever east of downtown LA, and you wouldn't want to live over there that's for sure. I even got a few gigs because I lived in Hollywood near many of the supply houses. But a downside to Hollyweird is that it isn't the nicest looking area, my roomate and I nicknamed our particular block (NE of Santa Monica and La Brea) Tranny Town because of all the Transients, transvestites, transexuals, transient transexuals, well you get the point. I never felt unsafe, and I could walk to nearly everything I ever needed - film and photo supply stores are all over the place in addition to the groceries, target, best buy, bars, all the food chains and then some.

But I live in an area called Palms right now that's pretty nice - it's relatively cheap for the westside, the apartments are bigger, it's safe, and it's only a 10-15 min drive for me to work.

good luck on the move.
 
ooh, any advice on parking? a lot of the apartments I've been searching are "street parking" - which says to me, "your car will get jacked up"
 
rightfrog said:
I don't doubt it...there is good stuff that comes out of LA. It's just that I never met any of those people...
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That's too bad. I've actually met and collaborated with a lot of great people who make films.

I, personally, wouldn't trade LA for NYC unless I had one hell of an offer. Can't beat SoCal living. But that's just one reporter's opinion.
 
What everyone is saying on this thread is true. Some have bad experiences, some have great experiences. But for me, I wouldn't trade it for anything! The City of Angels is the place to be in me eyes.
 
hybridtheory said:
have you visited milwaukee John? ... it's the dirtiest city ever, i think it "won" the most polluted air trophy for the nation.

In the meantime, I'll just sit here and daydream about sun, and be depressed about how I stayed in WI for spring break. (I think i'll pull a briceman and jack up my post count.)
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LOL ! Point taken.
 
hybridtheory said:
ooh, any advice on parking? a lot of the apartments I've been searching are "street parking" - which says to me, "your car will get jacked up"
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Yeah, make sure you get a parking space when you get an apartment - unless you like circling for 30min looking for space and then walking 8 blocks all the time.

Garrett
 
Born in So. Calif.......did all my schooling in So. Calif........made lots of money in So. Calif. and then got the hell out of So. Calif.

Marlene
 
Yeah, parking was such a ***** in that city...but now, in New York, I don't have to own a car...this makes me very happy.
 
marlenedegrood said:
Born in So. Calif.......did all my schooling in So. Calif........made lots of money in So. Calif. and then got the hell out of So. Calif.

Marlene
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good story ...
 
Im from Milwaukee originally... spent a number of years in LA and a few years back
relocated to Key West to work on my own stuff and freelance on other people's stuff
when I felt like it. My 'day job' is/was visual effects... I'm a filmmaker (ex-UWM) by
trade.

LA was the smartest move I ever made. Easily.. hands down. PERIOD. I could have
worked in another city for a lifetime for the filmmaking experience and contacts
I got in 3 months in LA.

Here are some tips:

-The Valley is underrated. We lived in Studio City/North Hollywood at first. It
was a blast. Be forwarned, many LA apartments dont come with a fridge... you
may need to invest in at least a dorm fridge... budget for it.

-Move out with a roomate. Work together to get each other 'in'. The whole
city runs on social contacts that are backed up with the ability to do what you
claim you can do.

-90% of folks that want to get into the industry are not competition.

-Have a *reliable* affordable to operate car. You're gonna learn how to drive.
LA drivers are pros. Cutting across 6 lanes.. (yep.. 6 lanes) while on the phone
and slipstreaming behind a 15 year old landscaping truck is considered low
difficulty and scored accordingly. Get a Thomas Guide... its a big city and
everyone in the industry gives directions to sets by Thomas Guide page and
coordinates.

-To hit the ground running, contact Central Casting and start working as an extra
from day one. Look clean cut, follow directions and you'll be on a set within
48 hours of showing up in LA. Talk to everyone, play up your midewestern-ness.
They love the work ethic.. mainly because its exploitable :) If you look collegiate,
you can work pretty much every day as an extra... that'll almost cover rent and
you get paid within 7 days. You also get a lot of free meals on set.... the food
trends toward excellent :)

-Get involved. Get to know the union guys. Get to know the PAs. Get into
a social circle of movers and shakers. Talk to everone... that guy in line behind
you at IKEA is probably industry. Yes, you can network in line at grocery stores.

-When you figure out what segment of the industry you want to get into or
have lucked into contacts for... get to know the players. People are less impressed
with your ability to quote Lynch movies and discuss the finer points of Hong
Kong cinema than knowing the top players at a particular post house, agency,
studio or production company. Hehe.. you need to get savvy enough to even
KNOW when someone is name dropping in front of you :)

I'd make the move in a heartbeat if I were in your shoes.
 
Listen to everything this man says in the above post...if you're gonna move out there, do it like that...
 
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