Move to California?

ninjaturtle414

ninjaturtle414

Member
Hey, so I'm a third year film student at a small liberal arts university in Baltimore, Maryland.
I'll be graduating and looking for work this time next year and I was curious if anyone on this forum has an opinion about moving to California?

I know that I want to produce and direct films. And to be honest there isn't much that goes on around Baltimore.

I just thought I'd ask some other filmmakers what they think about moving. Has anyone left their hometown for other opportunities?
 
Take a trip and check it out, take some meetings, shake some hands. If possible, get a job PAing out here on a real shoot and talk to people you are crewing with.

Baltimore to LA is a major change in culture, lifestyle and of course, expense. I have never understood people moving to LA to "seek work" in the film industry, that's bit naive, kind of like moving to NYC to get a job as a banker/stockbroker on Wall Street. Possible but highly unlikely for most people.

You should only move if you have something lined up that will pay you to move out here, real work. Moving to LA to find work is not a smart move, the industry is already too crowded with people who want to work in it. Most of those people are waiting tables, working at McDonalds or washing cars. What is your degree in? What is your fallback position for a job, assuming you do not find work in the film industry? If you have a degree in some sort of healthcare related field, you can definitely find a good paying job out here. Degree in film? Good luck, most of the other bartenders out here have those too.

Dan
 
It's tough now but things will probably be better next year. Hopefully the recession will have bottomed out, SAG has signed a contract and production will pick up again. If you want to work steadily in the film business, there's not many other places to go. Your options are Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, New York and maybe the Carolinas.
 
Thanks for all the input guys.

I know it's gotta be tough out there right now, but you've got to understand that Baltimore (actually Maryland overall) doesn't exactly have a steady flow of work. The Wire is done, HBO might pick up a show called Washingtonienne, but it most likely is going to move to NY, I PA'd on the film My One and Only that was shot here last summer. But realistically, only a hand few of films are produced here.

Again, thanks for all of your advice.

I have another question I've had for awhile, does anyone know anyone who worked in the DGA trainee program?
 
Why would you consider moving to crowded, overpriced, competitive Los Angeles, when one of the greatest filmmakers of all time lives in your very town?

John Waters.

It shouldn't be too hard to track him down in his favorite tranny bar and ask for a job on his next film.
 
Personally I think you are in the wrong section of the country for work. I would try and talk to some production companies in LA, and NYC. Get as many contacts as possible. Just basically job hunt. Get something set up and then move to one of the following.
 
I'm going to disagree w/puredrifting and say if you want to work in LA (or NYC or any other big market) you need to be there. Moving out to LA expecting to get a gig right off the bat is naive, IMO, but moving out to LA looking for work is par for the course. I don't know very many people that moved to LA and had jobs waiting for them. Heck, I've seen landlords shoot potential renters down because they had out of state phone numbers. If you don't have 6-12 months of living expenses saved up (LA sized living expenses of course) I wouldn't move out though.


-A
 
dont forget that there is industry in other places to. North Carolina, NY, Vegas, Austin, Toronto, Vancouver, all valid places to live and make a living making films.
 
Cheesesailor77 said:
dont forget that there is industry in other places to. North Carolina, NY, Vegas, Austin, Toronto, Vancouver, all valid places to live and make a living making films.
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With all due respect to those living there... yes, there's industry there if you want to earn a living 'making other peoples films'. If you want to crew or something like that, yes, those places are fine and good places to work.

If you want to make your own films. You're better off in Los Angeles, surrounded by tons of other struggling filmmakers like myself :) You'll meet more people like yourself and there's typically more producers/opportunities for you to do your own thing.

So, first off you need to really decide how you want to be involved in the industry. There's so many different things to do and for many, when they say they want to make movies, they literally mean be a part of a production, i.e., working on the G/E side, or the production design side, be a line producer, A.D., boom operator, etc. For any of that kind of stuff, you can work in those cities, but if you want to be a director/writer and perhaps get some representation in the future, LA is probably your best bet IMO.
 
Thanks for all your honest advice. I'm glad everyone has different view points, you guys have helped shed some light on ares I hadn't thought about.
 
Geoff_R said:
With all due respect to those living there... yes, there's industry there if you want to earn a living 'making other peoples films'. If you want to crew or something like that, yes, those places are fine and good places to work.

If you want to make your own films. You're better off in Los Angeles, surrounded by tons of other struggling filmmakers like myself :)
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I think you're only right in terms of concentration, there are more struggling filmmakers is LA than anywhere else in the world, but I'm not sure that's a great reason to move there.

Like you said, there is industry in those cities, if you want to make a living working on OTHER peoples movies. That's because there's lots of other people wanting to make movies. Why would they be any less interested in making your film?

Ok if we're being hones, the obvious choice is to movie to LA. I'm just pointing out there are pros and cons to LA and that it's not the only choice, like 90% of filmmakers think. Those other cities are just as viable, IMHO, for someone trying to break into the biz.
 
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