Need a favor in Los Angeles

P

purplebandalero

Well-known member
I'll start this off by saying that I know this is a LONG shot at best...but you miss 100% of the shots you don't take, so here goes.

I have a really good friend here in Dallas who has a 23 year old son who has a passion for filmmaking and wants more than anything to be in the business. I've used him several times for local shoots here in Dallas as a PA and he has a good work ethic and is motivated to learn all he can. I'll admit hes's a bit naive and green, but he's got a good heart and we wants to take the steps to get where he wants to be in this business eventually.

Which brings me to part II...Last week he pulled together 1,500.00...loaded his car up from the Dallas area and headed West towards LA. Now,I'll be the first to admit this was not a real good idea on his part. He has very little experience, no formal education in the biz, very little money, no job and no contacts. All he really has is his Macbook Pro and Final Cut...and he thinks he's going to find a production job in Los Angeles. Stranger things have happened.

So...all of that being said, I'm trying to look out for the kid. We've all been there I'm sure, trying to get that first gig and find someone to mentor us so we can get our feet under us and start in this business. i know I did...and if it wasn't for two older gentleman who owned a production studio where I lived 20 years ago, I wouldn't have gotten a break either and I'd still be tending bar most likely. They took a chance with me and I'll always be grateful for the opportunity they provided to me.

This kid is just looking for his break. He's passionate about what he wants and he also doesn't want to have to come home with his tail between his legs, I'm sure.

So...anything would be appreciated. PA gigs, running errands, making coffee...anything would be a start. Like I said, I'm just trying to look out for him. He's a good kid.

Michael Owens
Cinematographer
Dallas, TX
 
Thanks David. I've called a couple of friends of mine in Longbeach, just in case he gets in a real bind out there. They're not in the biz, but at least if something happens to him I'll have someone to call to get him out of a jam if need be.

I'm sure his Mother is secretly wishing he'll fail and just come home, but I do admire his determination to at least give it a shot. However, it would have been much easier for him to just head 2 hours South to Austin. Production business is booming down there and at least the cost of living is low.

I'm hoping it'll be a valuable lesson either way. Better to learn those hard ones when you're younger than when you get to the point in your life where they can be devastating. But in the meantime I'm going to try to help him out as much as I can from here.

I'll keep you posted.

Michael
 
Hi Michael,

It's good to see that you're so behind him hoping he succeeds. It's too bad his mother doesn't share the same sentiment.

I think the first thing to do is to make sure he has a place to stay and that he has enough time to relax and get his bearings before he starts to pound the pavement. Does he have a job lined up? How about a place to stay. 1500 won't get you very far. At least a fifth of that will be food + gas + lodging on the way out here. Then, to get a place, you have to have first month + deposit. Even with a roommate, that usually pretty standard fare.

That's really the most important part. You have to be able to find comfort before pursuing the filmmaking thing.

I'm an actor, which is much tougher to do, but I have a day job and a place to call home. I've been here a couple of years too, so I know my way around.

Getting a job as a PA is much much easier than finding a paying acting gig, so he's got some solace there.

If he just wants experience, head over to the "Fat Monster" thread - http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=126789

They're a group of filmmakers and they're always looking for more people to invite to work on something. He won't get paid, but if he's looking for experience and build his resume (and possibly an IMDB credit or two), then it's a great opportunity for him.

I wish him the best of luck.
 
Does he at least have a place to crash? For me that's the biggest part. If you've got a friend or two out here and you can tolerate living on a couch for a few months. That gives you time to meet people, work on some shoots/gigs/etc and maybe get in the groove of working enough to get your own place.

That's how I did it and many other people I know out here did it. Of course, if you know nobody, it's a lot harder. More pressure to make that rent.
 
Boy this story sounds really familiar. Extremely familiar. In 2005 I did the exact same thing as your younger friend, the differences are only that I moved from Georgia and that I didn't have a car when I got to California. I actually sold my car to acquire the 1500.00 that I moved here with.

One large suitcase, a bookbag with a Dell C640 my grandmother gave me from her own desk as a parting gift and a laundry bag slash duffle bag with my favorite blanket and pillow (come on, I was like 23 and I had never lived in another state outside of Georgia... gotta have some comfort device).

I have no prior background in anything film, I only knew that I loved to write and I wanted to write for screen for a living. All graphic design and digital art, and even that I had never gotten any official documents or schooling outside of High School. I just kinda did it and was "good enough" at it?

When I got to Orange County I slept on a friend's floor for months and worked at a Marriott Call Center harassing Marriott Membership Rewards members for my bread... and it sure as hell wasn't enough to buy butter. Saved for a POS 89 Honda Civic Hatchback and immediately began to crawl up the asses of anyone who knew anything about video production specifically. I also found DVXuser around that same time and it helped me out tremendously. In FACT, that's when I joined DVXuser.

It took me about half a year to even get a PA Job that paid, and that came through doing favors for actors who knew other people. I also ended up landing a job through another friend at a Live Television show company as a Graphic Designer for pretty much peanuts when you consider Los Angeles' sky-high living expenses. That meant I had to stay in Orange County (Westminster) in a house with four other people that I didn't know and COMMUTE to Los Angeles just to work. I got lucky and sometimes crashed over at UCLA with some friends on their floor, waking up with dirt in my eyes and sometimes alcohol soaking my damned blanket... you know how that goes.

Through that I got to sit and learn as much as I could from the lead creative who is actually a DGA guy. He and his friends taught me, still teach me, everything they know about this business and gave me advice on how to start it up as a younger person. I started playing with a DVX100B that the company owned, then saved up enough money (and got incredibly lucky on a super deal) to get an HVX200 and started learning what I could with that, renting it out for money on the side and shooting small projects that I would never show anyone here. In fact, I still am very weary about showing my work now because I'm miles behind a lot of these guys here. Timur Civan, Geoff Reisner, Andrew Brinkhaus, Matthew Garret... the list goes on and on but there's some amazing talent here on DVXuser. The point is that I'm still determined to learn and that lead me to where I'm at now.

I'm very happy to be struggling without a nine-to-five and I've built up enough "clients" or friends or producers that need the gear that I have and trust my still-budding "talent", if you can even call it that. I'm broke as hell, I drive a POS, and I eat Beans and Weiners for dinner on the regular. As much of an ass as I may come off sometimes I'm an honest friend to those who are my friends, I get what I can for them and I give what I can for them. It's gotten me opportunities in places that still seem major to me.

I was twenty-three when I moved to California just like him. I had 1500.00 down to the penny when I arrived here just like him. I had no experience just like him. But be damned if I'm not trying what I can (outside of doing my own work, you can slap me for that.)

I'm no big shot big wig or anything like that. I'm a snotty-nosed kid about to age one more year in a week, still think I know it all sometimes and still have way too much to learn before my stomach pains finally put me in a grave. But if a hack like me can survive in this place then I think anyone with an inkling of go-gett-'em can. Hook him up with someone you know out here, find him a place to crash on a floor in a closet so that he doesn't have to pay too much rent.

Naturally, this won't be everyone's story but I think he's get a good a shot as I had.

You can give him my email address and AOL/AIM name. Ask Siniarch and Matty_G and Geoff Reisner, whenever I can get my friends paid I get them paid. I'll throw him what I can and he can come and work with us no names.

that's just my take on it.
 
Last edited:
Hey guys...thanks for the info and feedback. I am about to call him and give him the rundown on your input and direct him to his page on DVXUSER. I'll get him signed up on here.

I think once he gets a little bit of guidance and direction on where to look for contacts and gigs, he'll be ok. But the first thing is just getting him some means of surviving on a day-to-day basis. There's nothing harder than to try to focus on getting work when you're not sure where you're sleeping that night.

Thanks again and I"ll keep you posted.

Michael
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top