Should I move to LA?

David W. Jones said:
For what it's worth, I spent a number of years learning my craft and earning my keep working in LA, and it hasn't gotten any easier to get a foothold in the industry there. I'll tell you the same thing I told my son... Find a job there before you move, or chances are you will end up worse off than you are now in your current town. Nothing worse than moving someplace where the cost of living is triple to what you are paying now, and not having a job, friends, or a support system in place.

All the best!

Dave
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I have to disagree a little bit!

I am from Poland I left my COUNTRY not a town in 2006... A country with many different people who speak different language, a city (London) that is 5 times more expensive than the town I was from... and I still took a chance! Took the risk and done what I felt I had to do!

I had about £800, I had to give more than half for accommodation and deposit ended up with £300 with NO job, NO friends NO connections NO anythign but a small room 1000 miles away from home.

7 years later I do what I love (not on a big scale) but I do make short films and music videos for what I get paid I started film making in 2011, in 2009 I started acting, since then I was in Harry Potter films, X Men, Sherlock Holmes, done commercials and tv (yes most of it was background (but paid £200 a day) but commercials and tv were featured and paid more)

You can't ask "SHOULD I TRY" that is the worst question to ask... everyone is different, everyone has different destiny... You do what you feel like doing, don't ask, just do it and LEARN on your mistakes! You can give advice but can't tell anyone NO YOU CAN'T CUZ I TRIED AND I COULDN'T

:)
 
Just move there, work as an extra while you try as find paid work or just work for free to hone your craft. After a while you'll have done enough extra work that you can go on unemployment and focus more on what you want to do. Do this enough times and sooner or later you'll be making a living doing what you want to do. Not too hard, right? :)

LA is a great place though and the opprotunities are endless. I say its a no brainer. You can try to move to these other places like Atlanta or Louisiana, but you will never work above the line.
 
It's not an easy question, but it's an extremely simple one. Do it IF and only IF:

1) You understand that life is a roller coaster, and you'll likely be seeing a lot of dips before you ever see the top of a hill. Unless you have an in or an obscene amount of luck it will take you more than a year to find your bearings in the industry. Particularly if you haven't gone to school and don't have a bunch of relevant expertise or experience. If you are serious you will avoid a full-time non-industry job so that you can focus on your craft. You will be poor. You will experience hardship.

2) You are self-motivated. Being a starving, underemployed immigrant with no social network has a select few advantages, namely the amount of free time you'll have. If you can self-motivate, then this might be the most productive, prolific period of your life. If you can use your time to make films and improve as a filmmaker then you'll be ready when doors do begin to open. If you are the kind of person that needs outside motivation, then you should probably make sure that you have either have a job before moving or are school-bound.

3) You either don't particularly value, or are in no rush to obtain the finer things in life. You will watch your peers and friends buy fancy houses, fancy cars, take fancy vacations, and accumulate fancy promotions and raises while you run a cost analysis of cup'o'noodles vs top ramen. Not a problem if you're okay with the idea of being a late bloomer financially, but something to keep in mind if you're the instant gratification type.

4) You have no delusions about chain of command. It doesn't matter how talented, smart, or even right you may be, you're going to start from the bottom. You're going to work in conditions that aren't glamorous, for people who aren't nice (or often times competent), sometimes doing things that are ugly, stupid, or just plain wrong. You will need to do those things with a smile and thank your tormentors for the opportunity. The longer you work out here the better the conditions get, and the more leverage you have with producers and employers, but at the beginning you'll get put through the ringer.

5) You value creation, craft, and experience more than material possessions, praise, and financial rewards. You can have your cake and eat it to, but it's a long road that rewards the patient and steadfast. Move to LA and pursue a career in filmmaking if that's the thing that moves you in life. If you can see yourself happily doing anything else, then by all means save yourself the heartache and do that.

If that's all no problem for you, then do it. Filmmaking is an incredibly rewarding, fulfilling career, it just involves a lot of dues paying. If you can focus and truly work on your craft and improving yourself and your skills, bear the brunt of the first few years of indigence, stomach seeing your peers race ahead of you into adulthood while you feel like the oldest college kid in the dorms, and treat everyone and every job like a huge break, then you WILL succeed (if you are good at what you do). It might take years, but the secret is to still be standing when everyone else has given up.
 
After reading everyone's replies and talking with a couple people in my family I have decided that I am going to look at a couple of colleges one of them being Youngstown State University. They have a film studies class and a screenwriting class not the hands on experience I would like to get but it good enough to get me started. I will move to LA one day though most likely after college.
 
I've been out here for 3 years now and I don't like the place much. I miss my beautiful South Florida. But I know I've got to be out here for the industry and that makes it worth it. And it's really not that much more to live here than in South Florida.
 
vcassel said:
I've been out here for 3 years now and I don't like the place much. I miss my beautiful South Florida. But I know I've got to be out here for the industry and that makes it worth it. And it's really not that much more to live here than in South Florida.
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How are you doing in LA? what was your journey like? The only reason I would want to move to LA is because of the amount of talent there. I value growing as a filmmaker above all else. Does anyone think moving to LA will help me become a better filmmaker?
 
I'd just make a movie where you're comfortable. If you make something that gets enough interest either via Festivals and/or directly YouTube... L.A. will come to you. And by that I assume you mean you'll have some sort of shot at a career in the movies. As a place to live, it's crowded, expensive and kinda angsty...

-Noah
 
NoahK said:
I'd just make a movie where you're comfortable. If you make something that gets enough interest either via Festivals and/or directly YouTube... L.A. will come to you. And by that I assume you mean you'll have some sort of shot at a career in the movies. As a place to live, it's crowded, expensive and kinda angsty...

-Noah
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I just wanna be around talented people and maybe their talent will rub off on me.
 
Victor Nhat Nguyen said:
How are you doing in LA? what was your journey like? The only reason I would want to move to LA is because of the amount of talent there. I value growing as a filmmaker above all else. Does anyone think moving to LA will help me become a better filmmaker?
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No doubt about it. So much competition. As long as you're the kind of person who thrives in that sort of enviroment you'll definitely grow and learn much quicker.
 
Go WEST young man! Go WEST! You only live once. Try, fail, win, lose, you'll be better for the experience and the effort.
 
Jan de Bont said it took him 10 years to get a foothold in LA and he was an established DP back in Holland. NY is a finished painting, Los Angeles is an empty canvas and you have to pick up the brush and start your own masterpiece.

I've been in many cities and for me nothing beats Los Angeles, it's unique.
 
fobers95 said:
After reading everyone's replies and talking with a couple people in my family I have decided that I am going to look at a couple of colleges one of them being Youngstown State University. They have a film studies class and a screenwriting class not the hands on experience I would like to get but it good enough to get me started. I will move to LA one day though most likely after college.
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Contacts are the most important tool in Hollywood. If you decide to go to film school do it in Los Angeles or NY city, besides the knowledge the contacts you make during those years put you ahead of all the others that come to Los Angeles.
 
I am in l.a. Now. Im thinking of moving here.

its expensive here, but all the stuff is here.

also helps if you got an in , anywhere - so getting a job that gets you in the loop is important.

im here and everyone hates me already. I love it!
 
I found out the easy way that l.a. Is the place to be!

also: lets party! Oh yeah.


Beer in silverlake on meeeeee
 
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