directing 2 months in LA to make a short film

[sugalumps]

Hi everyone!

I am a French filmmaker and I have a crazy dream to come to LA to make a short film. I have been in California a few times already and I find it so inspiring! So my question is, how difficult would it be to find a skeleton crew and a few actors to work on 3 or 4 day shoot in Los Angeles? The thing is I know absolutely no one there, so I wouldn't even know where to start. I want to pay everyone but it wouldn't be much more than 100/day or something. I would be in California for 2 months total, so that's about 5-6 weeks to find the locations and the people. I already have most of the gear I need and some script ideas that will be tailored to the actors I find. Am I crazy or is it doable?

Thanks

 

[sfoster]

Out of all the cities in america I would warn you that LA is one of the most expensive to film in.
People are gonna charge you premium money for locations that you want to shoot at.

I had a friend who was a producer in LA... one his movies they flew everyone out by me in maryland to film.
It was cheaper to pay for everyones transportation and lodging and film here in maryland and it would have been more expensive to just stay in La and shoot.

 

[Richard Culver]

Hi everyone!

I am a French filmmaker and I have a crazy dream to come to LA to make a short film. I have been in California a few times already and I find it so inspiring! So my question is, how difficult would it be to find a skeleton crew and a few actors to work on 3 or 4 day shoot in Los Angeles? The thing is I know absolutely no one there, so I wouldn't even know where to start. I want to pay everyone but it wouldn't be much more than 100/day or something. I would be in California for 2 months total, so that's about 5-6 weeks to find the locations and the people. I already have most of the gear I need and some script ideas that will be tailored to the actors I find. Am I crazy or is it doable?

Thanks

Casting is going to be fairly easy, in the way of finding people. But time consuming. I would not really want to try and do all that you have planned in 2 months. If you write and then post casting notices before you come it might help hitting the ground running when you get there.

Places to audition are easy to find but will cost. I don't know how much because I have not done it in a while. Getting permits to film in LA/Hollywood has gotten expensive. I am not sure if they have changed that since I was last there.

I have always found locations to be the hardest and most expensive, and most problematic all around. It is rare that anyone who knows what they are in for, will just let you film. Those kind of connections with friends take a long tome to develop and will be the weakest aspect of your plan.

So I would think very carefully about locations you think you can easily come by. Examples would be places that you could rent for other purposes and also be able to film there without the management getting their panties in a wad. And if they have ever dealt with any kind of film crew, they will be in a tight wad. Which is why filming can be a challenge in LA. Everyone already knows what they are in for...lol

But you can get out of the county and it lightens up.

There are a lot of places you can film out in the public where you won't draw attention if you have a real small crew. But it is a real crap shoot. In LA you just don't know what can happen. So if you are on the streets, get a film permit which requires production insurance. Parks require other special permits. But if you are a small crew and fast.... lol

Anyway. Another option popular lately is Air B&B which I have not tried. That might be a little tricky to navigate in LA because of what I said. They know what film crews are capable of. It won't matter if you just say it is a small crew. But you never know....

Sound might be your biggest nightmare on your schedule. If you are shooting where there is a lot of noise, you will have to plan some way to do ADR. Or get a really really good sound guy, who can mic for any occasion.

Probably a million things I left out. Hope this helps.