Life advice

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bonzo212

Hi all!

I dunno if this is the correct place to post this rant but hear me out. I think those in the indie filmmaking community are probably more understanding.

Basically, after film school I returned to my non-film-industry day job (on the east coast) that pays $55,000/yr. I figured I could save up money to make the move to LA. My gf (from LA) has been living w/ me in for about a year. I can tell she wants to move back to LA soon and eventually start a family. We're both late 20's. Has anyone else experienced difficult manage your personal life with your film "dreams"? My gf is supportive of my filmmaking endeavors but lets face it, its not like the money is rolling in that would help support us. We want to make the move back to LA but I only have like $2000 saved up (after paying back all my ccard debt). I still have $20,000 in school loans.

Any advice? Thanks in advance.
 
I guess it all depeneds what you want to do with your film-making dreams. Do you want to be a writer? Director? Producer? I mean it seems like whats really growing fast is the indie community and lots of shorts are getting budgets to be made into features. The best thing to do for now would be to just keep filming.

If you want to work in Hollywood I'd suggest saving a bit more money so your able to support yourself and your GF and make less money because thats most likely where you'll start.

A quote to live by from a classic..."Remember kid, there's heroes and there's legends. Heroes get remembered but legends never die, follow your heart kid, and you'll never go wrong."

Not that your a kid...you know what I mean.
 
It's decision time, there's family on the cards, so who's going to make the sacrifice?

Seeing as though you're seeking advice from a film forum, I'd say film is pretty close to home. Pick a craft, try out some material and see if you've really got the stones.

The film business ain't no family business, takes a hell of a guy to keep them both a float. But they're out there, it's proven.

What you're aiming, we're aiming for, is not impossible, it's just a fighters fight.
 
Priority #1 -- reassess your spending habits. With that salary, there's no excuse for not being able to save more money.

In the end, though, I'm with Papertwin. You went to film school, which is obviously a clear indication that this is something you're passionate about. Can you really just hang that up? But does that mean you have to go gung-ho, forget about the family, make less than half of your current salary, working for a dream that MANY people work for any never get anywhere near realizing?

I happen to know a great deal of people who have normal careers, normal family lives; they fashion themselves into weekend-warrior filmmakers, and have a lot of fun doing so, while still living fulfulling regular-people lives. Is that your destiny? Obviously, we on this board can't answer that question; only you can.

Either way, best of luck!
 
I'll just toss in my 2 cents as the "LA Dude" I moved to Los Angeles from the Midwest in the mid 1990's. One of the things you are going to lose when moving away from home is your cheap filming resources. When I was in the Midwest I got all of my locations for free. Except one - I used an entire college punk rock bar (with 25 extras) in 1992 after buying $30 in beer. When you come to LA, People will want $500- $1,000 per day or more to film in their home. A bar/restaurant will coast $5,000 a day to shut down if you are lucky.
YES, you can film cheaper if you get deals from friends in LA. You have to consider what resources you will NOT have any longer. If you are in Boston, I imagine their are some decent actors and crew people and nice location in your area of course.

You may want to consider making a really great film with your resources before you leave. Otherwise you join a growing mass of people moving to LA. Just a thought. I'm not really a good person to get advice from.
Best of Luck
 
FindersKeepers - Exactly my point...

Bonzo, you don't need to move to LA to be a filmmaker...

If you want to be a screenwriter, great. Write when you get home from your 50,000 dollar a year job. Why quit a job that brings in that kind of cash? Work during the day, write a night. Try and sell a spec. If you do sell, then okay, think about moving. Not the other way around.

If you don't want to write to sell, but instead you want to write and direct then do it where you live currently. Cost less...

Unless you want to be a grip or an assistant on a specific movie's crew, I don't see why people run out to LA...
 
Because although its hard as heck to get in, thats where your more likely to go "big" only because of the sheer number of studios.
 
This is the time for the big life assessment, a deep soul searching.

How much do you love filmmaking? What are you willing to sacrifice for your dream? How much have you been doing since you got out of college?

When I graduated high school nothing else mattered except for my music. I worked in a gas station, but "life" didn't begin until I started practicing, rehearsing or performing when the work day was done. I put in weeks and months of 20 hour days until I could support myself as a musician. And when things got tough, I just added a day job back into the mix. Money was went to "life support" - rent, food, car & bills. Whatever was left was divided between equipment and savings.

I told my girlfriend that if it ever came to a choice between her and my career, my career came first; I was a musician and I wouldn't be the same person without it. We've been together for 32 years now. A quick story... When my first daughter was born the day she was to come home from the hospital I showed up there in my tux, kissed my wife and daughter, drove into Manhattan, did a show, went back to the hospital in my tux, and brought them home. That's how much my career meant to me, and my wife understood.

The only reason I'm not musician any more is arthritis curtailed my performing career about 12 years ago. My migration to audio post has been bumpy, but we have made it work, even with a family and everything that comes along with it.

No one can tell you what to do; you can ask for advice and you will get dozens of contradictory advice. But if you are not willing to dedicate your life to your craft you may as well give up now.
 
Is it practical for you to move there? Yeah, LA is a good place to make it big. But chances are you may not make it big overnight. What are your finances like? Can you afford to live there? Do you have a job or job prospects?

...'cuz from what I understand, Los Angeles is not a good place to be poor....


-- spinner :cool:
 
It all depends spinner, thats everyones assumption. Check craigslist if you'd like to find median prices. You can find a studio for like 700-1200. Its about the same in almost all of California.
 
Thanks for the comments everyone. I only have about $2000 saved up bc I was paying off the ccard debt I incurred living in LA for a year. I had a PA gig on a TV show but when that ended there was nothing else so I came back to the east coast for a job I knew I could get. For now I figured Id save up for a camera, making shorts on weekends. I agree you can make films anywhere for any budget. It's just nice if your around other like-minded filmmakers for help. Keep on workin people!
 
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