Move to LA to become a filmmaker???

Ruchika.pal

Ruchika.pal

Hello...i have a few questions and didn't really know they would fit in which section of the forum....

I'm an aspiring filmmaker from India. Currently i'm working as an assistant director.

the thing is that most of my family has moved to USA... i.e. my Aunts, uncles, cousins...... now they want me to join them there and since they all live in California they said i could join a film school there and work there......

i'm very keen aswell..... but moving to an entirely different place can be life changing..... plus i dont know much about LA..... i've heard its not safe for young girls like myself..... i'm 22 btw.......

i was wondering if i go there should i join a film school..would that help?? Would an outsider like me really find any work in Hollywood???

and yes then is LA the best place to stay or i should try film schools in other parts of the country????

also all the complications related to it...please help...its a big big decision for me and i'm in such a turmoil....
 
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Aspiring Mogul said:
I'm being politically incorrect, but move to America NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES! This will continue to be the land of opportunity in a way that no other country on Earth can ever be.
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Yet the Bollywood film industry makes twice as many films per year as Hollywood. The budgets aren't as gargantuan and the films aren't as popular internationally, but it's hardly a bad place to be. *cue Team America theme tune*
 
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finderskeepers said:
In my experience you can get paid jobs in Los Angeles through connections made by interning for free. However, if you film your own projects, getting out of the LA area is a good idea. I found out the hard way filming an indie production in the the City of Los Angeles is like running through a tunnel filled with giant rats wearing a suit made of cheese. 8-)
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How so? You mean everyone wants your money?
 
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My brother used to live in Long Beach. I've walked though it, numerous times, at 3AM. Amazingly, I did not leave with any bullet-holes.

There are parts of Long Beach I wouldn't want to go to late at night. Then again, there are parts of Richmond, VA, I wouldn't want to go to late at night. Ditto for Chicago, or Memphis, or Seattle, or New York, or San Francisco, or pretty much any medium-sized, or larger, city in America. The shadiest place I've ever been? Newcastle, Delaware!

As a whole, Long Beach is pretty sweet.
 
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Hey Ruchika, You don't get to know LA driving through it on the way to San Diego. It's true though, Watts, Compton, A LOT of Long Beach, are nasty places. I've lived and worked in all of them. The amount of violence and destitution is way worse than what a person on the Westside gleans from watching KCAL on weeknights. But you're from Mumbai, and the slums of Mumbai make Southcentral look like the Hamptons. WAY WAY WAY worse. Anyway, there's a lot more to LA than Watts and Willowbrook. LA is one of the world's great cities, it's dynamic, diverse, and the center of the entertainment universe. It's where cool lives. You owe it to yourself to come on over and take a shot. Come to LA provided you A) Have a bunch of money -- which seems likely because you apparently are confident you can get a visa or B) have relatives you can stay with.

About film school, My dad taught at USC's film school for a long time and was on the admissions committee -- he'd say don't do it although it's not a waste of time, you make connections and learn the craft, but it's expensive and not worth going into debt to enroll -- and in no way will guarantee you employment. He'd tell you the most employable degree from SC's film school is from the Peter Stark program. It's not essential -- there are other methods to learn the craft and meet people. But if you've got cash why not? I never went to film school so I cannot comment on it. The thing to remember too, is it's not easy get into the good film schools, better bring some rockin' GRE scores and grades and accolades to the table. It's extremely competitive to get in...people are lined up to pay $50,000 a year tuition.

To young men contemplating a voyage I would say go. The tales of rough usage are for the most part exaggerations, as also are the stories of sea danger. I had a fair schooling in the so-called "hard ships" on the hard Western Ocean, and in the years there I do not remember having once been "called out of my name." Such recollections have endeared the sea to me. Dangers there are, to be sure, on the sea as well as on the land, but the intelligence and skill God gives to man reduce these to a minimum. And here comes in again the
skilfully modeled ship worthy to sail the seas.

To face the elements is, to be sure, no light matter when the sea is in its grandest mood. You must then know the sea, and know that you know it, and not forget that it was made to be sailed over.

Joshua Slocum
 
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Say, I've been wondering about something.

California has horrendous taxes, which I hate, but it has more film and game talent than anywhere else, even NY. So I'm wondering, is it possible to live in Nevada and then commute to LA? I've heard it done, but I don't know how practical it is.
 
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Aspiring Mogul said:
Say, I've been wondering about something.

California has horrendous taxes, which I hate, but it has more film and game talent than anywhere else, even NY. So I'm wondering, is it possible to live in Nevada and then commute to LA? I've heard it done, but I don't know how practical it is.
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An eight/ten hour commute might be practical a few times a month.
Some people might be okay with that a couple of time a week. I haven't
done the math but I wonder how much money one would save by living
four/five hours out of LA and commuting.

I have done that commute occasionally - live in Hollywood/work in Las
Vegas. It's hard on a car and it's hard on the body. I certainly isn't something
you could do on a daily basis and even as I did it (four days in Vegas, three
days in LA for three weeks) was very expensive. But a producer who comes
into LA a few times a month for meetings could do it.

I think what one would miss would be the general networking opportunities.
Sure, you could set up meetings and go to dinners and mixers but so many
opportunities come out of unexpected places. A producer who doesn't live in
the area may not stumble upon those unexpected meetings if they are on
the road for eight/ten hours.
 
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personally, id move to la from seattle if i had something more than "Im different, im unique and i ll make it in LA" in my notebook. valuable contacts, successful movie, etc. too many people with the same goal.
 
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directorik said:
An eight/ten hour commute might be practical a few times a month.
Some people might be okay with that a couple of time a week. I haven't
done the math but I wonder how much money one would save by living
four/five hours out of LA and commuting.

I have done that commute occasionally - live in Hollywood/work in Las
Vegas. It's hard on a car and it's hard on the body. I certainly isn't something
you could do on a daily basis and even as I did it (four days in Vegas, three
days in LA for three weeks) was very expensive. But a producer who comes
into LA a few times a month for meetings could do it.

I think what one would miss would be the general networking opportunities.
Sure, you could set up meetings and go to dinners and mixers but so many
opportunities come out of unexpected places. A producer who doesn't live in
the area may not stumble upon those unexpected meetings if they are on
the road for eight/ten hours.
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I'm concerned about the taxes and, yes, the earthquakes. And Summer might just get into one of my movies.
 
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I'm concerned about the taxes and, yes, the earthquakes.
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LA is just plain expensive as hell. There's a lucky few who have been here a long time and have found and squatted in a rent controlled apartment. I know someone who pays just $900 a month for a two-bedroom, 1 bath, 1 kitchen, 1 dining, 1 living room, 1 garage apartment in a really nice part of Santa Monica. They're on the 2nd floor of just a 2-story apartment complex.
 
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LA can be expensive, but, if you go to the outlying areas, it may not be too bad.

What about living in San Fransisco and hopping back and forth? I would prefer SF weather, though I'm still afraid of earthquakes.
 
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$900 a month for a two-bedroom in Santa Monica? How did they pull that one off? I'm packing my bags :)

Blade_Jones said:
LA is just plain expensive as hell. There's a lucky few who have been here a long time and have found and squatted in a rent controlled apartment. I know someone who pays just $900 a month for a two-bedroom, 1 bath, 1 kitchen, 1 dining, 1 living room, 1 garage apartment in a really nice part of Santa Monica. They're on the 2nd floor of just a 2-story apartment complex.
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I don't live in LA, so I won't say anything about it. What I will say though is that India is one of the biggest film industries in the world, so other than to work IN Hollywood, I don't see why you'd want to leave. You'd be getting great experience in India, you just won't be making Hollywood films.
 
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Aspiring Mogul said:
LA can be expensive, but, if you go to the outlying areas, it may not be too bad.

What about living in San Francisco and hopping back and forth?
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I wonder if San Francisco is cheaper than Burbank or Glendale or
Hollywood? And then add the expenses of a 14/15 hour round trip
commute. How about Ventura? Or Canyon Country? Or Fullerton?
All closer if the Los Angeles area is too expensive for you.
 
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directorik said:
I wonder if San Francisco is cheaper than Burbank or Glendale or
Hollywood? And then add the expenses of a 14/15 hour round trip
commute. How about Ventura? Or Canyon Country? Or Fullerton?
All closer if the Los Angeles area is too expensive for you.
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I can develop business in both SF and LA, which is why I'm interested in both cities. I also prefer the cool weather to the hot LA summers.
 
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directorik said:
I wonder if San Francisco is cheaper than Burbank or Glendale or
Hollywood? And then add the expenses of a 14/15 hour round trip
commute. How about Ventura? Or Canyon Country? Or Fullerton?
All closer if the Los Angeles area is too expensive for you.
Click to expand...


From what I've been able to determine, it's 6 vs a half dozen. Traffic here sucks as bad as it does there, save for the fact that the general distance traveled is shorter in a Bay Area commute than in an LA one (depending on variables).

Actual SF is probably on par with the pricey-er parts of LA. Places can be had for cheaper in the surrounding Bay Area, depending on your tolerance for neighborhood drama. Same goes for LA I suppose though. Interestingly, I have some friends out in the 'Dena's (Pasadena, Altadena, etc) who pay prices comparable to the Bay area, but get things like driveways and yards - rarities around here depending on where you live. There was an architect in my old neighborhood who was telling me that a driveway in that part of Oakland could increase the value of a property anywhere from $50,000-$100,000.

The round trip cost and time to live up here and work down there can be worth it, but it is ROUGH to spend hours in the car, then turn around for some 12+ hour work days, then come back. Ideally, one doesn't make the trip for short jobs, but I am finding that the "ideal" situation doesn't happen often. I haven't done it often; call it a lack of networking on my part. :lol:
 
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I may have opportunities in both cities, so the business plan is to live in one city, and then spend one week or whatever in each city.

I'm doing that now, and, while it's tiring, it is profitable.
 
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