Week Four

So no news on the job front in LA. But had a pretty good lunch with another friend of a friend from my past jobs. He has a lot more TV experience so it was interesting to hear how things are for him. Seems like the average time people are unemployed while they're looking for their first major break in LA is 6 months.

Got interviewed for a short film. Seems like it has some dedicated people working on it, was shot on the RED camera, so footage looks pretty good. Up against some more experienced editors but I think the producer and director got along with me well.

Also keeping me afloat is one of my NYC clients has some videos they want to work on with me remotely, which is always a plus.

So another week, a little more progress. Onwards!

Week Three

Had a good lunch with another contact from work. He's going to put me in touch with one of his editor friends who worked on some studio films. Also, while I was out at the gym, I got the best call of this month so far: Mr. E called and told me he recommended me for a studio film! Of course I'd probably be just one of ten recommended, so you can't really count on things like that, but it's good to hear nonetheless.

Just finished a freelance music video I was working on, so the end of this week hasn't really been busy. I got to goto a concert a music label friend invited me to, which was nice. Definitely a good way to spend a weekend evening. Overall I'm quite happy about this week and am hopeful on the fruits the seeds will bring.

Week Two

The weekend before I came out, I had a e-mail from Mr. A who I thought I was going to meet up with last week. Although that didn't happen, I got word from him this week and we met up at a nice cafe. It was really interesting as he broke down how the industry works over here. Had an hour something talk, and I found out that May is kind of a slow month for TV. Hopefully when things pick up in June and July, I will hear more from Mr. A about potential jobs. Overall I was quite happy with the meeting as it was really informative, and now working in LA seems a very plausible reality.

Continuing the networking trend, I had a couple lunches with some people I've worked with back in my previous company. What's amazing about the internet is that I've worked with these people for many years but have never met them until now.

Perhaps the most immediate gratification I've had was finding out how cheap you can find good food here in LA. Special mentions goes out to the Thai boat noodles in Thai Town (Hollywood), especially the ones from Sapp.

Semi-productive week, 2 more contacts I still need to get in touch with. We'll see what next week brings.

Week One

Getting your foot in the door is the hardest thing to do in the film industry. All of the real jobs are never listed on craigslist or other job boards, and contrary to what Cinderella stories you may hear of from movies or your film school, the film industry is all about working your way up. Since I never directly worked on a Hollywood feature film or tv show, I was going to have to start at the bottom again. Which means it's time to hustle and network.

Before coming out here I promised myself I'd have at least 3 post production contacts. This first week I haven't heard back from any of them. My roommate and ex-coworkers tell me to relax and just transition into living in LA. I think it might be a while before the Sunny California lifestyle sits comfortably with me. On a brighter note, I got a music video editing gig from one of the job boards which starts later on this week. Most of the posted stuff like that are low pay and low budget, but something is better than nothing!

Onwards to LA!

Hollywood, the mecha of film and television. For all of us who have had any passing interest in working in the industry, there is always that voice in the back of our heads that whispers how we need to make it in Hollywood. All of my editor coworkers all say they plan on trying Hollywood sometime, although I'm not quite confident they'll be so keen on that when "sometime" means 10 years later after they've already settled in on wife, kids, and mortgages.

For me though, that time is now. I told my boss that after we finished our current project, I planned on moving out here. So the past few months I've worked out the logistics (place to stay, car, costs) and now I'm standing on my patio overlooking sunny skies and palm trees. Scared, nervous, and excited, it's time for a new chapter in life.