#FemaleFilmmakerFriday – Moving to Los Angeles?

If a person isn’t in LA but wants to get into the film industry, how necessary is LA?— Meg

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I think being in a hub is important, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be Los Angeles anymore. There are lots of other cities scattered all over the place with a film industry — Atlanta, New York, Vancouver, Northern Ireland… If there’s a television show filming in the state / city, there is enough of a film industry to dip a toe in. You may eventually move to a major city (including Los Angeles) when the jobs dry up, but you can certainly carve out a good little life for yourself without moving to L.A.

The jobs that kind of require an eventual move to LA, in my opinion, are the more creative jobs. Directing, writing, acting – they hire out of LA and fly you wherever, if they have to. Yes, some acting jobs do cast out of the shooting city, but you’re restricting yourself to costar roles for the most part. I think they’re great to get a start in, but eventually you want to level up and that does mean moving. 

You can also start wherever you are, especially if you’re in a college town and especially if that college town has universities with film/tv departments. Take a class, get involved, hook in with people making stuff; you can create your own or you can work on their sets for a little experience. 

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