Tag Archives: Los Angeles

Working in Another State

Posted on May 8, 2013 by | 1 Comment

Reader Amy writes in:

Do you know anything about working on a show in a different state while maintaining permanent residence in Los Angeles? I see posts about people wanting to hire locals but does that mean I have to have a license/ID from that state or do I just have to physically live there?

It may be both.

The first and most important thing is that they don’t want to pay for your hotel and per diem. That’s for above-the-liners, and possibly department heads. On TV shows, probably not even them.

But there might also be tax credit stuff going on. The way most tax incentives work, a certain percentage of the crew must be from that state. If you’re not a resident, hiring you doesn’t really adding towards that quota. Of course, who knows how the state defines “resident” for the purposes of the tax credit.

That being said, you should still apply if you have a place to stay on location (if they’re shooting in your home town, for instance, and you don’t mind sleeping in your old bedroom again).

image

My mom left it the way it was when I left for college.

And then there’s this guy, from a recent UTA Joblist–

Seeking intelligent, articulate full-time assistant for Tony-winning playwright with projects in Film and Television. A car and valid driver’s license are required, as employer does not drive. The writer travels often to New York — candidates would need to provide own lodgings there for approximately two out of every six weeks (plane fare paid).

Wow. Seriously? Does this guy really think his assistant will be able to afford to have a place on each coast? That’s ridiculous. This job is literally only for people who grew up in New York or Los Angeles, and still talk to their parents. (Good luck finding someone who’s both of those.)

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Posted in On the Job

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Where To Live

Posted on April 4, 2013 by | 3 Comments

Nicole writes in:

I am about to relocate to LA after working in film production for 4 years in Austin, TX. I am doing some housing research and had a few questions:

1. Are there any neighborhoods that are more accommodating to working in film? (Convenient drive to studios and production office spaces…)

2. What price range for an apartment can I expect to afford on a PA salary? I know prices for apartments will be much higher than I am used to in Austin. Without going into more detail than you are comfortable with, could you share a monthly salary range I could expect? It would be helpful to know what to expect in “lean” times as well as “times of plenty.”

Los Angeles is the most spread out city in the country. There is no place that is convenient to every studio. I’ve worked in Manhattan Beach and Santa Clarita and everywhere in between.

On the other hand, movies and television are the main reason this city even exists, so it’s hard to find a place that isn’t close to at least one studio.

A lot of younger folks live in the Hollywood or mid-city area, because it’s convenient for partying as well as work. The Valley is quieter, and there are more studios there. It has a reputation for being far from everything, which is ridiculous, since ABC/Disney, NBC/Universal, and Warner Brothers are all in the Valley. Also, it’s cheaper (places like North Hollywood, or even Van Nuys).

The Oracle’s Hollywood Survival Guide has a nice breakdown neighborhood by neighborhood, if you want to splurge on $10.

PAs nowadays get paid anywhere from $500 to $750 per week. “Lean times” means $0. So, save up. You need to be prepared to not work for months on end while still paying rent and buying food.

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Posted in The Industry

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Should I Mention that I’m Moving?

Posted on August 16, 2012 by | 4 Comments

Mike asks:

In two months I am moving to Los Angeles, and am wondering how to go about mentioning this in my cover letter. Does it just take a sentence or two? I know you’ve stressed being as brief as possible.

As per the advice of my industry friends, they have prompted me to get out as many C/V’s as possible, but it feels weird to apply for a PA jobs on the other side of the country.

Don’t.

I wouldn’t mention the move at all. I can’t think of version of it that wouldn’t be interpreted negatively.

No coordinator will hire you if they can’t interview you in person. We spend a lot of time together, and you really have to meet someone face-to-face to decide if you can stand them for fourteen hours a day.

Plus, why would someone hold a  job for a PA coming from out of state, when there are hundreds of perfectly qualified PAs already here in Los Angeles? As they say, 90% of success is just showing up; if you’re not here, you’re basically 10% of a PA.

It’s good to get your resume out there, but you won’t be able to land a position until you actually arrive.

In other news, don’t say “CV” unless you’re actually from a Commonwealth1 country. You just sound like a poncy2 douche. In America, a “CV” is a “resume,” a “meter” is a “yard,” and “football” is “lame.”

Fudge yeah!

America!

Footnotes    (↩ returns to text)
  1. If you had to click the link to find out what the Commonwealth is, you’re not from a Commonwealth country.↩
  2. Yes, I used British slang while being incredibly jingoistic. It’s called irony.↩

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Posted in Finding a Job

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Solidarity

Posted on July 19, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Carmageddon came and went and as usual, thing in LA are overhyped. The end of things passed and it didn’t make a difference.

Except that maybe it did…

Driving on the 101 Sunday night, I saw a notifier on the road said “405 is now open. Thank You Los Angeles.” Well, that was a nice thing to say. How strange. I kind of felt… good.

I participated in the hype that was the 405 shutdown-also-known-as-Carmageddon. I had family in town and we made sure to hit the Westside during the week and stay east on the weekend. References to the event were inescapable, though usually clever and beneficial; Jetblue’s $4 flights to Long Beach (and the Wolfpack Hustle bike race to beat them), really neat photo ops, and, to my enjoyment, Golden Apple comics had an awesome Carmageddon 20% off discount on Saturday.

When it was over and the city provided its citizens a Thank You, I couldn’t help but feel a sort of solidarity with Los Angeles. During September 11th (a much more tragic event really) New York came together as one  in a way previously unrecognized, but thats almost expected. New Yorkers have that in them, culturally, a pride in oneself and the city and the people that make it, be they friends or foes, they all make up a soul for the city. Los Angeles is disjoined, full of spite and passive-agressive frustration, where smiles are actually facades. The city itself is a blank slate, unidentifiable, which is both a detriment and (and this is important) it’s greatest asset. Literally, the city is what you make it. Unfortunately, the independence required here is often what drives a lot of people away.

But at this strange point, Angelenos came together in a pop culture phenomenon, however manufactured, and had some fun with it. There was little controversy, only playfulness and unity, a giant game to involve all locals and tickle the nation.

When it was over nothing had changed and nothing was really different, but for a moment Los Angeles felt like a unified, proud, and collective whole. We all knew, we all participated, and we all laughed at the joke as one.

And that was kind of cool. Yes, I felt like I was being personally thanked by the city by that road sign.

Except if you were trying to get to LAX from Malibu. This whole weekend was probably a different story for you.

 Time Lapse Video of the Mulholland Bridge Demolition at the LATimes

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Posted in Off-Topic

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Caragnarok

Posted on July 15, 2011 by | 4 Comments

As everybody probably knows by now, the 405 will start closing at 7:00pm tonight, and will continue to be closed until early Monday morning. People are reacting like it’s the end of the world…

It’s not.

First of all, this is happening on the weekend. People aren’t going to and from work. Yes, folks in the Valley take the 405 to get to the beach, but it’s going to be 70 degrees and cloudy. It’s not beach weather, anyway.

The people worst hit will be the ones west of the 405, stuck taking Topenga Canyon over the hill. And do you know who lives west of the 405?

RICH PEOPLE.

That’s why we keep hearing about how terrible this shut down is going to be.

These are the people who consider the 405 the dividing line between the west and east side of Los Angeles. Look at this map from the LA Times, and tell me that makes sense. They think downtown is the eastern edge of the city. (Traditionally, the river divided the city, a demarcation that, apparently, only the gangs still respect.)

There are plenty of options for those of us in the remaining three-quarters of Los Angeles. Traffic will certainly pick up in the canyons between the Sepulveda and Cahuenga passes (Coldwater, Laurel, Beverly Glen), but seriously, how big of a hurry are you in on a Saturday afternoon?

Besides, there are other ways around traffic.

But none of that counts if some spoiled brat in Westwood has to wait an extra fifteen minutes to get to memaw’s house in Calabasas. So, we have to keep hearing about the looming Carpocalypse.1

Here’s my prediction for this weekend– nothing will happen. Most people will be cowering in their homes, even more terrified of traffic than usual. The worst that will happen is someone will freak out, Falling Down-style.

Footnotes    (↩ returns to text)
  1. Rejected alternatives to “carmageddon” included: Book of Carevelation, Day of Wreckoning, REVelation, and Autoomsday.↩

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Posted in On the Job

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Beach Party Summer

Posted on June 2, 2011 by | 2 Comments

In honor of Memorial Day:

One of the best things about the entertainment industry being planted in LA is the gorgeous pacific coastline that offers such breathtaking scenery. It’s pretty much an unavoidable filming location. I love the beach (though I try not to think about where the city’s sewage goes) and you’d think that when a job comes along that drags you over there it would be great. Getting paid to spend all day outside’ with the refreshing salty breeze and open spaces? Yes, please!

If you hear a pop right now it’s probably the sound of that hopeful bubble bursting, because shooting on the beach is worse than shooting in the tropics with the mosquitos and malaria. The mileage a PA runs may double or triple with the open space of the shore and running through sand makes it about a bazillion times harder (yes that’s a real number! To us it is.) All the equipment needs to get down there and there’s usually a sand shelf between base camp and location, so be ready to hike. All day with no shade makes for serious sun danger but, unlike the desert, being by the ocean can fool you into thinking it’s cooler than it is and that’s how you forget the sunscreen (I have to keep a four hour timer on me, like a real pro, how sad.) Sometimes you’re asked to set up in a freaky cove that the tide fills in while all the equipment is still inside, or over some rock formations that should be better known as Suicide Pass, or worst of all, sand gets in all the crafty… heavens to betsy. Plus, most of the time it’s freaking freezing at any time other than high noon.

Well, at least you can dig your toes in the sand, right? Forget about it, no bare feet allowed. It’s a liability and legal won’t be too happy.

It’s a fool’s paradise. Fuck the beach.

Bonus From the Trenches: I once worked a beach shoot that had a beached canoe as part of the set decor. When the crew moved on from that setup to another area, no one thought to move the canoe until the tide came up and nearly swept it away… and being the only person nearby I had to dive in after it. Did I mention I had a major job interview at a big studio right after wrap? (got the job though, so everything wen’t better than expected.)

Second Bonus From the Trenches: Shooting a zombie movie in the tropics, our extras were made up with dirt and blood and gore. Upon wrap they went swimming in their clothes to wash off; pools of blood appeared around them and it looked like a scene from Jaws.

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Posted in On the Job

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How to Drive in Los Angeles Part 4: The Dream Master

Posted on October 29, 2010 by | 7 Comments

Ausmax recently commented:

I recently moved to LA myself.  My question on this whole left turn is why aren’t there more left turn arrows?  I can’t figure it out.  If an intersection is busy enough to need a left turn lane, then it is busy enough to need a left turn arrow.  I really think some of the gridlock in LA is just stoplight design.

I wish I knew, Ausmax. I wish I knew. Where I’m from, just about every intersection with anything more than a stop sign has a turn arrow.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation doesn’t have much of an explanation, either:

Unnecessary left-turn arrows degrade overall traffic flow. Other motorists at an intersection must wait for longer periods during red signals in order to accommodate the left-turn arrow.

Of course, this is only true for “protected” left-turns (the ones with red arrows). These seem to be, for no reason I can tell, the most common types of turn arrows I see in Los Angeles. (Particularly Culver City, which is already its own special brand of traffic hell before you add the stupid lights.)

If you listen to Adam Carolla with any regularity, you’ve heard him rant about these lights:

Drive through the left turn red arrows. I do it every single fucking day of my life. It’s the greatest thing that ever happened to me.

To a certain extent, he’s right. Unless you can’t see oncoming traffic, or if the lights in the opposite direction aren’t synchronized, red light arrows are incredibly stupid.

Which is why most or all turn signals should be “permissive.” Basically, these are lights that sometimes have a green arrow (depending on how many cars are in the turn lane), but they also allow you to turn even if oncoming traffic has a green light. There’s a lot of ways of doing this, like “Dallas phasing” (which uses five lights) or the blinking red utilized in Michigan.

When I tell Californians about this concept, they often react in horror: “If people can turn whenever they want, what stops them from crashing into cars coming the opposite way?”

In answer to your question, Ausmax, the reason we can’t turn when we want to is because we live in a state where people don’t trust themselves.

Don’t forget to vote next Tuesday!

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Posted in Off-Topic, On the Job

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Making Friends

Posted on October 7, 2010 by | 6 Comments

Wisdom from the Simpsons.

Wisdom from the Simpsons.

Jurebro commented on last week’s post:

You mention that it’s hard to have a girlfriend while a PA because of the hours. Is it generally difficult to maintain relationships of any sort outside of work? I am interested in moving to Los Angeles to try to get my foot in the door, but I have another friend who is concerned that I won’t be able to find friends and will be utterly alone.

Your thoughts?

Working on a show is a lot like going to camp. You meet a lot of people in a very short time, there’s a lot of activity (most of which you don’t understand), the days seem to go on forever, but you’re still caught off guard when it’s time to go home, and the counselors are probably fucking on top of the climbing wall after you go to bed.

I kinda lost control of that metaphor.

I kinda lost control of that metaphor.

Also like camp, even though someone might be your best friend on set for weeks, you can’t remember their name a month later. Not exactly a single-serving friends, but close.

The trouble isn’t making friends, it’s keeping them. This industry is very transient: pilots don’t get picked up to series, TV shows get cancelled. Sometimes a new producer takes over and wants to bring in his people.

And that right there shows a contradiction. You and your crew mates get scattered to the wind, because this producer has a circle of people he likes and trusts. Of course, that kind of professional loyalty stems from your ability to do your job well, and your question was about friends.

The big trick I use is, I hold on to my crew lists.  Everybody’s contact info (including phone number) is in there.  I try to touch base with people I liked within a couple weeks of wrap.  And even if we weren’t the greatest friends, the crew list is a good reference months or years down the line, when you need info from, say, a camera assistant you chatted with at the crafty table once in a while.

I think most adults make friends through their job, whether you’re a filmmaker or an investment banker. It’s really no different then being a kid, when most of your friends were people you knew at school.

It is hard to make friends in any new place, but I don’t think moving to Los Angeles to work in Hollywood would be any different than moving to Palo Alto to work in Silicon Valley.  It might even be easier; there’s over fifteen million people here. I’m sure you can find a friend somewhere. All we ask is that you learn how to drive before you get here.

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Posted in On the Job, The Industry

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How to Drive in Los Angeles, Part 3: In 2D

Posted on May 6, 2010 by | 5 Comments
Yup, that's a Starman reference.

Red: stop. Green: go. Yellow: go very fast.

Have you ever sat in the left turn lane, waiting for traffic to clear, wondering why sometimes you get a green turn arrow, and sometimes you don’t?  Well, get ready to have your mind blown.

I think I've used this picture before, but you know what? I don't care.

The collective mind of the APA readership.

The secret is to not look up at the light, but rather down at the street.  Ever noticed those little black lines in the road?  Those are called “inductive loops.”

Hey, I haven't used any photos all week. Gimme a break.

Hey, look at that, a picture that's actually related to today's post!

I could explain how this stuff works, but that’s not really why you read this blog, is it?  The point is, putting your car over these little circles indicates to the traffic signal that a car is there.

This can have multiple effects, depending on the situation.  Some traffic lights don’t change at all, unless there’s a car present.  If you’re one of those people who stops way back from the crosswalk (or who stops way into it), the light will never change for you.

For turn signals, these loops determine whether, and how long, there will be a green arrow, or simply a green light.

Turn lanes in busy intersections often have two or three circles.  The next time you pull up to an intersection where a car is already waiting, don’t stop directly behind him; stop a few car lengths back on the second loop.

Enjoy the green lights!

(PS: Today’s post is sponsored by my wife, who figured this whole thing out one day when someone pulled up short behind her one day.)

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Posted in On the Job

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How to Drive in Los Angeles 2: Drive Los Angeleser

Posted on April 29, 2010 by | 11 Comments
Rule 34 in full effect.

I googled "turn on red" to find an image for today's post. This is the twelfth image in the entire Internet to show up. I really hope this guys's Flickr traffic gets a sudden and surprising uptick today.

I don’t know what it’s like in whatever third-world, former-communist, dictatorial kleptocracy you’re from, but here in California, you can turn right on a red light.  This isn’t news, either; it’s been the law since before I was born.

Los Angeles suffers more traffic delays than any other city in America (duh).  Part of the reason is drivers stopping when they shouldn’t.  Another reason is people not going when they should.

Now, I’m not saying you should run down pedestrians or peel around the corner without looking.  (In fact, legally, you’re supposed to wait for a pedestrian who’s on the far side of a five-lane road; I learned this while picketing during the WGA strike.)

I’m just saying, if the road is clear, for the love of Christ, go.

Conversely, if you’re not planning on turning right at this intersection, don’t get in the right-hand lane. Some people have this Batman villain-like obsession with sticking to the right lane, in all circumstances, even if there’s no one in the left lane.

I always wind up stuck behind these people, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel, staring at the red light, willing it to change, but it won’t change, so I flip from 98.7 playing a late 90′s Foo Fighters song to KROQ playing an early 90′s Foo Fighters song, and my mom’s voice comes in my head, telling me, “A watched pot never boils,” and she’s right, this light will never, ever, ever change, and I’ll be stuck behind this moron forever, even though he could have moved to the next lane and oh, God, why won’t this light change?

In short, please use the left hand lane if you don’t intend to turn.

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Posted in On the Job

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