Untitled Document

DO YOU HAVE TO LIVE IN LOS ANGELES?

By Shannon Muir

Originally published at Suite101.com

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I've often wondered, if you compiled a list of the top ten questions from people wanting to get in the business, how high that question ranks. I'm suspecting top five, being conservative.

Personally, I've been here not quite five years and I don't think I could have started out away from Los Angeles. Granted, there are probably exceptions, but I've heard of very few. My friends who have been writing in animation and live outside of the greater LA area have over 10+ years of experience. And for what it's worth, I come from a town of eight thousand that just got a third stoplight not too long ago.

I do have to admit, though, web animation and the Internet's played a big role in changing the landscape. Get something done in Flash with a decent soundtrack and get it out there, and that can get you noticed. As to long-term viability, it's still new enough that I personally feel it's a "wait and see game." But it's worked for some.

You're probably wondering what gives me the background to be talking about the industry. Fair enough. I spent a year at Sony's animation division, first as a production assistant on Jumanji and then a production supervisor on Extreme Ghostbusters. After I left that, I did a year of temp work that took me all over Los Angeles and exposed me to many facets of the business. During that time, and up to present day, I continued to meet and network with writers and production staff I met during my Sony years. Then, after two years working as Administrative Assistant at the Writers Store --- you can check them out at http://writersstore.com -- I am now Office Assistant at Artists Television Group while I still seek that first animation script sale.

While I could have met some of these folks by coming down for occasional conferences and seminars where they might be speakers or schmoozing it up, it's far better keeping and maintaining contacts when you're actually in the heart of things. E-mail helps some (actually, it can help a great deal) but you really have to build the contacts in person first and it's better when you can keep your face as remembered as your name. Also, you get to see firsthand more of how the industry works, whether you currently have a job in it or not (as I learned from my temp gigs that were non-entertainment industry, and I had more than a few).

How well prepared to be financially I don't think I'm too qualified to explore. The cost of living is high, and I will openly say I didn't come well prepared and am still paying off some of those debts. I went straight from my parents' house to all alone in Los Angeles. I just didn't know any better. So save and plan wisely. Do a lot of advance research.

A few strategies I used that I feel did help me in making the move to Los Angeles:

1) Go to a bookstore (or in my case, I could only get one at a map specialty store) that can get you the Thomas Guide for Los Angeles and Orange Counties. This is the "bible of travel," showing every street and highway. It's very useful when looking at some of the other things I'm about to mention to get a feel of where things are located before you leave, and will be indispensable once you arrive in Los Angeles.

2) Subscribe to the Sunday Los Angeles Times a couple months before you go, to get a feel of not only local news but of the classifieds. Look at the employment and more importantly, the apartment sections. Compare the addresses and prices you see in the Times to what the Thomas Guide shows you. Odds are you will get it rather delayed, I lived in Washington State and got the Sunday Times on Wednesdays. But for research and learning about the area, it did the trick. Alternatively, you can also go online to http://www.latimes.com, but I have found their classifieds difficult to navigate since the partnership with CareerBuilder at http://www.careerbuilder.com. Maybe you'll have better luck.

3) Consider subscribing to one or both of the trades for a few months before you come down, either Hollywood Reporter or Variety. The best bet is probably six months of the Tuesday international edition of the Hollywood Reporter. It recaps the major news of the past week plus has employment ads that are more entertainment geared. The real estate in the trades is very high end though; that's why I felt the Times gave me a better range of information. Both the Hollywood Reporter -- also online at http://www.hollywoodreporter.com -- and Variety, which is at http://www.variety.com, offer electronic editions, but I have not subscribed electronically so I can't compare their offerings to the print versions. It's hard to justify subscribing when you work places where you can read the trades for free.

4) Look into all your housing options for your place to stay while you're looking to make it permanent. I housesat my first two weeks, thanks to a contact I'd made years earlier (a story for another article!), but after that spent the next little while in a place designed for longer term boarding versus a hotel or motel. The Oakwood -- you can get more details at http://www.oakwood.com/ -- is the most popular of these kind of facilities, located between Burbank and Hollywood.

I hope you find these things useful to consider if you're wanting to take the plunge, and if you do, good luck to you! It's hard to play the game out here, but if you believe in yourself, I believe you can survive.

Over the coming months, I hope to deal with many facets of the industry -- including how to properly format animation scripts, to what agents want to see, development deals, and great ways to network. What I haven't lived yet personally, I'll tap into my wide range of contacts and find out for you. So please, give me your feedback and questions. I look forward to sharing with you again.

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