OT: Editor relocating to L.A. area

Hi everyone,

I'm a freelance FCP editor currently working in Boston, and beyond editing I also do quite a bit of DVD authoring and also AE work. My girlfriend has the opportunity to relocate to LA w/ her company, and I was hoping those of you working in the LA area might give me some advice as we are contemplating the opportunity. I have been working professionally as an editor for about 7 years, mainly in FCP though I started on AVID. I have broadcast editing experience but the majority of my work comes from commercials, promos, institutional videos, and documentary features/shorts.

I'm looking for any advice from those who have relocated to LA as ediors as to the prospects of finding work, i.e. what the transition may be like, how long it may take to find decent jobs/freelance opporunities, perhaps any bias I would encounter as a new transplant from the Right coast etc. I have no clue what it may be like, so any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks ahead of time for anyone who takes the time to offer advice or share their experiences.

Pete

This is one perspective - ONLY! I moved from LA to the midwest because there are more editiors that work there. That is unless your work is very specialized.

Frankly, the market is flooded with editors just about everywhere. if you have clientelle' in Boston, then I would not tell you to expect the same in LA.

There will be other perspectives that folow.

There are one or two "shocks" that happen when you move here.

The guy washing your car may be more creative than you are and already has a deal in the works at Warner's--or has a three-page IMDb. Or both.

The graffitti outside the building is Disney grade character developement because the people who made it...came from Disney Animation.

We do too have seasons: Drought, Fire, Flood/Mud Sides, and Earthquake.

Most of Hollywood, the geographic location, is a slum.

Stay off the 405...at 4:05 (or, he said as an aside, any other time).

If only one of you is working you will be living in Simi Valley and have a 1-1/4 hour commute both ways.

You won't be working if you don't already have a job--or contacts. Contacts are good. We like contacts.

Koz

Here in LA there are more FCP editors than Lawyers.......that shows how bad it is.

But if you're good you'll do just fine and don't forget your Tarzan outfit......


Harry

<<<don't forget your Tarzan outfit...... >>>

Totally. And it helps if you can fill out a Tarzan outfit and that your'e stunningly handsom. The guy who's parking your car and who looks like a movie star may be getting residual checks from his role on General Hospital:

ABC Television
Television Center
4151 Prospect Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Employment levels and jobs are totally wacky in Los Angeles.

You know there's a jobs board here, right?

[www.lafcpug.org]

Koz

Come on! Give the guy a break! You were once young and hungry.

Pete,

Oh so many years ago I piled all my worldly belongings into my car and drove out here from the East Coast. I had no job. Few contacts. No idea as to how to make a living.
30 years later, it turned out OK.

My advice for you is to just come out here and start knocking on doors. It's going to be tough. Yes, there's plenty of competition, but if you don't think you're better than them, then don't bother coming.

Have the self confidence that "you can do it too" and you will be fine.

Lest you think I'm too optimistic, here's a quote from Hunter S. Thompson about the TV business.

"The TV business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."

Good Luck.

Mark

In addition to the jobs board here, peruse Craig List as well. There are a lot of online networking resources out there for indie stuff as well like meetup.com.

Good luck to you - Like folks have said - TONS of FCP editors in the LA area. Talent, professionalism and contacts are what gets you the work.

I piled all my stuff and came here from Montana...thru Phoenix first. And I started at the bottom. Apprentice Editor, then Vault manager...then post coordinator...THEN Assitant editor. Took me 3 years to become an assistant. Then 3 years of that to become an editor.

It can happen. Perserverance...talent...busting your chops.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

<<<contacts are what gets you the work.>>>

Back when I was driving a BetaSP on-line editing suite, I pulled somebody's job out of the fire between two other regular jobs.

"Don't worry about it. Here. Take it. It's a recycled tape. No charge. The show's on there twice. Have a happy day."

Later that person, now a producer, showed up with a very large job....

Koz

Yeah - and networking like Koz's example there is what gets you the job too. My partner recently taught a summer course at a local university on editing in FCE to a small group of nice local people.

Six months later one of them turned out to be a high level manager for a top ten corporation here who came looking for someone to do a job for them. We now have a one year contract.

My break came when I was taking an Avid class and my partner was an editor who was taking the class to learn the Avid...he always used D Vision. But he was a TV editor. We got along so well that when he needed an assistant for a UNION job on a Disney Channel show, he called me.

When they say it is all about who you know...that is half right. It is about WHO KNOWS YOU..and how good you get along. If you happen to have the skills, all the better. But people tend to hire first, who they know, then who people they know recommend..then if they are desperate, they look at unknowns.

So...lesson is...GET KNOWN. Networking is everything out here. And being nice and amiable.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

You guys are funny with all the horror talk. You gave me the same shtick when I posted a similar question a few years ago when I was looking at LA. I think some of you are just trying to keep one more editor from joining the LA pool

This isn't coming from an LA Editor but a small market Designer / Editor with not much to chose from so take it for what it's worth. Mine is a fairly simple series of mantras no matter where I go:

* Networking is King. Shake a lot of hands / hand out a lot of cards / have an updated website posted at all times

* Know what you are doing & prove it everyday (don't say you can do something then not deliver)

* Bust your a$$ when necessary (no whining for late nights)

* Don't act like you know everything - ask questions always

* Give everyone the benefit of the doubt - once

* Do whatever it takes to finish your work on deadline (again...late nights if necessary)

* Don't burn any bridges...ever

* Respect the people you work with

* Always say Good Morning to the receptionist & Good Night to Security (trust me...they are valuable allies)

My Managing Art Director said something to me during my interview almost 5 years ago. I was talking my head off trying to sell myself & my wares to the panel of people that was dissecting my demo like it was a frog in Biology class. He walked in (mildly impressed with my demo) and very nonchalantly said "It ain't Eutopia...but it's a good gig" & he walked out. He was right...and I've been there ever since.

Good Luck to you & your girlfriend Pete. Keep an open mind and don't let the nay-sayers bring you down.

Joey

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

<<<I think some of you are just trying to keep one more editor from joining the LA pool >>>

Shucks. He's on to us.

Koz

<<<I think some of you are just trying to keep one more editor from joining the LA pool >>>

Yeah...and to do that we pee in the pool.


aaaaaaahhhhhh.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

> Yeah...and to do that we pee in the pool.

That won't work. We're all working in post. We get pissed on all the time.


www.derekmok.com

Thanks to all for your opinion's. It great alot to hear a good range of opinions and experiences from those who have done similar things/been in similar situations, which is the great value of what this forum is all about.

Now I'm off to make some decicions and perhaps get sized-up for that tarzan suit....

A famous producer once said to me, it's not so much who you know (although that does help) he said "it's more important how you impress who you know"!

Before I got into post I worked in production as a P.A. and as an Assistant Director. I was working on a very big TV show as a day player. I was passed up several times for a full time positon on the show. When I approached one of the Assistant Directors about why I kept on being passed up he told me that it was because "I worked too hard" and that "I was too aggressive". After hearing that I pretty much walked away from the show to look for work elsewhere. To me that was the same as being fired. That explains L.A. in a nutshell. Keep this in mind. People back east will steal your wallet.... People out here will steal your wallet then help you look for it. This sound pessimistic however I am putting it to you straight. It's a very tough area to make it, HOWEVER IT IS JUST A TEST OF WILL. If you want it bad enough you will get it. I say go for it. I did, I moved out from NY not knowing anybody and without visiting the area. I got off the plane with luggage in hand and said "ok now what". You have a great opportunity to meet people at your girlfriends new place of work. I didn't have any of that. You are already off to a good start and you are bringing your talent to the table, you already have something to offer. I didn't when I first started I just wanted to get into film. I became an editor through the years and discovered my true passion for it. Sometimes you have to move out of your comfortable environment in order to grow. No one likes being uncomfortable so sometimes we stay put. If you take the risk you and if it is truly what you want to do, you will stop at nothing to make it work. That's what I have done and I am doing fairly well for my self. GO FOR IT AND GOOD LUCK.

Great thread folks. Thanks. Love the anecdotes and the advice is all spot on.

Best advice I ever got was from my Dad who got the same advice from Readers Digest or someplace. "Now that I've given you all this advice, forget it all and go out and do it your own way." And so I did.

The advice you get from folks is advice that has worked for them. They are them and not you. Sure, there are certain universal truths such as "contacts, perseverance, talent, etc., but what works for someone might not work for you.

The common denominator that we all share is that we came here with pretty much nothing and somehow "made it." Everyone has a different story about how it was accomplished, but essentially talent will NOT be denied and it is simply a matter of getting your talent in front of the people that matter. And that, as simple jon puts it, means getting used to being uncomfortable.

I've never had a "real" job in my life and have never known a steady paycheck. That makes for an uncomfortable life, but damn if I don't love it.

Oh, one other thing. Stay curious.

Now forget all I said, and come on out here and take over the world your way.

Michael Horton
-------------------

Hi Pete --

The only other thing I can add is this: in my experience, a lot of people out here edit on FCP, but not many of them are good editors. If you are talented, experienced, and professional, you'll do just fine.

And I don't think anybody cares if you're from the East Coast, no bias I've ever heard of. Just as long you don't go on all day about how inferior LA is to New York.

Good luck!
k

Yea like everyone here has said and like advice that i have been given "it's not what you know it's who you know" in Hollywood that is sooo true.

I too will be moving to LA in 6 months to a year (i need to save some money first). The ONLY reason i'm going to LA to edit is because a good friend of my brother who is a made for t.v. film editor for a major cable network has offered me the oppurtunity to take an internship in his office then i'll work up from there..... and his brother is an academy award nominated make-up artist.... those two people and the connections they have and the opportunities that those connections pose are the ONLY reason i'm going to take the offer.

Anyways good luck and build your self a vast network of connections......

Sean

Quote

"it's not what you know it's who you know"

That's half right. Everywhere in this biz it's not "it's not what you know it's who you know", it's WHO KNOWS YOU (as mentioned above). You could know Jerry Bruckheimer but if he doesn't know you, you don't exist.

Joey

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

the nominee for best quote posted is:

mark roudonis with the thriller:

"The TV business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

grafixjoe Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "it's not what you know it's who you know"
>

> "it's not what you know it's who you know", it's
> WHO KNOWS YOU
>
> Joey




Good point Joey.... A really good way to look at it......

"It's not who you know, it's who knows YOU!"

That's been my saying since I got my first real job at a post-production facility.

If I hadn't met the other assistant editor at an industry function, I wouldn't have made it past the first round. I may have not even gotten an interview if I'd just sent in a resume from the ad, had I even seen the ad. After spending some time talking with me, the guy felt that I would fit into the company's culture. He told me to bring my resume in, and he'd personally put it on the VP of Post's desk with a recommendation.

While I was dropping off my resume the next day, the editor at the place where I had done my internship walked out. He'd been visiting one of the sales reps that he'd known for years. He put in a good word for me, too.

I almost didn't go to that industry function, but my mentor from high school, who was feeling very responsible for my career, strongly encouraged me to go. If I hadn't gone, I wouldn't have met the first guy, and I wouldn't have bumped into the guy I already knew. Karma may have something to do with it, but if you're not there, Karma can't help you.

I no longer work there, but it was the most intense 6 years of training I could have asked for. By the time I left, I'd been promoted from assistant to editor. Now I run my own company. Most of my clients now are people I'd met while working there.

Come to think of it, my first kinda crappy job I got right out of college I kinda got through my now brother-in-law. He gave me a good recommendation to the head honcho where he was working to get me in on a part-time gig. Then he took a job at CNN and I ended up getting his job after a couple other guys bailed. (I forgave him a long time ago. He still takes credit for my career. Ahhh, family. Wha'cha gonna do?!?! He's married to my sister.)

I have burned a bridge or two, and a few people have burned bridges to me. I look at it this way, there are some utter scumbags out there that have no sense of what is right and wrong. They have no integrity, and they are a pox on the industry. I don't need their business, I don't want their business, and I don't want other people thinking that I'm okay with the way they do business. Some bridges it's imperative you burn. Some bridges can bring a horde with a plague you don't want and you don't need. You just have to be very careful about the one's you choose to burn. You may regret a knee-jerk burning later.

deb

The cool thing about the sky falling in LA, you can see it.

Since the barrier to entry has become so low there are thousands of people who purchase FCP and claim to be editors. They all work in the same way, on the same projects and the only differentiation is the price.

It all depends how you position yourself. If your knowledgeable about production you might find a home at a smaller company who needs someone who can do more than edit. If your fast, creative and can use a variety of applications you might be able to get into a medium size post facility. Unfortunately there has been a lot of consolidation in LA post industry and to get a gig there generally does require knowing someone [hopefully not another editor].

FCP users may be nice on this forum but they eat their young when it comes to competing for a job. I would hate to be trying to start out as an editor in LA now.

Quote

FCP users may be nice on this forum but they eat their young when it comes to competing for a job.

Where you from, Chuck? Where are you gonna go where there's no competition??

Competition is the fuel for change. If FCP wasn't around, Avids would still be $100,000 for the base system & 99% of you would be editors right now. Don't knock competition. If you can't stand a little competition, you're in the wrong business. Even when you land a gig, there's always someone that will want your job. It's your responsibility to keep it.

It's competition that keeps me in shape...but that's just me

Joey

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

I liked it much better when an Avid was $125K and a Flame was still $1M. It meant that I could make $250K a year.

Yes there are a ton more people claiming to be editors and even more lame ass producers who are willing to hire them because their cheap. It has little to do with how good an editor is and more with how willing they are to bend over.

Don't get me wrong, I get paid more fixing projects that editors screw up because all they thought there was to editing was pushing buttons in FCP. FCP combined with editors inability to get the job done, especially in HD is making me as lot of money.

competition is a great thing...