Is moving to Los Angeles to become a director/writer/producer/etc...

Is moving to Los Angeles to become a director/writer/producer/etc. a pipe dream on par with moving to Japan to work on anime? I plan on doing filmmaking as a career, whether that's being a DP or AC for a while until I can eventually direct my own film. What's the most reasonable way to go about it? Should I just fly to LA and look for work immediately or is that stupid?

LA is not a place for entry level crew. Most stuff is shot in Canada, New Mexico, and Georgia.
You should at the very least take classes in a votech program before doing anything

I'd probably create something first, like a small portfolio, but I don't know a fucking thing about Hollywood - it just seems unreasonable to walk in and expect to be hired

Good luck, OP. The damage to your future net worth will be deep and lasting if you pursue this pipe dream, but hey, maybe you'll actually succeed and become rich and famous. Pffthahaha...

only if you're planning to go into porn

what if i already live in LA? since i already am here it won't cost any money to travel or anything. how do i even get started?

be jewish

Please don't tell me that's a guys ass.

Less than 1% of people who aspire to this dream make it.

I wish I could talk you into pursuing a more practical career, saving up your money, and then doing creative work when you have more security, like making low-budget indie movies. But I realize it's human nature to be overconfident about these things, and honestly the pain from failing may make you a wiser, tougher person, so who knows.

It's your call.

Make a film. If you can't. Learn how to make a film.

Take classes at local votech

I live in Los Angeles. Its just a city. Hollywood likes to think of the city as their own backyard to shoot in. More often than not they shoot elsewhere in the country or Canada because its cheaper to do so.

Do you know how many starry eyed "actors" and "filmmakers" move to LA thinking they're going to be a star? They all end up as baristas working at Starbucks.

If you really want to pursue this, do it where you are. Take something as simple as the camera in your phone and film shit. Just like anything you need to make your bones before anyone with take you seriously. If you show up with nothing, you are nothing. Make a portfolio of work and maybe someone will pay attention to you. Right now you're putting the cart before the horse.

Back in 1991 I had just graduated high school. I decided I was going to attend a small film school in Hollywood.

Back then the city was revoltingly dirty. Hollywood was extremely unsafe, years later it still is. While I made a few nice friends, the majority of people I dealt with were weirdos. It was a very difficult time.

I soon learned that I hated working in the film industry. I actually quit a decent job at Sony pictures.

Now I'm stuck here and I'm desperate to go home. Don't make my mistakes. If you're talented you can produce something wherever you are and get it seen online. If you want to learn about making movies just read books, watch movies and make your own films. Film school is a total scam.

I've thought about this a lot honestly. I'm super conflicted between trying to get into the film industry and just playing it safe by doing college for something more practical. It's a scary thing to think about since I come from a poor family and the risks are very high. I've never been super confident in a lot about myself but I truly believe that I have the creative potential to produce very decent content. I know most kids have this same outlook but I can't shake this feeling that I got it within me to be great. I know I sound naive but in my mind it's not all that absurd of a dream. My plan is to start out slow, doing production assistant jobs until I can get my foot in the door with some production companies. Later down the line I'd like to start handling cameras or even start editing. The money from doing this for a while will be decent. At the same time I'd be producing my own independent content and honing my skills at that.

but in the end I guess we'll see.

>this is my plan

Life almost never goes according to plan. Get an education first so you at least have something to fall back on while you pursue your dream.

>director/writer/producer/etc.
It's not a pipe dream, but you have to be realistic about how to approach this. You can't just move to LA and start asking for this kind of work. You can get some freelance work in camera/grip/sound/art department, if you pick a specialty and start out on short films/unpaid work to build contacts. This is a great way to get practical experience on film sets, understand how the job actually works.

But you will never "work your way up" to directing or producing by working in other departments. There's literally only one way: You have to just make your own fucking movie on your own initiative, it has to be good, and you have to work your ass off to promote it until people actually watch it.

That's it. Write a good script that wouldn't be too expensive to produce, and go for it.

I'll take this to heart, thank you. I work on a google commercial and these hollywood producer people told me the exact same thing.
All great advice. I really appreciate it.
That is a dead troglodyte. You should watch bone tomahawk

Physician here. I get to live wherever the fuck I want. Grew up in Chicago and got the fuck out right after residency and was pretty much handed a six figure job in LA the moment I got there. I'm still suicidal from having to be a doctor, but hey, LA BABY!!!!

You described my "plan" much better than I did. I do realize that it takes initiative to start working on your own content and I plan to immediately start working on that as soon as I move out which is within days. As for work I have a somewhat established relationship with some local independent groups. I will be working as a grip for them in the future.

Come to Georgia, senpai. Almost everything is being shot here and the cost of living is cheap. Also, if you need a kinda funny fat black guy for a project, hit me up, I work for free.

>If you want to learn about making movies just read books

Any suggestions?