"Actually, either way you have to bust your ass to stay in the game or get ahead."

Very true. I'd just rather do it for myself, than someone else... :)

"YOu can make films anywhere, the questions really is, what do you want to do? If you want to be a filmmaking professional and not reliant upon a part time job, the bigger markets are the best bet."

Oh yea, for sure. I just meant more along the lines of best resources and talent (acting wise)...

Almost any city could be great... just that all the hopeful/determined actors still seem to flock to LA or NY.

Boston suits me just fine. I was raised right here in the inner city neighborhoods and know this entire city inside and out. I was also a courier in this city for a decade and travelled every street and alley, entered just about every building in the city. I definitely know the lay of the land here. The only real good movie ever filmed in Boston in my opinion was the Friends of Eddie Coyle. There is no need to go to LA or NYC unless you want to work for other people. If anyone ever needs stock footage of Boston for establishing shots, etc let me know.

@bostonmike Yea, I'd love to go to Boston... or any east-coast/midwest city, besides NY (price wise, and too dense for production space). My favorite people to hang out with in LA are actually from Boston and the east cost... I guess I just don't dig the westcoast-style... Oh well.

And as far as a career goes... LA just has bizarre/insane production mentalities. Like the lower your technical/creative skills are the MORE you're inclined to land a supervisor or major decision making position. I wouldn't say people are fake here... just irrational and dumb.

LA... after being a here for almost 2 years now, seems like great place if you want to WORK in production. (i.e. on someone else's set). But it's seems now like it's almost the worst possible place for starting your own studio/business and working on your own projects. The cost of production resources is just to high if you're approaching it from an entrepreneurial standpoint. It always seemed like the best option... but once your here, you can kind of see past all the smoke and mirrors.

Yea, there are definitely things I like about LA... I'm just weighing my options now. It is true about being the big leagues here though... what seems like baby-steps in the industry here, would be leaps and bounds anywhere else.

It's just so damn expensive here to get production space and such here. Every single piece of warehouse or garage is price hiked to 5x it's worth anywhere else... because they know it's going to be used for some type of production. Maybe I should look for something out towards the Santa Clarita area... ? Or maybe get a bunch of people to pool resources for a shared lot somewhere? All my ideas for films this year NEED a place for set building... so I've got to figure something out.

@bwhitz

"Yea, there are definitely things I like about LA..."

For me it's only the weather now. 32 years ago when I came to L.A. and started working in the business it was also a struggle to get a break, but once you got it, you were well paid and it was easy to continue working. It's not like that now. With so much cheap television being made wages here have just collapsed, the competition (as you found out) is fierce and the digital revolution, with all its merits have just made things worse in a way, as more dogs are fighting over the bread crumbs.

That being said, it all comes down to content. You're a talented creator (you still shot one of the best hack clips IMHO) and that talent is rare. Most of the people making their digital 'feature films' will be gone or back to waiting tables in a couple of years (or weeks) but the talented ones will live on.

I still think the best way up the ladder is to make a quality full 80+ minute digital film, something that can be sold, something that can be screened, something that can get you some buzz. As talented as P Bloom is, he is still a guy who makes short beauty clips. No real money can ever come from that, hence his rent-paying reliance on road shows, seminars and endorsements. If Bloom ever made a long form feature I think he'd skyrocket, but we can't be sure until he does.

Back to L.A., the good actors are here (as you mentioned), the great crews are here (and they'll work cheap if you need them) the scenery is overshot but with the right script, it won't matter. So I'd make that film and try and set myself apart from all the guys doing mindless shorts and set myself apart as a guy that can actually create salable product. Then the work will find you - in any city, 'cuz you got an eye.

Funny, BostonMike, I thought the same thing when I saw your name!

You and Kae are right on, if you're independently driven, you can make a film and make a name for yourself most anywhere, Boston and Austin are both great places to live while you're doing it, assuming you can handle either one's climate!

Thanks for the responses everyone... this could turn into a great thread for allot of people looking at different options!

Good to see you around @kea! Thanks a bunch for the advice! This has been what I've been leaning towards the last year... I've been stuck in a rut doing small little projects hoping they'll lead to bigger opportunities... but I just keep getting hired for more small projects. That's LA for you. Nobody wants to take a chance on anyone... which is understandable, but crappy. The cost of failure is just too great these days. I've also kind of just worn myself out of the smaller projects. I don't really like short-form films that much either, plus, I'm not that great at coming up with ideas for them. Some people are great at quick, snappy, 1-3 minute vids... which is great for commercials and youtube. But all my ideas are long and time consuming. So yea, like you said, I've got to just do a real feature or I'll be stuck forever.

I think longer projects suit my personality better as well. I like to work in feverish bursts on projects for a month or two at a time. I can do this no problem. But I get worn out after doing smaller shooting or editing jobs day, after day, after day. It's not even that much work, and I can do it from home, but it's just really draining for some reason.

@bostonmike "Bwhitz, I can definitely see you getting along with us guys from Boston, philosophically you're definitely on the same page."

yep, this is what it seems like from the people I end up hanging around with around here... east coasters. I just don't mesh with the westcoast philosophy it seems. Too much trying to emulate and flatter everyone around you, than just doing what makes sense and trying succeed on your own terms. People here, these days, don't EARN jobs... they GET jobs from friends and connections. And if they can't do the job... then guess what? It turns into a SUPERVISOR position... and they get people that know what they're doing UNDERNEATH them! It drives me insane to see this happening around me!

Just so much entitlement and miss-information in people's heads. If you can't do a technical job... then you're above it, because you're too creative. If you can't do a creative job, then you're above it, because you must be management material. If you can't manage people... then you're above it, so you must be executive material. It's crazy! Now I understand where that term "failing upwards" comes from. If people can't do something, it must be because it's something underneath them... and not just the fact that they, I dunno... might not be good at it!

I also just don't get how people here don't see that the rules for making films here are set-up to require HUGE amounts of money, time, and people. It's not that it's the "only way to make films"... it's just how they set it up here to create an industry around it. It can be done better... they just indoctrinate people here to think otherwise... to keep them here feeding the film-economy-system. This is why I think it may just be better (for me personally) to try a different city... where there isn't an economy based on it. It just comes back to the whole actor thing. LA seems like the only place where actors are really serious and committed to projects, especially when they might not be getting paid, or doing it for very little. If I could just get a group of some really good actors to head out somewhere else, it would be great! They can still wait tables, plus, the cost of living will be 5x cheaper and their will be even more time for projects! I don't think all actors are this self motivated though... most seem to still abide by the "I need to be in LA... to get an agent... to get me jobs". It's funny because I see more and more web-based talent getting signed than people here in LA getting big roles. With the internet and youtube... the odds just seem the same anywhere now.