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Ever had to live homeless to be a sound mixer?


orionflood

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Well, lot's of jokes about "migrant film workers" abound. My friend, James Mathers, even uses it as the title of his website:

http://www.migrantfilmworkers.com/JamesMathers.php

Realistically, trying to work in a contact and equipment intensive field without a stable base is just silly.

But there are some things you can do to make your professional base more stable and your equipment safe (reasonably) without becoming entangled in the real estate market.

Check out the independent mail services in the area where you expect to live and rent a mail box from one. That will provide you with a stable address where you can receive not just mail but also packages containing equipment and the like. Even if you move, your mailbox can be stable so you don't need to reprint business cards and so forth every six months. Also, the address you supply has nothing whatever to do with where you store your valuable gear.

And, for the gear, rent a small storage locker. To keep costs low, you may need to store a sound cart or other bulky items in your apartment but your recorder, mixer, wireless, etc. can all be in a more secure locker. Even a storage facility can have break-ins, of course, but they tend to be more secure than most apartments.

David

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Move to Georgia or Louisiana and join the union there! There is tons of work not enough guys t do it. Also DO NOT move to LA. Join a local in a small town. If you are already not making as much money as you want why would you move to place where the competition has way more experience and knowledge than you, they will get the few jobs left in LA you will not. By the way most movies and shows are still made in LA they just go where it is cheap to shoot. Go to where the work is happening not LA! You will learn from the big guys in those markets then when you move to LA later the big fish wil already know you.

-Chris

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Dude that's just ridiculous. Go into debt for gear yes, but don't go homeless. What happens when you're hungry and that $100 job (that should be $750) sounds like a week's worth of meals? I'll tell you - you'll be an undercutting "a-hole."

Dan Izen

Edited by Izen Ears
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If you have to be homeless to strive for a career in sound - you really should choose something else. you are not going to "hit the jackpot" in this profession like some actors do, and i don't think i've ever heard of a camera op getting a big break that hasn't already cut their teeth working in their profession.

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Move to Georgia or Louisiana and join the union there! There is tons of work not enough guys t do it. Also DO NOT move to LA. Join a local in a small town. If you are already not making as much money as you want why would you move to place where the competition has way more experience and knowledge than you, they will get the few jobs left in LA you will not. By the way most movies and shows are still made in LA they just go where it is cheap to shoot. Go to where the work is happening not LA! You will learn from the big guys in those markets then when you move to LA later the big fish wil already know you.

-Chris

I'm sorry.. but this is just wrong. You wil NEVER learn your craft, unless you work on sets were people have more expierence then you do. 'You need to go into the deep end of the pond, in order to learn to swim'. Without learning correctly, it's all just only a matter of theory.

LA is a great place to be homeless, the weather is not bad.

-Richard

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Move to louisiana---there is a lot of Los Angeles mixers there with plenty they can teach you.Also the I.A.T.S.E. is strong there--------------Think about it. You'll probably end up there anyway.

Los Angeles is only good for the coveted TV shows.

J.D.

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I would like to think that cream rises to the top and if I hit my face to the grind stone I can make some headway in a city where there is endless work only competition standing in the way.

Cream may rise to the top, but this is not "a city where there is endless work." I would like to refer you to the runaway production thread in this forum if you think otherwise. Southern California has lost a significant amount of production to right-to-work states and internationally. I have seen many friends and colleagues throw in the towel and leave, and these were folks with nearly a decade of work experience in LA.

However, I am not one to discourage people's dreams or ambitions. If your heart is telling you to come here, by all means give yourself the satisfaction of knowing you tried. You can always return to your home base if things don't work out. If you are serious about keeping expenses down, I would consider a roommate in the Valley. You could easily get a room for $600/month. Don't be homeless in this city unless you are planning on ending up on the evening news.

Unions have no obligation to find you work. The jobs are had based on what you know and who you know, and usually not in that order.

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I've been in LA For 6 months now, I like LA but the market place is really watered down for somebody trying to get in. Somebody said to me once that in LA there about 500 mixers per square mile, and whether or not it's true, I'm starting to believe him. Anywhere you go, you are going to have to network like crazy. I'm finding that the others on this thread are right, getting into the union isn't really the main goal in respect to finding work right off the bat. It's hard to say, you could be there for a couple of months and start hitting or you could be there for years and constantly struggle. Up to you.

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Orion,

If you decide to go for it, I can give you the street report on almost any neighborhood in the City of Angels. Im a native Angelino, and Ill be your Quantum Sherpa of Safety.

PM me if you start looking for cheap places to rent or room up at, Ill run them down for you.

(PS And if you want the best Beef Noodle Bowl in town, do Sapp Coffee Shop in K-Town)

Best,

Steven

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