Moving from Los Angeles to Texas

[Mark Suszko]

If I could dare to summarize Bob, I think he’s saying: It’s not so much the place: but the person. If you REALLY work your hardest, you could succeed almost anywhere, (“success” being a relative term), but overall, it’s what you make of the opportunities you get, and what you do to make opportunities.

[Steve Martin]

We’re glad to have you in O-Town Bob!

Production is fun – but lets not forget: Nobody ever died on the video table!

http://www.OmniNewMedia.com
http://www.GreenSlateStudios.com

[Tim Wilson]

[Mark Suszko] ” If you REALLY work your hardest”

I don’t agree at all. People in this business aren’t losing jobs, or unable to find them, because they’re not working hard enough.

All job markets are not equal. Some places are growing, some are shrinking. Sometimes opportunities only happen if you move.

Part of Jacob’s interest in moving is motivated by quality of life. THAT part of it: all signals are go. Do it. I’m a fan. Everything works better with an occasional reboot. Your family’s life will be richer for it.

In that sense, wanting to move is reason enough to do it. Ignore the rest. You like Texas? Go. No kidding. You can figure stuff out once you get there. If a move looks interesting to you, that’s a good sign that it will work out. I’ve done it a bunch of times, and that’s exactly how it has gone. Good things can happen if you’re happy where you are.

That said, in a parallel universe, the one where Spock has a goatee and I make short posts, I could probably have limited my previous post to the last sentence:

If the viability of your move depends on keeping current clients, they have to be 100% on board with you moving.

I’ve worked with clients a lot further away than Dallas/Austin to LA. It can be done, but it’s hard.

One reason is that even clients who love you can be susceptible to the charms of somebody who’s around them all the time. Long distance romances CAN work…but there’s a reason that the default assumption is that they CAN’T. They almost never actually DO.

The larger reason is that travel is a bitch. The miseries of travel will definitely eat into your quality of life, and, to the extent it means you’re not at home, into your family’s too.

At one point, my father was actually commuting by airline: left pre-dawn Monday, back home Friday night. Why? QUALITY OF LIFE. What? NOBODY’s quality of life was benefiting from that, except maybe the airline stockholders.

We all agreed in retrospect that, no matter what we’d have had to face in the towns where he was actually working, we’d all have had a higher quality of life if we’d just moved. Or he’d changed jobs, which is what he eventually did: took a job that let him stay home. In fact, he changed CAREERS to make it happen.

At a certain point, you realize that “quality time” has become a euphemism for “LESS time,” eg, “I’m not home as often, but when I am, it’s QUALITY time.” When in fact, you’ll find that “quality time” equates to “MORE time.”

My father’s was an extreme case, but I had something similar happen. One of my clients was 1700 miles away, and as the job got bigger, I needed to spend a week onsite every couple of months. One week out of eight — that ain’t so bad, right? But all we had to do was move, and we’d be together six more weeks a year! That’s HUGE! So we moved.

Which is why I’m a fan of moving.

A little less so if the move is the thing that causes you to spend less time with your family.

Unless you WANT to spend less time with your family. LOL Hey, it’s your life, man. Do what ya gotta do to stay sane. Sanity is part of quality of life too.

[Jacob Marley]

Again, thank you for your thoughts, guys!

One of the reasons I’m seriously considering moving that I probably didn’t make clear was this: while I’m lucky enough to get a few well-paid gigs in LA every year, the fact is the size of the average gig has gotten quite small for the non-big-ones: consider $3-5K for a product launch video for an established company’s new product.

So it doesn’t matter if I get a nice payday a few times a year, if I’m not making enough to pay rent when I’m not working. I just am not making enough on the few big jobs and the half dozen or so smaller jobs I’m able to get, here.

I look upstream, and the bigger prodcos are terrified, certainly not a good atmosphere for being brought on to do bigger projects. And forget Hollywood- the only way they’d take me is if I direct a feature that does well at festivals or something, and that ain’t happening right away. The “film” work is pro-bono or $150 for 18 hour days, and even that’s not a “for sure”. Other small prodcos keep going out of business, too. It’s bleak!

So I look at places like Dallas and Austin, who have so many new tech startups, and figure that each of those startups is going to need a product video. Sure, their budgets are probably no better than the ones I’m doing here, but I bet there’s a lot more opportunities. At least, I think there ought to be…

[Scott Sheriff]

[Andy jackson] “I went one better Jacob and got out of the business to pursue another career.

My story : https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/17/876369

Hope this helps.”

Ah yes, the thread that will not die. This thread is from 2012 and I still receive a a lot of email from like minded folks that fear posting their real thoughts in a public forum.

Scott Sheriff
Multi-Camera Director, VFX and Post Production

“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair

[Tim Wilson]

[Scott Sheriff] “This thread is from 2012 and I still receive a a lot of email from like minded folks that fear posting their real thoughts in a public forum.”

Can you summarize some of what you’ve heard?

[Scott Sheriff]

[Tim Wilson] “Can you summarize some of what you’ve heard?”

Majority of the notes and calls are from sympathetic ‘old timers’ in video/film production that are in general agreement with the posts by myself, Andy and Tom, and were relating anecdotes of similar experiences or observations. Quite a few are from recognizable posters, and the others are lurkers, or those that stumbled onto the thread. A few have been from noobs, that went to art/media/film school and can’t get a decent gig. Most had a fear of some type of reprisal/black listing, and didn’t want to discuss this in a public thread. The fact my account coincidentally went into permanent moderation without notice or reason after years of unmoderated commenting on the same day Ron posted his remarks about my take on how some are just lucky, seems to indicate this may be a valid fear.
There was a smattering of messages from some that were trying to convince me the sky is not falling, and how wrong I am.
There were a few outright flames, a few inquiries from trade pubs and bloggers, and a few wondering why I’ve gone ‘radio silence’.

Scott Sheriff
Multi-Camera Director, VFX and Post Production

“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” —Red Adair

[Andy Jackson]

Hello Scott.

My account also coincidentally went into permanent moderation without notice or any reason by Ron.

I mentioned in earlier posts that creativecow makes out the video production business to be a great career move only because they want to keep their advertisers/sponsors happy.
Maybe this is the reason.

Even though I have now changed careers I still keep in touch with my ex-colleagues. All still saying the business is racing to the bottom on rates.

I`ve also noticed more and more websites popping up showing some dslr Shallow DOF, shakey footage (which seems to be the norm nowadays) with post colour grading which makes me assume more and more students are taking the plunge into self employment. I wonder how many are actually being paid more than the minimum wage.

Is it still Feast or Famine? No… its Now STARVATION!!!!

Would be better off flipping burgars with a guaranteed paycheck and benefits.

[Tim Wilson]

This is the hardest forum in the COW for me to post in. A lot of times, I’m here as full-time COW employee, speaking about the COW itself.

I’m here a little more often as mid-50s, video company-owning, world-traveling, paid to observe the industry guy – posting ENTIRELY on my own, with opinions that other people who work here would strongly disagree with. But that doesn’t concern me, because I’m posting as ME. But it DOES concern me that when posting as ME, it might be construed as having some connection with the COW…when it absolutely does NOT.

So this post is as ME.

And Jason, this last post of yours has been chewing at ME since you wrote it. LOL I wanted to let it go, but I can’t stop myself. LOL I figured that since I was still talking about it to other people, I should probably bring it up with you again.

Also note: I have no idea how young you are, but I’m making the assumption that you’re younger than 55. So consider me your kindly internet brother or uncle, kind of an a-hole, but a more or less good-hearted guy who’s worried about you.

[Jacob Marley] “…Sure, their budgets are probably no better than the ones I’m doing here…”

Budgets will be a LOT LESS in Texas. Yes, it costs a lot less to live there — depending on where you’re living and whether your lifestyle includes private schools for the kids, it could maybe be 40% less — but you will probably make about 40% less too. Re-read Bob Zelin’s post about NY vs. Orlando that way. It can work out over time as things equalize, but in the short run, it could well be gruesome.

[Jacob Marley] “So I look at places like Dallas and Austin, who have so many new tech startups, and figure that each of those startups is going to need a product video.

California is creating many MORE jobs than Texas. So start there. You’d be moving to a state with FEWER new jobs.

Maybe your experience is different than mine, but I’ve also never seen a tech start-up need a product video. Tech start-ups in general tend not to HAVE products. They have TECHNOLOGY. A PowerPoint presentation will make more money for them than a video.

Many start-ups will also have leveraged every penny from everyone they know. They may not even be taking salaries yet. So your target market may be product videos for people who have no products and no money?

Maybe I misunderstand you. Maybe I’m mis-characterizing that business landscape, but I encourage you to do what you’d do when you got to town: look online or check with the chamber of commerce. Try to identify potential clients, and map out pitches in your head. Then check websites of guys like you and see what they’re charging to do this kind of work.

Similarly, get on the phone, talk to a bunch of post houses. Don’t email. CALL. Find an editor’s group or a user group for the software you’re using. Talk to people who are doing the kind of work you’re interested in. ASK THEM. If they tell you “the water’s warm, dive on in!” then I heartily encourage you to do like everyone else and ignore my advice. LOL

The phrase that has been eating at me, though:

[Jacob Marley] “I bet there’s a lot more opportunities. At least, I think there ought to be…”

There’s no getting around that you’re considering moving to areas with LESS opportunity, not more, starting with the fact that California is creating more new jobs than Texas.

Let’s get specific with the possible potential of numbers of opportunities: the number of people.

The Dallas-FW area combined is 6 million people. That’s good for #4 in the nation — but once you get outside that area…nothing. Look at Google maps to get an idea what I mean when I say “nothing.” NOTHING. It’s kind of like hitting the Grapevine coming out of LA.

Note that when I say “nothing,” I’m not referring to all the lovely towns and all the lovely people. I’m speaking strictly in terms of “nothing realistic for an LA freelancer looking to financially reposition himself.”

But do take a look at a couple of screenshots I just took. In the first, you can see Dallas-Ft. Worth from the air. Around that? NOTHHHHHING.

Now here’s the same picture with labels. You may have heard of Plano, but after Plano, Dallas and Ft. Worth, how many towns in this 7 hour radius are you familiar with? Waco, probably not in a good way…although it’s a nice town…I went to college there…at Baylor, where a huge, excellent media program pumps hundreds of well-qualified graduates into a tiny market every spring. You may have heard of Abilene, Wichita Falls, maybe Hot Springs, Arkansas? The biggest of these is about the size of Burbank, the smallest is smaller than Venice. And unlike Venice and Burbank, these are hours apart.

I know you’ve visited Texas, so maybe you’ve been through towns like Cleburn and Killeen and know that, as great as they are as TOWNS, with lovely people having lovely lives, you know EXACTLY how much ISN’T available for an enterprising video freelancer looking to financially reposition himself.

But as you read the labels, note that THESE are the towns big enough to show up on the map at a 400 mile diameter zoom.

Asking if you’ve heard of any of these towns is almost a trick question, because Austin is immediately below Round Rock(center bottom of map), which is definitely considered part of the Austin area. But that whole area? 1.7 million, landing it at #35 in the country. (Austin itself: 750,000 people and change.)

For this, you’re leaving SEVENTEEN MILLION people in the LA area, three times the size of Dallas, a dozen times the size of Austin.

That doesn’t even include Orange County!!! There’s another three million. Then ANOTHER 3 million people in San Diego, the #17 metro area in the country, nearly twice as big as Austin.

Park yourself in Orange County and you can commute to dang near ALL of it.

To put this another way, from Chatsworth to Chula Vista — whaddya got?

TWENTY THREE MILLION PEOPLE, in 150 MILES.

vs. 26 million in the ENTIRE STATE of Texas. It’s a pretty damn big state. Bigger than 150 miles. Living in Plano, I was closer to CHICAGO than El Paso.

So, just about the same number of people in the whole span of 790 miles by 773 miles in all of Texas, as in a 150 mile long stretch of Cali, a couple of miles wide on either side of I-5.

Look, if you want to go to Texas, GO. If you want to go, there’s no such thing as a bad reason. The ONLY reason you need is that you WANT to go. As I mentioned, I’ve moved 22 times in the past 30 years, with a half-dozen career changes. Even the worst places I’ve lived, and the worst career moves I’ve made, have at least a couple of GREAT stories. I’m really happy now. It really does tend to all work out over the long run.

Last but not least, I could be every bit as wrong about all this as you are. LOL Kidding. Who knows? I have a bunch of numbers I got from Wikipedia and my experiences, and you may be older than me and have already done the research to know I’m full of it. Your mileage will vary, no matter what. That’s why you need to get on the phone, or hop on a plane and ring some doorbells in DFW and Austin.

No, HERE’s the last but not least. After a trough, the video business is starting an upswing overall, but not for every job profile in every market. If you’re getting pounded doing what you’re doing, consider that going someplace else to do the exact same thing may not work any better THERE. Consider staying where you are and doing something different. Or doing something different in Texas. Maybe it’s as simple as a move into corporate, or working with a post house, or any number of things rather than freelancing.

Or as others have, another career altogether. I’m a huge fan of career changes, but that’s another post. Only so far off topic even *I’m* willing to get. LOL

There’s my bottom line. If you want to move, forget the numbers. Just GO. The worst that will happen is that it’ll be fun — especially Austin, imo — and you’ll go somewhere else after that if you need to. But forgetting the numbers also means not counting on them to work in your favor. Because from here, they don’t appear to.

Sorry to a bummer, but that’s what I’ve been thinking about almost non-stop for the past week or so. That, and some more moron in a book who said that music in the 70s trended toward conformity. What the…?

Anyway, just a few thoughts from your concerned internet brother or uncle, yes, a bit of an a-hole, but with generally good intentions.

[John Davidson]

After 11 years, every time I drive into LA I still feel a genuine sense of opportunity that I never felt in Atlanta. We live and operate our business in Stevenson Ranch/Valencia, because it’s very family friendly and my commute to work is all of 2 minutes. Perhaps you should consider moving outside of LA as Tim suggests – Bakersfield, etc., and commuting to LA only when needed. You’ll get a great price on a house (Palmdale is stupid cheap) and will still be close enough to see clients and feel ‘local’ to the biggest video industry hub in the world.

We sometimes fantasize about moving to get out of the hassle of running a business here to places like Nevada, for example. It’s stressful and expensive trying to keep up with all the rules that seem designed to keep you professionally insecure. When it gets down to it though, I won’t be done with LA till it’s done with me.

Perhaps you should consider working to get a full-time job somewhere doing what you do. If the business isn’t working for you as an independent, that doesn’t mean you can’t make a great living working for the man. You may discover it’s nice as part of a larger organization that has the resources to handle the minutiae, letting you focus on just making great projects come to life.

John Davidson | President / Creative Director | Magic Feather Inc.