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THE tough decision…
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It’s a decision you need to make together with your wife. I have moved three times and then 4 years ago started my own company. Each time it was a decision we made together.
As for needing to move to LA or New York, I don’t see that any more. Here in Atlanta, I’m cutting a broadcast series in HD, have several more series looking to post here, so high end work is everywhere these days.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Creative Genius, Biscardi Creative Media
https://www.biscardicreative.comNow in Production, “The Rough Cut,” https://www.theroughcutmovie.com
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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>>LA ain’t all that anymore. A lot of production has moved away, and >>what’s left, reality shows, is lots of work for little $$$.
Over 90% of network television – and a good percentage of cable – is produced in Los Angeles, and probably 99% of network television is posted there.
It might be fun for you to think otherwise, but it’s just not true.
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[Mike Most] “Over 90% of network television – and a good percentage of cable – is produced in Los Angeles, and probably 99% of network television is posted there.”
If you’re talking network television as in the big four (Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC) then you may be right about your numbers, though I really doubt 99% of those shows are cut in the LA area. If you’re talking network television as in all the networks on cable today, then you’re wrong.
I really don’t consider the big four as nearly as signficant than say 10 years ago. Some of the best work on TV today is on the Cable networks such as HBO and the Discovery Networks. I know there are quite a fews shows being posted right here in Atlanta for networks such as the Discovery Networks, MTV and quite a few others.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Creative Genius, Biscardi Creative Media
https://www.biscardicreative.comNow in Production, “The Rough Cut,” https://www.theroughcutmovie.com
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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Mike,
I don’t know all the percentages like you do, all I know is, it used to be pretty simple to get ahead here. If you knew what you were doing, were fairly ammicable, and could get things done quickly, you could expect to be well paid. Its much more difficult now, and there are more sub-employed and under-employed people in the industry in L.A. than ever before. Many very talented and experienced technicians and creatives are working for peanuts now. Add to that the cost of living, which is mind-blowing, and you can make a good argument for trying other markets first. However, no place else can compete with our weather…
DRW
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All you have to do to understand the gradual erosion in pay and available employment is look at the same culprit that is present in just about every industry in America today – consolidation. Fewer employers. Rampant cost cutting and job reductions. Basically, a gradual erosion of the middle class. But that’s a topic for sociology and political science, not the Cow.
As for the percentages, I was indeed referring to “network” production, basically shows aired on the 6 major networks (I think you really do have to count WB and UPN these days). I was referring primarily to scripted shows, although an awful lot of the reality shows are produced in Southern California as well. In fact, a good example of the post production percentage I quoted is the WB network , which currently has 3 shows shot elsewhere – Smallville (Vancouver), Everwood (Salt Lake City), and One Tree Hill (Wilmington, North Carolina) – but all three are posted in L.A. In the sitcom world, virtually every sitcom on the air is done in Los Angeles (the lone exception I can think of is Hope and Faith, which is done in New York). As for cable, some of the higher end production on networks like HBO and Showtime is done here (Six Feet Under, Entourage, Huff, and some others), and a larger percentage of programs on those channels are posted here (The Sopranos comes to mind). There are also a number of basic cable programs done here, including Monk, The Shield, Nip/Tuck, The Closer, and Over There – but many cable shows are indeed done in Canada (almost all the SciFi shows) and elsewhere.
The bottom line is that L.A. is still very much the center of television production, regardless of what you read or hear. The notion that it has “lost” any of that dominance is contrary to the facts. There are more shows produced in Los Angeles today than at any point in the medium’s history.
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