Best City for a fledgling filmmaker.....

John Hudson · October 19th, 2004, 10:11 AM

Well put Robert.

The one thing I do agree with however is ANYWHERE BUT L.A.!

:0

Heath McKnight · October 20th, 2004, 02:06 PM

Everywhere, really. You can even create a filmmaking community, just by working with local film offices, etc.

I push Palm Beach County, where I live, because we're really starting to have some great, locally-produced AND outside-the-state indie film productions happening here. A $1 million film about retireers is filming next month (how appropriate) in Boynton Beach, Florida, about 20 miles from where I live.

heath

Heath McKnight · February 25th, 2005, 04:21 PM

To help push Palm Beach County, Florida more, here are some links:

www.pbfilm.com

www.pbifilmfest.org

www.pbfilmsociety.org

www.palmbeachfilmschool.com

http://www.pbcc.edu/programs/program.asp?program_id=21

heath

Jon Fordham · March 5th, 2005, 10:18 PM

Joel,

Plenty of great suggestions here... I think the key to finding the best place to be is knowing where you're at in life and in your career.

Here are some thoughts:

If you're just looking to meet "like minded" people who can hang out on the weekends and lend a hand on a DV short every once in awhile, then you may not need to move at all. Like others have said, you can start, build, or join such a group just about anywhere. Like minded people are out there. You just have to search for them.

If you're looking to "test the waters" and a short move is more your thing, South Flordia isn't a bad place to be. Miami has seen A LOT of major production in the last few years. And the Palm Beach/Fourt Lauderdale area is close enough to Miami for commuting, and far enough from all the "Miami" issues.

Check out Green Room Orlando for a few contacts and info. Maybe you can start by making a few connections in Central and South Florida and commute until you decide to make the move to the area. This way you can get a taste for the nearby options without making any permenant decisions.

I have not yet worked or lived in Austin. So I can't speak from experience. Though I have met plenty who have and I've heard nothing but good things from a community perspective.

If, you're looking for more of a major relocation, then I would strongly suggest New York.

When I made the decision to relocate from Orlando, I chose NY. And it's been one of the best decisions I ever made.

Sure, NY is old and dirty and expensive and cold and expensive and... Did I mention expensive?

Born in SoCal and raised in Orlando, the NY winters hit me hard. I got sick, I froze my ass off and I had to get used to dressing a lot warmer!

I pay almost three times as much to rent my apartment in Brooklyn as I did to pay my mortgage for my very comfortable three bedroom house in Orlando. It's a tough thing to go from the comfort of nice three bedroom single family home that I owned in Orlando to a smaller apartment that I get nothing in return from. My house appreciated in value and gave me a nice chunk of money when I sold it. My apartment keeps going up in price and I get nothing more than my security deposit when I leave! But it's not just the rent that's more... EVERYTHING in NY is 2 to 3 times more expensive.

HOWEVER... I wouldn't trade it for the world!!!

The people I've met, the experiences I've had, the films I've shot, the possibilities I've encountered... Priceless. Not all good, but priceless.

I work all over the country. And plenty of productions lead me right back to Florida. But NY feels like home now.

Colin Wyers · March 6th, 2005, 05:30 AM

So far as I can tell -- NOT in Iowa.

Oh well.

Heath McKnight · March 7th, 2005, 12:02 AM

Colin,

Then build it, man! Not too many people gave a s--- about film in Palm Beach County, Florida, but we all pitched in and movies are really starting to pop up. With budgets over $100,000! If we can turn a major tourist destination into a growing film community, you can, too!

heath

ps-Or move here! ;-)

Mark Easton · March 7th, 2005, 03:26 PM

Plenty happening down in NZ !!

Cleveland Brown · March 8th, 2005, 10:48 PM

I was wondering about that same question and the answere leaped right out at me. I went into my back yard and looked at all the creapy looking leafless trees in the winter and started walking around out into the woods and found all kinds of interesting ideas. If you don't have equipment and location, make movies about what you can with what you have got. Stock footage companies can provide you with the shots to make it look like anywhere in the world.

Heath McKnight · March 9th, 2005, 08:38 AM

Assets are something you should look at; for instance, Robert Rodriguez had a 16mm camera, a bus and a dog (and a ladder) and he used that and more to make El Mariachi.

heath

Rob Lohman · March 12th, 2005, 07:01 AM

Cleveland: since the US is so vast, shouldn't you guys have almost
any kind of "nature" look you want? From seas, lakes, mountains
(and snow) to desserts, palm beaches, major cities, small western
towns, empty roads and much much more?

What more could you ask for!

(just takes a bit of travelling)

Heath McKnight · March 12th, 2005, 08:26 AM

<<palm beaches>>

Only in my area of Palm Beach County! <g>

heath

Cleveland Brown · March 12th, 2005, 09:07 AM

We have palm beaches both on the east and west coasts, However if you look at where St. Louis is, you can see that the nearest beach is about 900 miles (roughly 1500 kilometers) away from me. So I am not making any movies about the beach until I can sell one that affords me a beach house.

So what I am doing currently is writting a script for a film I think would be better shot at this time next year when all the trees have that creepy scary dead look to them. In a few weeks they'll all look different so I'll have to wait a whole year maybe I could do it in Decamber and January but it will be about -20C for at least a few days that time of year. I don't think any sane person would want to help me work in those conditions. Especially not Heath down in Palm Beach.

Jon Fordham · March 12th, 2005, 10:19 AM

Yeah, Heath NEVER misses the opportunity to tell me how warm it is whenever I'm trudging through the snow on my way to a shoot. Or worst, shooting outside in winter (rare, but it does happen)!

With the exception of maybe LA, I think every area has thier season to shoot. Florida is just too damn hot to shoot anything during the middle of the summer if you have EXT's. NY is too damn cold to shoot EXT's during the winter.

Rob, I'm not super geo-educated. But I think LA is really the only US city that has every single locale you can imagine within four hours or less by car. Of course, getting out of LA in less than four hours is another story. So if you factor traffic, I guess those locales are just as far away as they are from everybody else! :)

Heath McKnight · March 12th, 2005, 11:04 AM

Australia and New Zealand is like L.A. in that you have beaches, mountains, etc.

Cleveland, my family lives in St. Louis and I've ALWAYS wanted to shoot a horror film or two there in the month of October. The rest of my family (and where I'm from) is in Denver, Colorado. Which is C-O-L-D.

heath

Michael Wisniewski · March 12th, 2005, 02:26 PM

The San Francisco Bay Area has an amazingly varied landscape all within 4 hours or less. Everything from snow covered mountains down to beaches and everything in between.

FYI: if you want a beach and palm trees, just take the Treasure Island exit on the Bay Bridge - 5 minutes out of the city.

I agree with everything Jon said about NYC and I also call it home, but the SF Bay Area has a beautiful landscape.

October 20th, 2004, 02:06 PM	#32
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	Everywhere, really. You can even create a filmmaking community, just by working with local film offices, etc. I push Palm Beach County, where I live, because we're really starting to have some great, locally-produced AND outside-the-state indie film productions happening here. A $1 million film about retireers is filming next month (how appropriate) in Boynton Beach, Florida, about 20 miles from where I live. heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

February 25th, 2005, 04:21 PM	#33
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	To help push Palm Beach County, Florida more, here are some links: www.pbfilm.com www.pbifilmfest.org www.pbfilmsociety.org www.palmbeachfilmschool.com http://www.pbcc.edu/programs/program.asp?program_id=21 heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

March 5th, 2005, 10:18 PM	#34
Jon Fordham Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: New York, NY Posts: 242	Joel, Plenty of great suggestions here... I think the key to finding the best place to be is knowing where you're at in life and in your career. Here are some thoughts: If you're just looking to meet "like minded" people who can hang out on the weekends and lend a hand on a DV short every once in awhile, then you may not need to move at all. Like others have said, you can start, build, or join such a group just about anywhere. Like minded people are out there. You just have to search for them. If you're looking to "test the waters" and a short move is more your thing, South Flordia isn't a bad place to be. Miami has seen A LOT of major production in the last few years. And the Palm Beach/Fourt Lauderdale area is close enough to Miami for commuting, and far enough from all the "Miami" issues. Check out Green Room Orlando for a few contacts and info. Maybe you can start by making a few connections in Central and South Florida and commute until you decide to make the move to the area. This way you can get a taste for the nearby options without making any permenant decisions. I have not yet worked or lived in Austin. So I can't speak from experience. Though I have met plenty who have and I've heard nothing but good things from a community perspective. If, you're looking for more of a major relocation, then I would strongly suggest New York. When I made the decision to relocate from Orlando, I chose NY. And it's been one of the best decisions I ever made. Sure, NY is old and dirty and expensive and cold and expensive and... Did I mention expensive? Born in SoCal and raised in Orlando, the NY winters hit me hard. I got sick, I froze my ass off and I had to get used to dressing a lot warmer! I pay almost three times as much to rent my apartment in Brooklyn as I did to pay my mortgage for my very comfortable three bedroom house in Orlando. It's a tough thing to go from the comfort of nice three bedroom single family home that I owned in Orlando to a smaller apartment that I get nothing in return from. My house appreciated in value and gave me a nice chunk of money when I sold it. My apartment keeps going up in price and I get nothing more than my security deposit when I leave! But it's not just the rent that's more... EVERYTHING in NY is 2 to 3 times more expensive. HOWEVER... I wouldn't trade it for the world!!! The people I've met, the experiences I've had, the films I've shot, the possibilities I've encountered... Priceless. Not all good, but priceless. I work all over the country. And plenty of productions lead me right back to Florida. But NY feels like home now. __________________ Jon Fordham Director of Photography www.jonfordham.com

March 7th, 2005, 12:02 AM	#36
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	Colin, Then build it, man! Not too many people gave a s--- about film in Palm Beach County, Florida, but we all pitched in and movies are really starting to pop up. With budgets over $100,000! If we can turn a major tourist destination into a growing film community, you can, too! heath ps-Or move here! ;-) __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

March 8th, 2005, 10:48 PM	#38
Cleveland Brown Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: St. Louis MO Posts: 138	I was wondering about that same question and the answere leaped right out at me. I went into my back yard and looked at all the creapy looking leafless trees in the winter and started walking around out into the woods and found all kinds of interesting ideas. If you don't have equipment and location, make movies about what you can with what you have got. Stock footage companies can provide you with the shots to make it look like anywhere in the world. __________________ CLEVE-ij

October 19th, 2004, 10:11 AM	#31
John Hudson Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: 32° 44' N 117° 10' W Posts: 820	Well put Robert. The one thing I do agree with however is ANYWHERE BUT L.A.! :0

March 6th, 2005, 05:30 AM	#35
Colin Wyers New Boot Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Davenport, IA Posts: 13	So far as I can tell -- NOT in Iowa. Oh well.

March 7th, 2005, 03:26 PM	#37
Mark Easton New Boot Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Palmerston North, New Zealand Posts: 22	Plenty happening down in NZ !!

March 9th, 2005, 08:38 AM	#39
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	Assets are something you should look at; for instance, Robert Rodriguez had a 16mm camera, a bus and a dog (and a ladder) and he used that and more to make El Mariachi. heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

March 12th, 2005, 07:01 AM	#40
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Cleveland: since the US is so vast, shouldn't you guys have almost any kind of "nature" look you want? From seas, lakes, mountains (and snow) to desserts, palm beaches, major cities, small western towns, empty roads and much much more? What more could you ask for! (just takes a bit of travelling) __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 12th, 2005, 08:26 AM	#41
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	<<palm beaches>> Only in my area of Palm Beach County! <g> heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

March 12th, 2005, 09:07 AM	#42
Cleveland Brown Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: St. Louis MO Posts: 138	We have palm beaches both on the east and west coasts, However if you look at where St. Louis is, you can see that the nearest beach is about 900 miles (roughly 1500 kilometers) away from me. So I am not making any movies about the beach until I can sell one that affords me a beach house. So what I am doing currently is writting a script for a film I think would be better shot at this time next year when all the trees have that creepy scary dead look to them. In a few weeks they'll all look different so I'll have to wait a whole year maybe I could do it in Decamber and January but it will be about -20C for at least a few days that time of year. I don't think any sane person would want to help me work in those conditions. Especially not Heath down in Palm Beach. __________________ CLEVE-ij

March 12th, 2005, 10:19 AM	#43
Jon Fordham Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: New York, NY Posts: 242	Yeah, Heath NEVER misses the opportunity to tell me how warm it is whenever I'm trudging through the snow on my way to a shoot. Or worst, shooting outside in winter (rare, but it does happen)! With the exception of maybe LA, I think every area has thier season to shoot. Florida is just too damn hot to shoot anything during the middle of the summer if you have EXT's. NY is too damn cold to shoot EXT's during the winter. Rob, I'm not super geo-educated. But I think LA is really the only US city that has every single locale you can imagine within four hours or less by car. Of course, getting out of LA in less than four hours is another story. So if you factor traffic, I guess those locales are just as far away as they are from everybody else! :) __________________ Jon Fordham Director of Photography www.jonfordham.com

March 12th, 2005, 11:04 AM	#44
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	Australia and New Zealand is like L.A. in that you have beaches, mountains, etc. Cleveland, my family lives in St. Louis and I've ALWAYS wanted to shoot a horror film or two there in the month of October. The rest of my family (and where I'm from) is in Denver, Colorado. Which is C-O-L-D. heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

March 12th, 2005, 02:26 PM	#45
Michael Wisniewski Wrangler Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Makati, Metro Manila Posts: 2,706 Images: 32	The San Francisco Bay Area has an amazingly varied landscape all within 4 hours or less. Everything from snow covered mountains down to beaches and everything in between. FYI: if you want a beach and palm trees, just take the Treasure Island exit on the Bay Bridge - 5 minutes out of the city. I agree with everything Jon said about NYC and I also call it home, but the SF Bay Area has a beautiful landscape.