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Hey! I've lived in LA for the last 6 years, including through the strike, and I love it here. Finding work is really hard anywhere right now, but myself and several close friends have been fortunate enough to land jobs across different art departments - everything from features to scripted TV and game shows. A few others work for companies that do live events and film marketing around town. Of those roles, set designers and PAs seem to have the easiest time finding work at the moment, though it's still a slog for everyone.
Between LA and NYC, I'd lean toward recommending LA for your specific interests (art PA, props, set dressing). The volume and variety of productions here is hard to beat, and the film/TV ecosystem is more interconnected, which makes networking a bit more organic.
One big resource to look into: the Art Directors Guild (ADG) runs a program called the PDI (Production Design Intensive), which is specifically designed for up-and-coming art department folks. It gives you access to a wider range of industry resources and can genuinely help with job hunting - worth looking into as soon as you land here.
Also worth asking - are you considering grad school at any point? If so, that could factor into your decision about where to move. Establishing residency before enrolling can make a significant difference in tuition costs, so it's worth thinking about timing if that's on your radar.
Good luck - the art department community here is tight-knit and generally supportive of people just getting started!
Thank you for the advice!
You definitely can't beat LA in volume and size of projects, so it's good to hear advice from someone there. Do you have any advice or resources at finding art PA jobs? Although I'm not in LA now, but just to have for the possible future.
I just looked at the ADG PDI program. I looks like something I would definitely be interested in, but unfortunately the applications barley just closed for the summer. That will definitely something I will keep in mind for next year.
As for grad school, at the moment, I'm not considering it for the near future, but probably at some point in the future. When that point comes, I will definitely plan accordingly.
Thank you again for the reply!
My opinion is to stay on the East Coast if it suits you.
LA is getting busier (reports say production up 20% finally), but I think the current climate makes it pretty competitive for newbies on the block trying to build a career when seasoned crew with connections get the first calls.
NYC is a major creative hub with a variety of industries to keep freelance creatives busy, for the most part.
New Jersey is experiencing a major boom right now with investments in studios and infrastructure by Netflix, Paramount, and the local government, complete with an active and effective Film Commission.
If I were to be starting out today, I would nestle into an affordable spot local to NJ and NYC and keep my car and passport - career assets.
Keep your eye on Federal incentives for filmmaking to right the ship for all US productions, but do not hold your breath!
You are on the right platform, for sure! :)
Best of luck and make sure your Cube profile is updated and links to your socials are filled. Name your portfolio image and CV s and link to your Cube profile from your site and socials to so the Interweb bots (Google) recognize you as legit.
I keep up with SEO and Film Tax Incentives news, so that is my context for the reply!
Thank you for the advice!
I will definitely be noting your advice and keeping my eyes out for the Federal incentives and Film Tax Incentives as well. I'm also going to be updating all my profiles for sure.
Thank you again for the reply!