# Working In London Film Industry, Wanting to Move to L.A... HELP!



## sylo (May 9, 2013)

Hey

I currently work freelance as a Director, Camera Man, Editor etc in London.

Im doing pretty well, been doing it for past 5 years (Im 24)

Iv had my short films shown in international and London festivals. Have worked on some feature films too as Director of Photography and Camera Man etc.

Im desperate to move to L.A, for the obvious reason of it being the capital of the film world!

But I know I cant go and just do freelance work.

So was seeing if a) anyone has been in a similar position before and how they moved to the next step.
b) next step being, finding a company to work for in the industry.

Im not too picky on the company.

It can be film, corporate videos, online videos, TV,
same with the job. Can be camera man, editor, assistant, PR.. anything really.


Would it just be a case of applying to companies and hoping they are willing to sponsor me?
or is there something iv missed in all my research.

p.s I did find the O-1 visa, but I havent won any major awards so dont think I would qualify for it.



Any help would be much appreciated!



Thanks!


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

you don't appear to show any skills that are required by a US employer
its all a matter of getter a job offers or contracts from a employer
who is able to afford the high cost of a visa


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## jamesi (May 11, 2013)

I'm looking to do a similar thing; move from the UK to LA to work as a unit stills photographer. Worked in the photography industry for 6 years, and looking to advance my career. 

As far as I can tell, it's a catch 22. You can't move until you have a job & sponsor in place, but you are unlikely to get any jobs - (freelance or not) - until you go out there and start networking.


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## stardm (Nov 28, 2011)

I am from LA and an actor living here in the UK now. That can be a tough tough thing to get since there are so so many people with your qualifications already there. Not to discourage you but the film school kids are all over the place. And the main difference between the UK and LA is that over there you can get people to work for free basically simply because it IS in fact LA and everyone wants to work on things and say that they worked with this producer or that producer. 
Plus at this point with the visa/immigration issue being such a hot topic over there right now, I do not know how many that they are actually issuing.
I can maybe put you into contact with a few people over there, but maybe going to school there might be your best bet to get a visa, but then there are likely work restrictions but like i said, most of the time pay is low/no and a lot of times I have worked and been paid cash so it did not really matter.
My problem is how can I balance acting here and still make enough money when I am not acting. In LA I can wait tables or bartend and make more money than I do as a fricking manager of a gym here, pathetic lol. So its a tough call. But PM me if you want and I can try to help you if I can.
Good luck.


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## sylo (May 9, 2013)

Hey, Thanks for the reply

Sorry took me so long to get back to you.

Tried PMing you but dont seem to have permission to do that yet :S..

If you could PM first that might work out, any help you can offer would be great. 

Thanks


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