My mom is thinking about moving to San Fransisco area, and she wants me to make my home base there, how good is the film/tv industry there? How easy it is to get there to LA for auditions/jobs by plane/train?
My mom thinks it will be better than Seattle.
She's also thinking somewhere on the pacific coast in s. califorina or even San Diago area.

I lived there my whole life and there's not much there, by and large. There were a few films shot in the last year-chiefly the Gus Van Sant/Sean Penn film "Milk." Most films only shoot what they absolutely have to there because it's so damn expensive for permits, paying crew, higher minimum wage for extras, etc. They shoot exteriors there and all the interiors in LA or Canadian soundstages. Most of the stuff that films there casts in LA; only once in a while will they use local actors for smaller parts. There was talk a couple years ago of the Wayans Bros. building a studio in Alameda/Oakland but that fell apart due to political/environmental bureaucracy.

There are a good amount of very low-budget indies shot in SF-usually of poor quality, but with the occasional gem.

There hasn't been a regular TV series filmed solely in SF since "Nash Bridges," which ended in 2001.

There is a decent voice-over and print market there. But the film/TV industry is dead, mostly because it's so expensive to shoot there. I honestly wouldn't make it your "home base." Maybe for a year if you need copy and resume space-eating. But it is expensive to live there(more so than LA), and not many opportunities. Many SF actors live there and try to have a foot in the LA market, flying to LA if they get an audition(It's about 400 miles away). I wouldn't recommend it. In all honesty, I would go straight to LA.

If you want more specific info you can PM me.

Wow. LA Delight knows.

It depends how old you are. If you need to be with mom or not. There's good training in SF. And decent regional theatre in the area but you had better have the chops to hang there as the actors who do theatre there have been there all their lives. Most people leave that area to pursue serious careers in NY or LA.

Good Luck.

I do believe you can start acting anywhere but eventually all roads lead to NY or LA depending on what you want to do with your acting. You might just be happy doing community theatre or the church pageant or might want to be the next Brad.

So it depends on what you want and how close you need to be to moms.

Good luck anyway.

ROZ

LADelight hit it on the nose. I live 90 miles from S.F. and my son is the actor/model. He is union now and has only had one to two auditions each year since. He's probably much younger than you, but I don't think there is much there for adults either.

We commute to L.A. for auditions and it's a five hour drive each way. From S.F. might take longer because sometimes it's hard to get out of the bay area quickly, and flying is rather expensive.

I pretty much concur with the other people. I have an actor friend in SF and he's frustrated with the lack of opportunity. If you are serious about making acting your full time job, you really need to be in the big markets. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

My mom thinks it would be alot easier to fly from SF than frm Seattle. Extra work pays only min. wage here, unless the onther extra co. gets it. It sounds like it would be easier just to make my home base here in Seattle than in SF, unless she pick a clser place to LA (near the ocean). My acting rang is at the moment 16-25, I'm legal who can play younger.

you gotta be doing a lot more than extra work to justify that cost. since you are old enough to really live on your own. Why not move to LA or NY and enroll in a reputable actor training program so you can do more than extra work and get to know the new city while you are under the umbrella of a university or school?

I think that's easier than the expensive commute.

Training will make you more likely to get an agent, better roles, more opportunities. As long as you train at a good school or university.

that's my two cents. but I ain't your mama so why am I telling you what to do?

Just kidding. take my advice with a grain of salt. Just want to throw some other options in the mix.

I don't have my sag card yet, but my current agent also has a LA office.

WOW. You have an agent. That's good. So move directly to LA, get some training, and with the agent to get some work. Make sure the agent is reputable and committed to developing a new client like yourself.

How did you get the agent?

Thanks. I have to save my money all over again. My day job cut my hours and I had to dip into it (I had about 6k). I think they opened it within the last year or two (LA). Her sister runs the Seattle office. The former agent that ran the Seattle one retired. I know at least I have an agent when I go down there.

Hang in there, Skeeter. Everything happens as it should.