Oh my goodness. Where do I begin with the end? This week has been by far, the best spring break I have ever had. I learned so much, and had so much fun. We packed so much into five days, it seriously felt like so much longer, and yet I was sad to leave. 

That fact tells me this: LA is the place for me. I am 95% sure that after college, I want to go to the City of Angels. Before we left, I had absolutely no idea where I wanted to go. I knew there was stuff in LA, New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and other places, but I didn't know if I'd be able to adapt well to a large city like LA or NY. After speaking with the alumni out in Los Angeles, though, I know that I'll be able to handle it. I feel like I have a good idea of what it's going to be like, because almost every alum said the same thing about the place, and most had the same advice for us:

• It'll be hard, but you'll be able to get used to it.
• The people are super nice, except when they're in the car.
• Live with friends, pack into a house, it'll be cheaper, and you'll hardly ever be there anyways.
• Find something to do during the weekends, have a social life, and that will keep you sane, because you'll probably be working two jobs.

What really sold me about LA is the location. Pam Griffiths at the beginning of the week said that they're a half hour from the beach (with traffic), and an hour from the big mountains (but there's closer mountains great for biking, hiking, etc). In my composition class I'm taking this semester, the major theme is making sure to pursue your passions outside of work to be satisfied with life and the most out of it. I'm passionate about outdoor sports, so the closeness of places I can do outdoor activities is a huge thing for me. I can't go 30 min out of town to bike some great trails in New York. 

A lot of people would say "LA is so expensive, and you don't know if you'll be able to work out there," but to them I say, "you don't understand." Los Angeles is the center of the film and television industry. There are so many opportunities there for someone to get a job, especially audio people. Every needs a good sound guy. But you have to be out there to get the job. Every single person we talked to said that you have to just move there if you want to get a job there. People aren't going to employ you if you're halfway across the country. If you're going to succeed in this modern world, you have to take risks. One person we talked to said that you NEED to reinvent yourself at least every five years or so, if not sooner. Moving to LA, I will be taking a risk, I'll be reinventing myself. I have faith that I'll adapt, and I'll thrive.

Another thing most of the alumni harped on was that you need to be willing to do whatever job you get. I live with an open mind, so if that means that I won't be able to work with Ben Burtt, but I get a job with some unknown post house, I'll be open to that. You can't be picky when you're looking for work in LA, or else the studios will find someone else for the job, and you'll be stuck at that Starbucks in Glendale. For example, Mark Adelsberger, a friend of mine that I used to work with at Baker, recently moved out to LA. He was a video guy, had done nothing with audio, but got a job at an audio post-production house. I'm obviously not going to get a job doing post on video editing, but you get the point, right? I'm open to working a dirty job at first, because I know that's how you succeed and climb to the top. You can't get to the top of the ladder without the first few rungs.

With that in mind, I think I might approach the rest of my time (a little over a year) here at Ohio University a little differently. I'm changing my major to nursing. Just kidding, I'm not doing that. I'm definitely going to be pursuing an internship more aggressively than I have been doing lately, but I'm also going to strategize with my coursework. I'm taking the last two required general education requirements this semester, so next year, it will be all classes within the media and theatre schools. I'm going to make sure that the classes I take provide me with the most diverse skills possible, so that I will be able to offer as much as I can to my employer, and be the best candidate for the job. I'm also going to make an effort to learn more computer programs. Colin Blankenship, an alum we met at the screening reception, told me to learn Avid, so that's what I'm going to do. I'm also going to learn Adobe SoundBooth and Audition. You can never know too many computer programs. It's all about being able to offer the most to the employer, aside from knowing people.

Speaking of knowing people, and the last thing I'm going to touch on here, is the network out in Los Angeles. In the film/TV industry, you need to know people, as the people you know will be able to let you know what jobs are available. The network of Ohio University alumni in LA is so big, and everyone is willing to help out their fellow Bobcats. Even though we aren't out in LA yet, we were still invited to joint the LA alumni Facebook page. It is so heartwarming to know that there is a huge network of people that are working in Los Angeles, that are willing to help me find an apartment, get a job, reinvent myself. It's definitely not something I'm going to take for granted, that's for sure. 

So that's been my adventures in Los Angeles for Ohio University Spring Break 2013. It's crazy how a single week can change your life, and your ideas of what you want to do with it.

Well now. It was a very educational day yesterday. Just kidding, we had fun, like we always do. It started right in our hotel (what a long hike), where we met with a below-the-line talent agent. That means someone who is an agent for the production people (audio, camera, directors, etc). This guy gets these people interviews, if he brings them on as a client. He did tell us, though, that at this point in our careers, we shouldn't go to him yet. We should wait until after we have more experience. It's good to know that even after we've been here for a few years, if we hit a brick wall, someone will be there to help us get to the next level in our career.

Our first out-of-the-hotel stop was Mandalay Vision, where we met with Matt Rhodes, the president of the company. Everyone has been saying that the Bobcat network out here is so strong, there's so much connection between OU alumni, and here's a little example of that: Matt was running a little late, but when he came in, he was out of breath, and told us that he literally just ran down the hall. The fact that the PRESIDENT OF A BIG COMPANY would RUN to meet and talk with us mere students speaks volumes about how much he really cares about helping out his fellow Bobcats. Another example of that is that when his assistant came in with a message for him, hes just told her to keep pushing back some meeting. Because he was busy with us. What. 

Matt went around the room and gave us all personalized advice, based on what we're interested in. For me, he told me to call as many post houses, editors, and even post-production supervisors, that I can. He stressed the importance of making a list of at least 100 editors we want to call, and cold calling them. You really have to be bold in this industry. When you cold call, Matt told us to have a 20-second spiel about ourselves and how awesome we are, and why the person we're calling should spend time with us, so that's something I have to work on.

Next stop was the Dolby Theatre, formerly known as the Kodak Theatre. You may know this as where they host the Oscars...but then again, you may have never heard of the Oscars...it's not my job to tell you what those are. 

This place was huge! Well, compared to the theatre in Athens it is. The stage is twice as big, unless you count air space, then it's 3 or 4 times as big. I was really excited to go here and meet Jay Thomas, the General Manager, as I have a lot of interest in live audio, which is a lot of what they do. I mean, they are a theatre...but sadly, their internships are mostly given to some odd university in Pasadena. Starts with a B, I think. It was still interesting to hear about what goes on in the production of the Oscars, and how their house works. Maybe eventually I'll get in on that. They close down Hollywood Blvd for a week before the Oscars, then they close down the mall they're located in (owned by the same people) and cover everything with red drapes to make it look elegant. You wouldn't know from watching the show that there's a Hard Rock Cafe right at the bottom of the stairs (which we ate at). It's amazing, really.

We had a little time to be tourists on Hollywood Blvd, so that was cool, but there wasn't much learned there, except that if you don't succeed, you're going to end up putting on a superhero costume and heckling people to take a picture with you.

The film screening we did later, though, was very beneficial. We screened a couple student projects from the last year, and then mingled with each other. There were about 50 alumni there, people that live and work here in LA. Going around, I met with some pretty cool people, got some email addresses, and asked questions. I asked lots of questions, until I ran out of questions to ask, and just hung out with them. They're all really cool, and really eager to help us get on our feet when we come out to LA. That Bobcat alumni network, man, it's really great. 

OU Oh Yeah!

So, today was rather uneventful. I met Melissa McCarthy, Billy Gardell, and the rest of the wonderful cast of "Mike and Molly," held an Emmy, met the producer of Natural Born Killers (who got in a fight with Quentin Tarantino), talked with people that have the power to give me an internship, and a couple other things...yeah, all in all, today wasn't all that special.

We started off at the Jim Hensen studios, where we talked to Don Murphy, who produced Natural Born Killers, Transformers, Real Steel, and other films. What a guy. Wow. The main piece of advice he had for us was just to know what we want to do, know why we want to do it, and believe in it. That is such a huge thing. We've been told my so many people that LA can be a tough place, so we really just have to believe in what we're doing. He also told us a story about this guy he knew when he was done with college, who had scripts, who sold Don the script for Killers, and that guy turned out to be Quentin Tarantino. The big lesson in that is to pay attention to the people you're with, and keep in touch with your fellow alumni. You never know, they might be the next Tarantino.

At the Academy for Television Arts and Sciences, we spoke with the woman in charge of the internship program. She was so much more helpful in telling us what they'd be looking for in an application than everyone else. Don't get me wrong, we've gotten some really solid advice, but she told us exactly what they'd be looking for. Here's a little list of the most common pieces of advice we've been getting as far as resumes, what internship coordinators are looking for, and tips for moving out here to LA. Pay attention, now.

What they're looking for when reviewing your internship application:

• Drive. You have to be a go-getter.
• Being able to multi-task is a huge plus.
• You HAVE to have a car.
• Hustle and brains. You have to be able to figure out problems as fast as possible.

Tips and tricks for success in the industry:

• If you have experience in the service industry, put that on your resume. Even if it's not production experience, that still shows that you can multi-task and work with people
• Have as much production experience as possible. Know every other person's job, what they do, why it's important. 
• Reinvent yourself every few years. If you're doing the same job the same way after five years, you're out.
• Never stop learning. The moment you stop learning, you stop improving, and then it's just a matter of WHEN you're out of the business.
• Know what's going on in the industry. 
• KNOW THE NAME OF THE CEO OF THE COMPANY YOU'RE APPLYING AT.
• DON'T BE AFRAID TO SAY YOU DON'T KNOW SOMETHING. Ask as many questions as you can. 

Information about LA:

• You HAVE TO BE OUT HERE to get a job out here. Production companies will hire someone less suited for the job than you if they're in LA and you're in Ohio.
• Have at least $3,000 saved up when you move out here. 
• Then, get a job immediately. It won't be the job you want, but you need to pay the bills. You're probably going to be working more than one job, so get one right away.
• Your first job in the industry is going to be a dirty job. It's definitely not going to be the one you want, but make sure it's close to where you want to go. That way, you can meet people, and learn a thing or two about what you want to do. 
• YOU HAVE TO HAVE A CAR. There's no way around that.
• You need to have some sort of life outside of your jobs. That's the only way you'll stay sane. Go see a show, go ride your bike or hike in the mountains, DO SOMETHING.

These things I've listed are things that almost everyone we have talked to has said. The fact that so many different people, in so many different positions, have said the same thing makes me think that maybe there's something in what they're saying. Maybe, just maybe, they know what's up. If there is one thing that is stressed more than anything else, though, I'd have to say it's networking. Absolutely everyone has said that you need to make connections. That's what internships are for. That's what the alumni association out here is for. That's what friends are for. To give you an idea, every single OU alum we've talked to has offered their couch to crash on for a few weeks. They know what it's like to move out here, and they're willing to help in any way they can, whether it's giving us a place to stay for a while, or getting us a job with their company. The bridges we're building this week will last a long time.

I'm not gonna lie to you, I'm exhausted today. So, I'm not going to write much today, but I'll tell you the good stuff.

We went to Dreamworks today. My goodness, what a campus. That place is designed to give inspiration. It's really too bad that they don't have audio guys in house, because I'd love to work there. Most of their audio stuff is outsourced, but the head of HR, who gave us our tour today, gave me the name of the company that does most of their work, so I can contact them and ask about employment.

Later, we met with Randall Winston, and watched the episode of Cougar Town that he directed. There wasn't much audio talk in that Q&A session, but he did give us some pointers about moving and working out here in LA. He and everyone at Dreamworks said a lot of the same stuff as the people we've met with the last couple days, so I guess what they're saying must be the right stuff, to be so consistent. 

We then fit 17 people in an elevator, and it broke down, so that was fun. To pass the time while we waited for the technician, we did a read through of the Cougar Town scripts we had that Randall had sent to us. Yay us! I love LA!

On another side note, I've been emailing people that we've met with in the past couple days, and they are so helpful! They emailed me back so quickly, and were so willing to answer my questions! It's so encouraging to know that there is a huge network of people that I'm meeting that are more than willing to help me out with my adjustment to LA. 

Like I said, I'm tired, so I'm not going to write that much tonight, but tomorrow, I'll write more, and give y'all some sweet pictures. We're going to the Henson studios tomorrow, so that will be awesome. It's hard to believe that today is only Tuesday, and that we still have 3 more days here, because I've learned so much, and these last two days have been so filled with amazing experiences, it has felt like more than just two days. Wow. Keep on reading, and I'll keep you in the loop!

The day began at CBS, with a live taping of "The Talk." I'd love to post some pictures, but we weren't allowed to take photos in there. In fact, Mike Mulig and I actually got yelled at by a page (think Kenneth from 30 Rock, except wearing CBS red) for taking pictures...oops. It was really interesting to see how live television shows are put on, with the audience enhancer (a guy named Bill whose job it was to get us pumped up) getting us laughing and cheering, the cameras, the telepromters and cue cards...so much. I can't tell you everything I took in, because 1) I'm pretty sure I signed a non-disclosure agreement, and 2) I took in a lot. Trust me, you don't want to be sitting here reading that much, just for what happened before lunch. 

What I will tell you, though, is what happened after the show. We met with the executive producer, the head of lighting, and a Production Assistant, and got a behind-the-scenes tour of their production trailer. Most notable for me was meeting a guy named Chris. Chris is the audio mixer for the show, and I got to ask him a few questions, and even got his email address. I must say, the audio process for live television is very simple, so much simpler than I had imagined. He doesn't run the audio through any computer programs, just the board. For the most part, there's less than 20 inputs on the board being used, but when they have a band, he said they fill up every input, which makes sense. What really stuck with me about him, though, was that he also does freelance on top of working on The Talk. Their crew call is 6:45am, but they're out of there by 2pm. Blew my mind. What a work schedule. Since everyone we've talked to has said that you're probably going to be working 2 jobs out here, 7-2 would be great for that. 

As you can probably tell by the above photo, the next place we went was the Warner Brothers lot. We got a VIP tour, led by a very knowledgable tour guide, Max. On this VIP tour, we got to see the Gilmore Girls house, the sets for Two Broke Girls and Suburgatory, and many other places on the lot. 

One of the places we went was the Warner Brothers museum. This was one of the few places we could not take pictures, as some of the pieces in there were on loan to WB, and they didn't have permission to allow photos taken. The photo above is Harry Potter costumes in the main lobby of the tour center. The bottom floor was costumes and props from 90 years of big WB films including Bane, Joker, and Batman costumes, and the top floor was all Harry Potter. One of my friends is a huge fan of Harry Potter, and I really wanted to take photos to show her it all, but alas, production companies are just a little strict about taking photos where you're not supposed to...


What we could take pictures of, though, were some little things from the good ole' days.

Yes, that is the Mystery Machine, yes that is Central Perks coffee shop from Friends, and yes, they had every single batmobile ever made in the same room. Be jealous.

Anyways, back to the learning part of things...we had a panel with 14 OU alums that live here in LA and are part of the industry. There were a couple that were more relevant to me than others, as many of them were producers or something along that line. The main thing I got from them all was just a lot of pointers on where to live in LA, what employers here are looking for, lots of trade secrets I need to keep on the hush hush, you know? Kidding, but at this point, it's looking like moving out here after college could be a real possibility. The alums reassured us that it might take a couple years to get used to the swing of things living in the biggest city in the US, and have us some pointers on how to make the transition a little easier, like going and doing things, having a social life. 

One of the alums, Mark Adelsberger, with whom I've worked at Baker University Center, works at an audio post-production house, so I've definitely got a GREAT connection there, but I was also told to look into Media City Sound and other production companies for opportunities to work at post-production houses. 

I'm learning so much that will help me succeed in my career, and I've very nearly made up my mind to move out here to LA after college. Keep up on following this blog (it boosts my ego a little...) and I'll keep up on telling you all the awesome stuff I'm doing while you're just sitting there on Facebook. Yup. As my receipt at the Warner Bros. gift shop said today, "That's all folks."

So today began my weeklong trip to Los Angeles. Having never been to the west coast (except for Portland, but that doesn't really count), I didn't know what to expect, besides warm weather. We started at 7pm with hearing from Pam Griffiths, a producer at VIMBY.com, followed by John Swartz - Executive Asst. to Kathleen Kennedy - and Jordan Blum - a writer for American Dad.

Pam talked a lot to us about resumes, and gave us a few tips to succeed in Los Angeles. On the topic of resumes, she mentioned that if you have experience in the service industry, even if that has nothing to do with the job you're applying for, still put that on your resume, because that tells the employer that you can work with people, and that you can multitask. I have been a server for the past three summers, but I currently don't have that on my resume for audio positions, so that's what I'm going to implement from what I've learned from Pam. The other biggest thing I learned from her was that you should NEVER be afraid to say you don't know something. Sometimes we get caught up in being the best person at what we do, but we shouldn't do that. 

John and Jordan were also very full of great advice on what to do now, while we're still in college, and what to do once you get to LA. While at OU, they said to get involved in as many projects you can; they made a lot of shorts while there, and it has given them a lot of great experience to draw on now in their careers. When they started talking about what to do when you get to LA, I mentioned that I'm an audio post major, prompting them to inform me that audio guys are always in demand in LA. That gave me a boost of hope for my future, knowing that I'll probably be able to get some sort of audio job when starting out here. Even if it's not exactly what I want to be doing, as long as it gets me close to my dream, I'll take it, because I'll be able to learn so much. 

Obviously, questions were asked about the pros and cons of living in Los Angeles, and all three of our guest speakers were very insightful on that. Like I said before, I have no idea what LA is like. Basically, the pros are that LA has the most opportunities in our fields, it's a half hour from the beach and an hour from the mountains, it's always warm, and has so much culture. On the other side, the cons are that it's expensive to live here, driving sucks, and it's tough - you get told "no" a lot here, dating is hard, and there are a lot of rude people. Having no idea where I want to go in the country with my career, this information is incredibly helpful in that decision. I feel like I would be able to deal with most of those cons, if I can take full advantage of all of the pros. John and Jordan stressed the importance of doing stuff you love to keep you sane, and I love biking, hiking, and climbing, so if I can get into the mountains whenever I can, I think I'd be able to live here in LA. 

But tonight was only the beginning of a week-long adventure in this strange land, so I should be getting a better idea of how life goes on here as the week goes on. Tune in tomorrow night, when we talk about plugging in lights for shooting at Amish locations!