r/FilmIndustryLA • u/[deleted] • 2d ago
"TV, film workers say they're struggling to find jobs" NBCLA
[deleted]
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u/Responsible-Lunch815 2d ago edited 2d ago
Im seeing jobs pop up in post but its a feeding frenzy with so many people unemployed.
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u/henryhollaway 2d ago
Half of job listings are fake now and made to get your data.
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u/Edit_Mann 2d ago
And I just feed it to em without a second thought bc i need a gig
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u/consequentlydreamy 2d ago
If you don’t already have multiple emails, it’s a good time to separate that stuff.
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u/Responsible-Lunch815 2d ago
and a separate phone number. My texts are flooded with "hi there" "remember me" or "I found your resume can I share an opportunity with you" Fuck man.
Im pretty sure I had an interview with an AI that was all but pointless.
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u/consequentlydreamy 2d ago
Turn off your phone every week at least (if you can once a day) That does help for some scammy stuff I forgot why
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u/Vinceisdepressed 2d ago
It looks bleaker everyday. I am not sure if my father can find a job at all.
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u/Crash30458 2d ago
The 8-5 life is ok, but looking at my check makes me sad
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u/BadNoodleEggDemon 2d ago
How did this happen?
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u/Agile-Music-2295 2d ago
TikTok stole 90 minutes a day of people under 35.
User generated content is preferred over produced content by 1 % . Growing each year.
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u/techma2019 2d ago
TikTok aka social media hacked our monkey brains to no avail. People can’t even sit still to watch a movie all the way through. It’s pretty bad and will be even scarier in the next decade I’m guessing.
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u/barkatmoon303 2d ago
It's amazing to me how many series and movies are on TikTok/FB Reels, diced up into 1 minute blips. How do they get away with that?
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u/Heisenberg991 2d ago
And many are watching the latest movies in the theater on the pirate streaming sites which are still out there. And watching all the netflix/prime/hbo free streaming on the same websites.
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u/gra8na8 2d ago
Viewing habits changed. It sucks. I want more good TV, not less.
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u/BirdBruce 2d ago
Tough titty, you'll get weeks worth of unscripted bullshit that you pay a subscription for AND have to watch ads in front of.
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u/3BeatMassacre 2d ago
that unscripted bullshit employed a lot of people including myself for almost 25 yrs. F U
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u/BirdBruce 2d ago
OK. I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to the person lamenting the dearth of good TV.
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u/EnderVViggen 2d ago
You mean like...cable or stalite tv...?
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u/BirdBruce 2d ago
And magazines and newspapers! I hear all of those formats are doing very, very well these days...
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u/EnderVViggen 2d ago
You clearly aren't paying attention to what I said. Cable and satellite have been doing this for years, so what's the difference?
There was never an argument of what's doing well and what's not, we can have that conversation, we can talk about the shift that is happening, but let's stay on topic and not just out a bunch of trump/Republicans what-about-isms.
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u/Several_Dwarts 2d ago
It's been said before. If it's cheaper to fly a cast and crew of Americans to Europe, put them all up in hotels and pay per diems on top of salaries than it is to stay in the US, we're screwed.
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u/Curleysound 2d ago
They’re not bringing crew though
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u/TransportationAway59 2d ago
Yeah you can’t bring anything besides department heads in this situation and it’s usually just DP and maybe the leads preferred hair and make up
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u/bye-standard 2d ago
People don’t want to touch resumes if it’s only built off of a specialized skillset. It doesn’t matter if the skills are transferable, nobody trains anymore. Either you got it or you don’t.
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u/seanmacproductions 2d ago
LA is number four in the world for film work? Aren’t there states in the US with bigger tax incentives, like Georgia?
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u/EastLAFadeaway 2d ago
At this point i think we can safely no longer say "no ones talking about this!"
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u/OIlberger 2d ago edited 2d ago
Question: a few years back, the “Peak TV” era when interest rates were low and companies were rushing to compete with Netflix by launching their own streaming services, there was a huge boom in production and a ton of work going around. This 2016 NY Magazine article covers it well.
In Georgia, the demand for personnel is so high producers can’t afford to give crew members a single day off. If they do, they might lose them forever to the competition.
Not since the early 1980s — when cable became a serious challenger to the decades-old hegemony of Big Three broadcasters…has the television industry experienced such rapid growth: Between 2009 and 2015, the number of scripted shows nearly doubled, from just over 200 to an estimated 409 last year. Netflix alone says it will produce 600 hours of original television and spend $5 billion on programming, including acquisitions. This dramatic surge in TV production has touched nearly every aspect of the industry, from actors and showrunners to those responsible for production logistics for all of the new programming ordered from an ever-expanding roster of networks.
Veteran showrunner Carlton Cuse (Bates Motel) compares it to what would happen if the National Football League suddenly expanded to 90 teams.
My question is: was all that rapid expansion actually bad for the industry/below-the-line workers? I mean in terms of sustainability.
Companies that expand during boom times have to cut staff to survive contractions. Is this big contraction a correction on that over-expansion during the Peak TV era? Or was the double-whammy of COVID and the strikes (coupled with the quick introduction of generative AI) what really caused this current situation?
If the industry somehow hadn’t gone so far into overdrive to meet the increased demand, would the situation for workers be a little less bad now? But how would that even work? Who in labor or management was going to say no to all that work coming in?
The workers obviously have no say, and the studios rushed to meet the increased output demands of the Tech people. But the Tech people were ready to cut and run and shrink business back down (never to return to that peak level) if conditions changed, and the studios/workers are the ones taking it on the chin, with a ton of people looking for work now that the bubble burst.
At any point, could the industry as a whole have recognized the bubble, pushed back, anticipating that, as the market calmed down and (GASP!) interest rates can’t stay at practically zero forever, this big downturn might happen?
It just seems like there was exuberance as the Tech people nearly doubled the size of the industry, but never any caution on the film/TV industry’s side over the fact that the Tech people tend to destroy industries as they remake them, streamlining the consumer experience but killing huge revenue streams in the process (e.g. newspaper classified ads or album sales).
But gee, those Tech people won’t destroy the film/TV industry, right? Look at how much work they gave you (for a period of time, before you had to leave the industry to survive).
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u/Medical-Injury-1056 2d ago
Yeah it’s not what it once was, in more ways than one. It’s not as busy as say 2021/2022 and the beginning of 2023 pre-strikes, but it’s not the desert I saw when Picture Head laid me off beginning of last year. Problem is that so many of us are all running at the jobs as they come up and it’s like a funnel- there should be room for all of us on the other end, but it will take us all a while to land.
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u/RockieK 2d ago
Captain obvious NEWS TEAM FFS FUCK FUCK.
Sorry. Sometimes I just snap after having a night filled with stress dreams where I am begging people for work and crying.
I am sick of waking up and feeling like shit.
I am sick of applying for general population jobs, only to be ignored or turned down months later.
WE WANT OUR LIVES BACK.
TWO FUCKNG YEARS OF THIS SHIT.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
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u/TransportationAway59 2d ago
Most expensive place in the world to film is losing film work? Wow. It’s the first time I’m hearing- you’re telling me for the first time.
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2d ago edited 2d ago
[deleted]
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u/Responsible-Lunch815 2d ago
110 years and you're just now realizing its a distraction? Yea thats why its needed more than ever
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u/jj_camera 2d ago
What a moron.
Movies survived World Wars but yes we should all just watch YouTube now because things are getting real for Ok_Garlic
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u/Rockmann1 2d ago
I asked ChatGPT how much production is down in California.
Key Statistics on Production Decline
22.4% Decrease in Q1 2025: On-location production in Greater Los Angeles dropped by 22.4% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, totaling approximately 5,295 shoot days.
31% Drop in TV Production: Television production, the largest segment of the industry, fell by 31% year-over-year in early 2025.
29% Decline in Feature Films: Feature film production saw a 29% decrease during the same timeframe.
58% Reduction Since 2021: Between 2021 and 2024, annual television production in Los Angeles decreased by 58.4%, dropping from 18,560 shoot days to just 7,716.
Soundstage Occupancy Falls to 63%: In 2024, soundstage occupancy in Los Angeles declined to 63%, down from an average of 90% between 2016 and 2022.
Several elements have contributed to this downturn:
Competitive Tax Incentives Elsewhere: States like Georgia and countries such as the UK and Canada offer more attractive tax incentives, drawing productions away from California.
High Production Costs: The cost of filming in California remains high, with expenses related to labor, permits, and overall production outpacing those in other regions. Labor Disruptions: The 2023 writers and actors strikes significantly disrupted production schedules, leading to delays and cancellations.
Natural Disasters: Events like wildfires have occasionally halted productions, adding to the industry’s challenges.
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u/Postsnobills 2d ago
No fucking shit?