Several of the questions submitted were from people outside of Los Angeles who wanted to know if it was possible to get a jump on starting their entertainment career before moving to L.A. (”Yes!”) and, if so, how to do it.

My advice included ways to volunteer or get paid in entertainment no matter where you happen to be. (One tip I gave was to contact the local film board where you are – most states and metropolitan areas have them – and either get leads to work on upcoming productions shooting in the area or find out about volunteer or paid opportunities at the film board itself.) I also urged those who aspired to be writers or directors to actually write and shoot shorts or features now, to determine if they really like doing those things and (assuming yes) to have good samples of their work for when they do move here.

Another tip I gave those who are starting their career remotely (which I also give to people in L.A.) is to “find your people.” Outside of LA, this means going to – or creating – meet-ups (through MeetUp.com) related to film, television, music or new media, whatever area in entertainment you are interested in. Your people can also be found by taking a class – improv, singing, writing, etc. You want to be around people with similar aspirations so you can support each other and pursue creative projects together.

I also gave specific guidance to participants about breaking in as a writer, an editor, and an actor, respectively, and covered generally how to build your reel, both for a budding editor outside L.A. and for an experienced cameraman in L.A. who wants to transition into the industry after many years working for the military and the federal governemt.

All in all, I gotta say, it was a lot of ME. I had had the questions submitted in advance so I could make notes on what I was going to say and do any additional industry research, if needed, and decided not to have the call be interactive so I could cover as much ground as possible. But I think for future calls like this, I will have the person who submitted the question read it on the call and be available for follow-up from me and any related questions they might have.

The feedback I have received thus far has reflected the desire for more interaction, but also has been very positive, which is gratifying. One participant emailed me after the call to say he had already found his local film board on line and left a message to get more information. Some of the people who submitted questions also mentioned in emails that they’d gotten a lot out of the answers to other people’s questions in addition to their own.

I am looking forward to doing another one of these calls in March. For those who are interested, see below how you can get a jump on signing up when the time comes!

*Space was limited and offered to Mogul Mindset eBlast subscribers first, then YII blog subscribers, then the general readership, aka “those who can’t commit.” If you’re interested in participating in the next one (in March), might want to sign up for MMs or subscribe to YII so you can be sure to secure your place and get your burning entertainment career questions answered.