Down in Los Angeles

A couple weeks ago, I went on a school trip to LA. The anticipation was huge for this trip, it's like it was only a few hours before i stepped on the plane that it finally hit me; I was going to L.A., where everything idolized by the western hemisphere is located. I went into it dreaming big, I was ready to meet the big  Music Producer or Casting Director. My goal was to gain some good solid connections while I was down there, but unfortunately, I didn't end up meeting the right people, some really nice people though. 

L.A. is  a great place to be and the atmosphere is truly amazing. Everything is big, shiny, and elaborate. it's as if racism or prejudice of any kind is non-existent, it's truly a "no judgment zone" where anyone can easily feel at home. It's true that famous people appear in public, but we really only came across partial celebrities on the trip. However, the biggest name artist that we spotted was Gwen Stefani, she was at the entrance of Universal Studios, playing with her kids in the fountain. It seemed a little strange, but celebrities can get away with anything really. We also saw the leading girl from iCarly at Venice Beach, surrounded by her entourage, and we ran into the twin actresses featured on "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"


Though L.A. is so amazing, I found that my expectations were a little too high in terms of the magical atmosphere; things weren't quite as glamorous as they appear on T.V.. And there are homeless people at every turn, seemingly at least 5 times what you will see in New York. Since everyone who comes down to LA is some kind of performing artist, a very low percentage of them are actually able to successfully gain employment. It's really a scary thing to imagine myself becoming like them. 

The actors, nor the sets that they work on, are as amazing physically as the final product is. Not that I should be complaining though, it only goes to show the magic that is in filmmaking, the art of finding the golden qualities in the ordinary.


One thing that does live up to it's image is the legendary Kodak Theatre, where the "Oscars" take place every year, and we walked down the path where the red carpet is rolled out, and we stood in the auditorium which, though it was covered up by sheets for protection, managed to leave me in absolute awe. Some other great places we saw were the set of "Ellen," which is also amazing in real life, and "Central Perk," where the main characters of "Friends" hang out all of the time. Desperate housewives was another impressive set to stand on; the entire community was built just for the show with houses, lawns, roads, signs, parks, everything.

Overall, L.A. was a great experience, and the lessons learned and experiences gained from being in Hollywood were priceless. LA offered some amazing moments, and even though we didn't do everything that we planned, being in such a great and legendary place was enough to make it all worthwhile.

-The Artist