Jonathan Grubb

A lot of people (like me) are moving from San Francisco to Los Angeles, by which I mean from Silicon Valley to Hollywood, meaning from the Internet/Tech industry to the Entertainment industry. It’s becoming clear that these will soon be the same industry, and there are some confusing overlaps and gaps in terminology which I will begin to examine here.

Example: When someone in LA says Programming they mean choosing which shows will be on a TV channel (or a video website, or a film festival). When someone in SF says Programming they mean writing software code.

SF: CEO
LA: Showrunner (on TV), Director (in movies)
If you’re like me you first heard of Showrunners when they became pivotal in the recent writer’s strike. In TV writers come up with an idea, convince other people to join the project, and seek funding. When they get funding they become the boss and are tasked with putting together a team and making a show that will gain viewers and make money. Sound familiar? It’s just like the VC startup system. And the Executive Producers fit in there too, sometimes like a Chairman of the Board, sometimes CEO, sometimes moneybags.

SF: IPO
LA: Syndication
When things go very well for a web company you go public, all your conceptual shares turn into real cash, and the people with a lot of ownership generally have enough money to last a lifetime. In TV this is going into syndication, the process I barely understand that results in Seinfeld being on every cable channel in the world. The reason this is a good thing? Residuals.

SF: Stock Options
LA: Residuals or Points
These both enable the line-level workers to share the wealth when the big money rolls in. With stock options you own a little percentage of the company, and with residuals you get a little cash payment every time your show/movie plays in any market. So when you’ve been working for a while you just get random checks every now and then because your episode of Roseanne is big in Russia these days.

SF: Business Plan
LA: Screenplay
It’s true that everyone in LA has a screenplay (or at least a Treatment, LAish for Powerpoint Deck). This is a good thing. Much like having a business that you want tostart someday, the screenplay represents each person’s dream of quitting their job, becoming their own boss, and making something they truly believe in.

SF: Business Development Executive
LA: Talent Manager
You know when you work at a big web company and there’s a group of guys (almost always guys) who went to business school and wear crisp blue shirts who spend their days making deals that the designers and developers don’t care about, even though it’s clear that this will obviously affect you at some point? The Talent Agents are those guys. Powerful, well connected, maybe good at golf, totally baffling to the talent.

This is an imperfect comparison though, since it sort of ends at dealmaking/golf/shirt preference. Now that I’m starting to understand how things in LA work I love the idea of talent managers, and I think there’s a place for an equivalent role in the tech industry. In LA the actors/writers/directors have other people to negotiate deals for them, help them decide which projects to take on, and handle billing and legal stuff. Wouldn’t this be great for designers and engineers? If someone else would shop around your resume and do due diligence on startups that wanted to hire you, and you’d just get a check? This sounds like a dream to me.

SF: ISP’s
LA: Studios
Both are megacorporations that you have to deal with even if you don’t like or trust them.

SF: Google Ads
LA: Product Placement, aka Embedded Marketing
Little things you add in to make some cash. If this is your whole business model you may be in trouble.

SF: Engineers
LA: Editors
Both spend hours in a dark room with big computer screens, going over and over things in painstaking detail.

SF: Designers
LA: Writers
Both shape the tone/feel of the product but need other people to make it happen.

SF: Producers
LA: Producers
Yay! There’s one word that overlaps perfectly. Producers run everything and manage the team, though they’re not necessarily the boss. Some types of producers do just what a Product Manager or Program Manager does.

Neigborhoods translate pretty directly:

Beverley Hills = Pacific Heights
Rich people live there in nice houses, but you wouldn’t really want to hang out there unless you’re going to a party at The Playboy Mansion or a Getty’s house, respectively. Rodeo Drive = Union Square, only go there to impress tourists or buy a nice new suit.

Silver Lake = The Mission
And I love them both.The big difference is that in Silver Lake you get a house with plentiful parking and a little yard, while in The Mission you can walk everywhere.

Santa Monica = San Jose
All the big tech companies are based there, but I find it kinda boring. I know some people who like Santa Monica and actually live there, which I can’t say for San Jose. If you are moving from SF to LA and think Santa Monica would be cool becuse of the beach and stuff just think of The Sunset + Fisherman’s Wharf. Which reminds me…

Hollywood & Highland = Fisherman’s Wharf
This is the place with all the stars on the sidewalk and, like Fisherman’s Wharf you should go there once and then avoid it. Exceptions: the Roosevelt pool can be fun, and you can take the train to the Kodak theater and sneak into The Oscars once a year.

This could go on forever, but you get the picture.
Downtown = SOMA + Bayview (Warehouses)
The Sunset Strip = The Marina (Douchy clubs)
West Hollywood = The Haight (Both upper and lower, complete with Wasteland and Buffalo Exchange)

I’m sure some of these are wrong, and I know I’m missing many roles, so please add/correct me in the comments. (Just use a real name and be nice.)