Hello! My 2 cents from a former film industry person who lived and worked in LA for 12+ years after having grown up in NY (I'm now happily living in Vancouver BC):

If you are freelance, as many film industry people are, you have to be prepared to commute anywhere between Playa Vista, Burbank and anywhere in between. A broad geographic boundary would be the circle between the 10 Fwy to downtown on the south, up to Burbank, the 134/101 Fwy to the north, and roughly the 405 on the west (with Santa Monica thrown in there). This means that you likely won't/can't live as far south as the South Bay beach communities (Manhattan, Hermosa, etc) and as far northeast as Pasadena (which would really only work if you were working downtown or in Burbank - but a commute from Pasadena to Santa Monica, for example, would literally drive you insane in 2 weeks time, if that).

A off-the-top-of-my-head recommendation for a hotel would be the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn in Studio City. Though I don't know the rates, it's a clean and nice hotel with free parking and should be reasonably priced. Many film industry people live in the Studio City area and there are tons of great restaurants and such along Ventura Blvd which is close to this hotel (you could even walk to Ventura Blvd from the Beverly Garland). You'll also get a sense of Valley heat in mid-July when you go. There will be a 30 degree difference between the temps in Studio City and Santa Monica.

But this hotel is in a good location (right off the 101 at Vineland) for searching out Burbank, Los Feliz (my favorite LA neighborhood), Studio City/Sherman Oaks, and a relatively easy (non-rush hour) drive over Laurel Canyon Blvd to West Hollywood. Oh, and the hotel is close to the Universal City subway station which would take you easily and cheaply into Hollywood and downtown. The rush hour drive to/from Santa Monica and the westside would be nasty, though at least that would give you a sense of what life in LA is like.

I have worked in Burbank and in West Hollywood and commuted to Fox Studios in my time living in LA and lived everywhere from North Hollywood to Los Feliz to West LA to the Hollywood Hills so have a pretty good perspective of what you're considering. Let me know if you have any more questions, and good luck with the trip!