I'm talking with City Council candidate Stephen Box about his role in the entertainment industry, while sitting at a coffee shop that is steps away from a bevy of theaters on Lankershim Boulevard. Just then, a lady appears in front of our table, motioning to him.

"Do you mind if we shoot a video now?" he asks.

Box, who is running in District 4, made plans to make a short video for his campaign about the budget crisis. To accommodate the district's deaf community, he will use sign language in the video. We file inside the Coffee Bean and take over a corner with armchairs. Enci, his wife, asks him for the video camera, and after briefly pretending he forgot it, he hands over a white Flip HD camera.

Box and Katherine, a friend who coaches him in sign language, sit next to each other. Enci kneels down in front of them and starts recording.

"How do you say 'my name'?" he asks Katherine.

He refreshes his sign language knowledge and starts from the beginning of his speech.

"My name is Stephen, and this is my good friend Kat. We're concerned about the city's budget crisis. And the city's ability to deliver the city services that are important to improving the quality of life in our communities. We're working with the neighborhood council budget advocates to advise the mayor and the City Council on the delivery of city services," he says, pausing slowly between each word.

"Project your voice to her, when you hear grinding," says Enci, referring to the coffee grinders on the countertop next to them.

After a few takes, Box records a solid video. He says his last line, "We thank you for working to make L.A. a great city," and stops, looking at his wife for approval.

"That's good!" she says. "But you didn't say we live in Council District 4."

"Let's do it again," he says.

They work as a perfectly in-sync team, exchanging feedback and constructive criticism to make a simple one-minute video.

After Box practices his new speech, and Enci is happy with the video, they conclude their media project. We continue our talk about entertainment and social media.

Box lists Anteus Company and Deaf West Theatre, where he met Katherine, as his favorite theaters in the NoHo Arts District. Where he lives with Enci in Hollywood, there are many theaters within walking distance. Even the churches on Franklin Avenue are intertwined with theater.

When Box returned to Los Angeles a dozen years ago, he was producing music videos and commercials. Now he produces campaign videos and social media for neighborhood councils. Enci helped him hone his skills for videos as well as for lectures and talks. She taught him method acting, where he learned how to show people his real, true self in spoken communication. Box says that engaging people and communicating are "timeless and contemporary," which is why he is still heavily involved in producing videos. Last year, he and Enci made a film that explored how to make a sustainable film in Hollywood. But with the election approaching, they haven't had time recently to work on visual projects. Or any projects, really.

"All entertainment stuff is on hold now for the campaign. That's all we're working on now. We had to trim a lot of the things we were involved in," says Box.

When Box knocked on doors in the neighborhood, he found a surprising number of entertainment professionals were home.

"Why are they there? Why am I able to knock on so many doors and find people home? Because they're not working," he says.

"If you consider the fact that this is an entertainment town, the entertainment community is not working," says Box. "We should be working here in town. There's plenty of opportunities to shoot."

The entertainment industry in North Hollywood is one of the aspects of the neighborhood that is not working, says Box. He points across the street to the full Red Line Metro station parking lot. The parking lot is usually full (I wrote about this experience weeks ago). Security guards watch over the entrances, but residents who don't take the Metro use the lot because it is free, limiting one's ability to use the train.

"We don't manage our assets well," says Box.

Residents who have communicated with Box have expressed their annoyance over simple city services. They don't feel the neighborhood is connected, and they want to be able to go to a grocery store, a bakery or a flower shop without jumping in their cars, he says.

"Another Costco is not the solution," he says.

The high-end HOWS Market used to be in the building where we're sitting outside. It closed, and now the nearest grocery store is a Ralphs on Magnolia Boulevard. Box says the store failed because it was wrong for the neighborhood.

"Things work because it's what people want. I don't think we do a great job about finding out what people want," he says.

Box says the reason for this is residents are never handed a solution. When they speak up about what they want, it's rejected or they are a given an excuse on why they can't have what they want.

"It's never been, 'Thank you for your feedback, here's the solution.' It's never been that way, and that's a city that works," he says.

I ask Box what he thinks works in North Hollywood and what the residents want. When knocking on doors in North Hollywood, he heard locals complain about public safety. They can't cross the streets safely, and broken sidewalks and sparse greenery affect the quality of life on their streets, says Box.

"We need to ask people in North Hollywood what they want, and deliver it. It's that simple," he says.

The sky is dark outside when we finish talking. Box and his wife have to get back to their home in Hollywood, while I just have to walk down the street. They unlock their bikes, and I start my walk.