Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephen Ford.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Stephen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Honestly, without sounding too cheesy I feel like filmmaking has been so ingrained into my bloodstream that I can’t imagine doing anything else. My mother was in the Air Force so we never really stayed in one place for too long which made it really difficult to have friends, combine that with living most of my childhood and teen years in poverty I was constantly looking to escape my world in any way possible. Most of my summers were spent mowing lawns for a couple of dollars under the Florida sun in which I’d use every cent earned to go to the movies or get a new flick to watch at home. My dad wasn’t in the picture, my mother was struggling to make ends meet, so in a lot of ways I was raised by my heroes in the films I idolized as well as the people who created those stories. I didn’t realize it when I was younger but I was always drawn to being a filmmaker.
Sadly, we didn’t exactly have decent cell phones back with awesome cameras but eventually when I was like 11, I got ahold of my first video camera. It wasn’t fancy but I immediately began making little short films, asking kids in the neighborhood to be a part of them. My life was super similar to the kids in Super 8 just like 30 years into the future. I was teaching myself how to direct and write all while acting in commercials in Orlando for Burger King and Universal Studios.
Eventually, we made our way to Los Angeles and I plunged into the industry, going from “how on earth do I do this?” to grinding out auditions, workshops and what felt like a thousand acting classes. Over time I was lucky enough to get the chance to be in some awesome shows and movies, first on the Disney Channel, Bratz, a bunch of Indies and then eventually ABC with Private Practice, MTV with Teen Wolf and Freeform’s Switched At Birth.
All the while I was creating parodies on YouTube with my out of work actors, which weren’t great but we had fun. Then a couple of years ago, shortly after Switched At Birth, I took a break from the acting, having been chipping away at it since I was a kid and decided to focus almost completely on directing, writing and producing. In a whirlwind of luck, I had the chance to work for the WB YouTube company Machinima, where I was able to be the show runner of a handful of shows in partnership with various video game publishers.
Since the company folded up show I began my own little production studio, Ascender, where we’re blending our love of gaming and cinema to create content for our channel, Subnation and ad spots for various companies. Our motto is making high quality content on small budgets as we continue to hone our skills as we bring them into bigger projects in the future.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Haha. No. It’s been literally the exact opposite. Don’t get me wrong I’ve been *extremely* lucky. But some years are awesome and you work really hard and you get some opportunities. Other years are just constantly grinding and waiting for a phone call or e-mail that never comes. It can be extremely disheartening. I’m fortunate that I’ve had the chance to lead some really great projects as both an actor and director, but regardless of former achievements, the industry is constantly changing and there’s no guarantee of work.
You need to keep working on reinventing yourself, learning new skills, I’ve found with a lot of the actors I’ve worked with, something I’ve been guilty of myself; you end up waiting for things to happen to you as opposed to actively making things happen. This happens especially once you start getting some decent jobs, you get to a place of complacency but in reality, no one is just going to hand you opportunities.
The road I’ve been down goes up and down, some awesome achievements but accompanied by really low points of existential dread. Haha. Which is a weird thing to just admit a lot of us, specifically in the industry feel like you’re always under pressure to give the impression that you’re doing great, “Oh I have this big meeting” or “I’m about to sign with ____” or “I’m writing a script!” When in reality we’re all just doing our best to sell ourselves but it’s hard to sell something that isn’t already being bought. So yeah, no, this life sucks but it *can* be great. You love it, or at least I do, because you get to tell stories and in this crazy world stories keep us sane.
Ascender Productions – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Ascender Productions, under a totally different name, began as a tiny little operation of me running around with a DSLR and my out of work actor friends to create small parodies and music videos in the early days of YouTube. After our first million views, I had the chance to direct content for Yahoo Sketchy, Funny or Die and a handful of companies. This was all during my time acting in various shows and eventually had the chance to create content for Machinima, which was seriously like a dream, I grew up watching their shows on YouTube and it was such a great experience with some amazing people. While there I pitched the idea of creating cinematic action-packed video game content on a separate channel called… drumroll… Ascender.
We made a ton of content for the channel, to release all at the same time using the Netflix model, so using my relationship with Ubisoft I developed a series called Sixers based on Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. Jason Dimberg, who now heads up digital content for WB was by far one of the best people I’ve ever worked with who cultivated a culture of imagination and it’s all thanks to him that I was able to create such awesome things at Machinima, however a lot of things were happening around that time with WB’s takeover and I left the company with the Ascender brand.
For the past year we’ve created a Call of Duty web series that pokes fun at gamer culture, Modern Wardudes, made some high concept short films, produced fitness and unboxing channels, all while giving us the chance to show what we can create on a small budget. It’s allowed us to work for a couple of awesome brands like Alienware, using our filmmaking skills and gaming fandom to create commercials/ad spots. Our goal is to move onto bigger projects for streaming services, making some indie flicks and create some action packed video game experiences. I’m really lucky to be leading a small team of incredibly passionate and talented creators, giving everyone the opportunity to hone editing, sound, cinematography skills while giving input on creative elements. Ultimately, we just like to have a lot of fun, tell cool stories and make awesome content. Or at least we try.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Oh man, how can you say that without seeming like flexing on people? Haha. I can’t say there was one single moment because there have been so many little moments where I’ve had to check myself, like time you yourself can’t believe you’re right there doing that thing, you know? There was that time Chris Rock gave me advice before going into an audition. That time when I finally say my action figure from Kamen Rider for the first time. Sneaking into the Iron Man premiere. Screen testing at Amblin. Spending six months on location in Atlanta. Auditioning for Spider-Man. Meeting my idol and adopted father figure Terry Crews. Meeting a fan at a convention who cosplayed as my character. SO many other little moments. I don’t know, even thinking about that all right now just feels kind of crazy and surreal.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.youtube.com/ascender
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/stephenseanford
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/stephenseanford
Image Credit:
Mooooost of them are filmed by me or my DP Jerome Knight
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