Life & Work with Ryan Cho of Los Angeles / OC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Cho.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?

I started working in the film/entertainment industry by making YouTube videos in Summer 2010 in the film community. I made movie reviews, blu-ray unboxings and reviews, movie trailer reactions, VLOG’s, etc. I gained a lot of experience with editing, sound mixing, pacing with making videos as concise as possible, performing, etc. from that work. During my junior and senior year in high school I did film production classes, learning the fundamentals of filmmaking (shot lists, directing, editing using software that studio films/TV shows use, shot coverage, storyboarding, etc.). In college at San Francisco State University, I did the BA cinema program that mostly consisted of directing, post-production/editing, on set crew work (1st Assistant Director, producer, etc.), and film theory. I worked at a couple film internships located on campus from Fall 2015-Spring 2016. I was still sometimes making YouTube videos, but I slowly transitioned away from YouTube around Summer 2016. I also started mental health advocacy work part-time in August 2015 due to my life experiences during the 2nd half of my high school years and the 1st half of my college years, which started by sharing the story of the 1st half of my college years/college mental health story via social media by creating a documentary short subject, then creating a documentary music video then a music video, which resulted in my mental health story trilogy. The work that I did was with the Active Minds chapter in my college campus, having also done a public speaking event in 2018 at Santa Monica College and a work conference tour in Fall 2016 in Sacramento during my final semester of college, with the conference tour being 1 of the main highlights of my college years and early twenties. A little before I finished college, I started my 1st film industry job as a director, editor, and videographer for a fitness startup company, creating a few videos (short film, motivational hike video, etc.). That experience taught me a lot about directing in outdoor locations (time constraints, etc.), staying calm under pressure, and time management. During my 1st year or so after graduating college, I did a lot of freelance work as a director, editor, photographer, and/or videographer with different clients and companies for events, documentaries, an independent web series, fitness content, music videos, etc. On occasion, I worked in the production department on a variety of productions (TV shows, an independent feature film (production manager and actor: 1 of the best jobs in my 20s that taught me a lot about the true essence and behind the scenes on how to make films), short films, web series, music videos, etc.). My favorite experience (also a huge life highlight) when working in the Bay Area was being a photographer for a Pixar Animation Studios soiree/Q&A screening event! In May 2018, I relocated to LA to pursue my life and career dreams, as I’ve envisioned living in SoCal ever since I was a teenager (having visited SoCal many times when younger). My filmmaker idols are Taika Waititi, David Fincher and Spike Jonze (I worked with Spike on “Babylon”, incredible education). I’ve worked on unscripted, reality and scripted TV shows, feature and short films, music videos, commercials, events, etc. I’ve also had a wide range of working as a “1st Assistant Director”. My end goal is directing while also doing production department work, and occasionally acting (I’m SAG-AFTRA eligible from working on “Oppenheimer” and then an Apple TV+HBO TV show). I haven’t directed in a long time, which is where I’m at my highest self and happiest on a film set. Due to my strong set of knowledge and experiences in working in different departments (having also done day player work in grip and electric, art, etc.), my multitude of experiences in film/entertainment work and mental health advocacy while also having traveled a lot to different locations (acting job in New Mexico for an Amazon MGM Studios film and crew jobs in Boston, Las Vegas, Idaho, Philadelphia, Florida, Utah, etc.), it’s led me to consistently pursue media storytelling and collaborative with like minded individuals, mostly in the film and TV realm.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

Working in the film/entertainment industry always has ups and downs. During my 1 1/2 years of living in SF before moving to LA, I got sick a lot since the weather was usually cold, couldn’t afford to eat well sometimes due to the cost of living in SF while starting out as a post-graduate, some jobs not going the way I thought it’ll turn out (ex: being let go from my hotel day job due to a mistake I did due to burnout). I was in an extremely dark place before moving to LA mentally, physically and spiritually. There’s a lot of behind the scenes with making YouTube videos of stress, fans demanding certain videos, etc., it definitely took a toll on my mental health, especially during my high school years. Learning to take care of your health when working long hours (sometimes 12-15 hours per day) is vital to survival, sometimes I had burn out episodes during days off and at work. Relocating to a new city is challenging for everyone, I went through extremely heavy challenges (had an incident in Summer/Fall 2018 that made me fall into a deep depression for 3-4 weeks in October 2018 since the police couldn’t help (didn’t do anything that whole month, including my favorite holiday Halloween). Working in the film industry is mostly a freelance lifestyle (the content you see in movie theaters, streaming services and network TV is all freelance work), it’s an entrepreneurial way of living. Creating a work and life schedule for yourself that is manageable for your health and downtime takes a lot of time management and planning ahead. There were some times when I was working 10-12 days in a row and felt extremely exhausted, but I had to work. Finding a balance to enjoy your life but also make a living is challenging in the film/entertainment industry. My first few years of living in LA truly made me understand all areas of production and the ups and downs of living a show business lifestyle. As I’ve also been experiencing a multitude of heavy life situations, etc. for the past 23 months (I lost myself/grief overtook me last year, been back on track mentally/physically and slowly but surely getting things back in order ever since late winter earlier this year, etc.), times like these remind me that: “Sometimes things need to fall apart to make way for better things” and “You have to do everything you can, you have to work your hardest, and if you do, if you stay positive, you have a shot at a silver lining.” Embrace and relish the life and work highlight experiences when they come to you and cherish all of the memories with friends, family, co-workers, etc. that give you hope, inspiration and motivation to keep going in spite of heavy and challenging times.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

I’m a filmmaker/creative at its core (director, production department and occasional actor mostly). I also work on film production sets with cast and crew in different departments (camera, production, make-up, costume, etc.) to make the production run smoothly. I’m best at organization with the shoot running smoothly (managing and delegating cast and crew on what tasks to do, etc.), being calm under pressure and during unexpected challenges and delays while still being able to work in a fast paced environment, and making sure that everyone is consistently having a positive and collaborative work experience. I’m also known for thinking ahead of possible dilemmas and tasks that need to be done way in advance.

What were you like growing up?

Long story short: My family and I, and also with friends, spent a lot of time going to the movie theater/drive-in, watching TV at different homes and attending entertainment experiences (concerts, etc.). A lot of experiences when watching big studio films in movie theaters when they first released in theaters opening weekend (Marvel Studios films, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Social Network, The Dark Knight, Pixar films, etc.) and watching films and TV shows on our TVs definitely shaped me into having film and TV storytelling a huge part of my identity when growing up. A lot of these memories like watching The Wizard of Oz, Grease (I attended the LA premiere for John Travolta’s new film several months ago, it was so emotional seeing him in person haha), original Star Wars trilogy (I met Harrison Ford at work 2 years ago, I’m still recovering from it haha), etc. are strong core entertainment experience memories when growing up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ryan-cho.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theryancho/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cho318
• Twitter: https://x.com/theryancho
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theRyanCho