Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Binse.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ryan. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
From 2010 to 2013, I spent the majority of my time on deployment writing feature screenplays to navigate the boredom. The Navy gave me an abundance of stories that few people get to hear about much less participate in. It was a rough time sprinkled with some negative and in some cases self-destructive energy, but nonetheless, I am grateful for it. What took me years to realize is that experiencing the stress and abrasiveness of the navy would give me the tools necessary for producing.
When I started to take my screenplays out to show producers, I slowly realized that only one out of ten people claiming to be a producer was a bonafide producer, and even then they already had their hands full developing their own content. So, I looked into producing myself and found other people to work with along with better screenplays than my own. This was the start of my producing career.
My first production resulted in the executive producer using a portion of the funds we crowdfunded for her own private use and thus ended up in small claims court. For my second production, I tried to go big or go home, and I did. A friend came to me with a script and asked if I could find money. I told them, “I’ve never done it before, but I’ll find out.” I raised over $125,000 — fifty-five from friends and family, and the rest in credit cards. We thought if Kevin Smith can make his first film on credit, so can we.
Needless to say, that failed as well. We hired the wrong people for the most part and were way in over our heads. We went from money in the bank to over $142,000 in debt in just over a weekend; the wrong set dressings were being flown in during prep; we had to company move to a different location to accommodate for a set being built that wasn’t agreed on; and our production department was heavily understaffed with no PA’s in sight.
Luckily, much of that was in bonds and refunds that we were able to get back while my friends and family were supportive and understanding enough to not kick a very dead horse. I remember standing on location watching the hellfire of bad production management reign upon a set that was literally falling apart. The emotion I was feeling at that time wasn’t embarrassment or defeat, but more so determination. The reason everyone was there was because I made it happen.
I was able to see how everything was supposed to work by how it did not. Even though this was the worst mistake I had made in my life thus far, the hardest lessons to learn are usually the most valuable. The gaffer came up to me after we called the production off and gave me a bear hug. He said, “Congratulations. You just graduated from accelerated film school.” That weekend was enough for me to start formal education.
I was done learning from trial and error. Before the end of the day, I was enrolled at UCLA Extension for a certificate in Producing using my GI Bill. This was the first of many very good decisions. Without going into too much detail, it felt like a door opened. I was learning and networking with real people in the entertainment industry. More importantly, I saw that real producing was the same skillset I was using in the navy as a work center supervisor on the ship. I would take a maintenance item, pitch it to higher-ups to ensure we get the budget to do it, schedule it, then assign people and coordinate different departments to ensure completion.
In July of 2016, I left the navy to pursue my passion full time. One of my professors at Extension, a well-established producer in feature films, wrote a letter of recommendation to my dream school. I applied, and less than one year after leaving the service, I was accepted to the American Film Institute Conservatory.
Since then, I’ve produced five short films at AFI, the Veterans in Media and Entertainment helped me get an internship in the Programming department of HBO over the summer, I produced the school’s first thesis film with a bull ride, and am currently interning in development at Silver Pictures where I’m continuing to meet and work with some of the best people in the industry.
The next phase of my life excites me. I continue to write in my spare time and am incorporating my experiences from the Navy in an episodic military comedy for my graduation portfolio. If I could give my past self any words of advice, it would be that success is within reach, but it requires two types of work: hard work and network. It’s been a fantastic journey thus far, and I’m very much looking forward to the future.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Absolutely not. This has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life to date.
Toward the end of my life in the navy, one of my Chiefs told me that filmmaking was never going to be more than a hobby, and I should take my naval career more seriously. So I used the Navy’s tuition assistance program to finish my bachelor’s degree without touching my GI Bill. Little did he know, I was finishing my degree so I could get my masters in film.
Another challenge was the transition from the military to entertainment. I went from a world of teamwork with life or death consequences to a world where many people are in it for themselves. Luckily, I’ve found a group of filmmakers who contribute to the project for the sake of the project. I have found my favorite aspect of the navy in a career that now brings me joy.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a veteran owned production company with scripted and unscripted episodic and feature content in development. We work well with people that work.
What were you like growing up?
I was a complete mess. I had no drive and no discipline. The reason I joined the service was just to get out of my parent’s house. It wasn’t until in the service that I found out what I wanted to do. At that point, I was a completely different person.
Pricing:
- Script Coverage – $350 feature
- Script Coverage – $250 pilot
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-binse-57bb2142
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Tom Meredith
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