Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Atkins.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ryan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My story is definitely “unconventional”, compared to the stories of other filmmakers I have learned about. To start, I did not receive a camera from my dad at age eight and make films of trains crashing. What is happened with me is below.
I grew up in a small town in Ashland, Ohio. My family consisted of businessmen, school teachers, and doctors – almost no-one doing things that were creative. My grandmother’s primary profession was a teacher but had a fond interest in creative writing. I firmly believe the rest of my story is her fault, in the very best way possible.
The two films that I consider to be the pinnacle of what got me started are Ghostbusters (1984) and Jurassic Park (1993). When I say “got me started”, I do not mean with cameras. For both films, I later saw the behind the scenes for both films (broadcast documentary of Jurassic Park with James Earl Jones and BTS content on Ghostbusters DVD) fairly close in my timeline of life. Both films had elements that I knew were real and I had nightmares from each.
For Ghostbusters, I received a child’s plastic Proton Pack from my Uncle Phil, I believe for Christmas. I then reenacted scenes, hiding under my mother’s desk, the bed, closet – whatever I could find to make me feel like I was also “busting ghosts.” Ask my mother and she will tell you all about it. So, I started reenacting scenes from other movies as well. Jurassic Park was the exception. That movie terrified me but left a lasting scar. That scar was not entirely negative though.
After seeing documentaries of how both films were produced, I was blown away. Not a single element was real. Who would have thought… my fascination for movies only transpired to me building an imagination though.
Fast forward to high school, I began a fascination with computers prior to high school which bled into senior high. I also become reacquainted with a childhood best friend, who was involved in the video production program. I was heavily involved in the marching and jazz bands. We began to hang out once again, soon diving into making home music videos, via his interest in music production. We shot them with a simple 480p “point and shoot” camera and cut content together using Adobe Premiere Pro CS2 and Cs3. I also developed a hobby in photography, taught by my best friend. However, this was still not enough to convince me there was a burning passion for filmmaking.
Upon entering college at Ashland University in the summer of 2006, I wanted to major in music but failed my audition as I learned I have a fear of public speaking. I decided to major in “Electronic Media Production”, which translated to ‘Television Production’. I took an intro class and was assigned to run a camera for student on-air talent. With the combination of my computer/IT skills and fascination for visual imagery, I fell in love with the camera. Soon enough, the Media Arts dept was not enough for me. I wanted something more than news. I used my first Mac in 2007 while working my campus job in IT and became acquainted with Final Cut Pro 5 via departmental promotion to “Media Services”. My life changed from thereon. I was also in the university marching band and ended up leaving the organization in 2007 or 2008 to focus on my degree requirements for Television Production and my part-time job (student employment could not exceed 20 hours a week).
2008 ended in me falling out of the Liberal Arts education, being that I was spending so much time in my video production position, almost 100% self-taught. I decided to move out on my own and enter into a new educational system. In 2009 I entered into (formerly) Virginia Marti College of Art & Design in Cleveland Ohio, where I majored in Digital Media, having some self-taught experience in Final Cut Pro 6 & 7. Concentrations were in Cinematography and Editing. I started my career there, creating my evolving portfolio, working on music videos, corporate videos, behind the scenes, and some independent software training videos.
In early 2011, I almost failed out of college then as well, until a college professor saw more inside me and recommended I come in for tutoring help for a drawing class that was the bain of me. I barely passed his first class and nailed his second class. I realized the value of hard work and putting time into being “great” at something. The same greatness taught by my high school band director. I graduated college in 2011 with an Associate of Applied Science in Digital Media, an active website, portfolio, and a plethora of experience. From there, I learned my way into the fascinating (and sometimes brutal world) of filmmaking. My portfolio expanded with countless titles within corporate video production, music videos, narrative films, providing experience on a variety of cameras, and convincing me to switch back to Adobe using their Creative Cloud suite. I use the most updated version today on a powerful upgraded Mac Pro workstation.
I moved to Chicago with my brother in mid-2014 to restart my career, after a series of unfortunate financial mishaps that serve as learning experiences. From there, I took on some corporate work for several clients including the Chicago Fire Dept, Sarpinos Pizzeria, and some entrepreneurs, and independent artists. I later dreamt up, wrote, shot, directed, and cut a story together on bullying and the effects it can produce, which won an award at a film festival. Many contacts were made and Conrad Series was born which I have served as Co-Creator, Director of Photography, and Creative Director for. The production has wrapped, is in the final stages, and a premiere is set for December.
To date, I used camera brands including Red, Sony, Canon, Panasonic, JVC, and Nikon. I’m looking forward to my next project and seeing where it leads me.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been the opposite of a smooth road. “Where do I go next?” is often the question. Today, “what do I do next?” is something I always ask myself.
Some of my struggles:
Self-identity
Self-value
Personal Achievements
Comparing my achievements to others, especially with the rage of social media in 2008.
Public opinion of myself and work.
Please tell us about Lakefront Pictures.
Lakefront Pictures is a team of individual creators who have success in tv pilots and in short films that have been official selections in the film festival circuit, who collaborate to bring you the best freelancers including their own production team to serve your needs in Chicago. Individuals on the team have recruiting, sales, networking, graphic design, motion graphic design, editing, camera, and production experience.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I wish were not so timid about wanting to tell the stories I had brewing as a child. We did not have easy access to a camera, but I was scared of doing anything outside of what was “normal.” Do not live your life according to someone else’s opinion, or you will live in a prison forever. In a general sense, only do what makes you happy. On a financial standpoint, do what you do not mind doing to make the income you need, that will allow you to do what makes you happy and satisfy your creative senses. While some do their “creative” work for the paycheck, others do it because they choose to, and get paid for it because they are very good at it. Take this route.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.atkinsvisuals.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atkinsvisuals/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/atkinsvisuals
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