Check out Ryan Henry Johnston’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Henry Johnston.

Ryan, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I am originally from Reno, NV and moved to AZ in March of 2011 to attend film school. Unlike a lot of young filmmakers, I hadn’t grown up making homemade movies or shooting on an 8mm camera, but I did always have an eccentric imagination as a child that carried over into my adult years. It wasn’t until high school that I had decided I wanted to direct movies, but as many do, I got stuck in the normal 9-5 and wasn’t really in a position to begin pursuing my carrier until a little later in life. I was 25 when I attended the school of Alpha Pacific Institute (API), a small film and television broadcast school in Phoenix. After completing their six-month program, I had planned to relocate to LA, but that soon changed when I met some former students who worked in the Cage at Scottsdale Community College (SCC) and told me about the amazing film program there. That next week, I took a tour of the campus and was instantly hooked, and submitted my application for the fall. I attended SCC for the next three years, having had the opportunity of directing the 2014 SCC Capstone film The Woman of the Mountain along with several other personal projects, a commercial, and a PSA. During my time at SCC, I was gracious enough to receive a variety of awards, including Best Director for Helsing in 2013 and The Woman of the Mountain in 2014 at the yearly SCC Film Festival. After graduating, I have kept busy directing and producing a variety of short narrative films, feature teaser specs, music videos, and a few corporate commercials. This year, I’m currently in development on two feature films and have plans to relocate full-time to Los Angeles this year at the end of April.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do? Why? And what do you hope others will take away from your work?
A lot of my main body of work and focus is in short film narrative filmmaking, with the goal of branching out into feature film work. As previously mentioned, I’ve always had an eccentric imagination as a child into adulthood and feel that it has played a massive role in my love for creating visual worlds within my films and playing a sort of “make-believe” in the process. At my core, I’m just a big kid who loves all things fantasy, horror, sci-fi, and 80’s, and those genres carry into most of my work. I’ve also taken a lot of inspiration from some of my favorite directors like Guillermo Del Toro, Peter Jackson, John Hughes, and more. In my narrative story work, I always try to build the entire world as a whole, as well as the characters who inhabit it. This is often portrayed in the visual effects of my films. Examples include shooting massive aerial landscapes with additional visual effects to make Arizona look like Mars, or building huge practical set pieces in controlled studios to better fit my vision, and for the actors to interact with to make them feel like they’re actually in the story. I try my best to make my projects feel bigger in scope and scale than they actually cost, and I think there’s a lot of value in that. I start every project the same: building a self-contained pre-production notebook that I fill up over time with concept art, reference photos, and a variety of other inspirational thoughts/ideas that cater to the specific project I’m working on. To me, every notebook is kinda of a piece of my soul for the love of that specific project. I really do put every bit of myself into each film I create – real blood, sweat, and tears. In being a true filmmaker, you find that you’re not actually driven by money or fame, but instead by passion and love for what you create and what you get to share with others. I create films with the simple hope of genuinely entertaining people or allowing them to step out of their hectic life, even if only for a few minutes of their day. I don’t necessarily have a certain underlying personal belief I’m trying to express, nor do I push a political message or feeling in my work; I just like making people smile, laugh here and there, and at their core, be entertained. I think when you can create something that brings someone else joy or inspires them in any way, there’s no better reward. Getting to do what I love while helping others? I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do for the rest of my life. My hope is that people can see what I’ve done with my life and career, and allow it to inspire them to pursue their own passions and dreams, regardless of what hurdles may stand in their way. Life is too short to live with regret and not go after what you want. It reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite films Vanilla Sky, “Every passing minute is just another chance to turn it all around.”

Do current events, local or global, affect your work and what you are focused on?
I think with everything going on in the world today, it’s not so much that the role of the artist has changed, but more so that artists are finally able to be seen and heard more clearly. The rise in social media, for example, has paved the way to allow artists the chance to share their work with audiences all around the world. People who would have never met otherwise can now collectively express and share the joy they take away from an artist’s work. Social media outlets like Instagram and Facebook give artists the chance for their voice and work to be heard. In the past, so many artists struggled for so long trying to market their work, but now are able to create content that can finally be seen and shared with millions, allowing them to really see the impact they can create in real time.

For me personally, I’d say the biggest thing I find relevant in my films when looking at the issues of the world today would be my constant creation of strong, leading female characters. From the very beginning, I have always been an advocate of powerful female characters in films, which is why it is often a recurring theme in pretty much every narrative I’ve done. Whether it’s the hero, villain, or both, I’ve always strived to showcase just how strong females can be and I love it when they can command the screen and bring the character to life. It’s such a relevant issue today with Hollywood showcasing undervalued, often inconsequential woman in film for so long. I love that I can create work in a time where this issue is finally being brought to the surface and corrected as it should be. We’re all equal; no one is better than anyone else, and at the end of the day, hard work is hard work and should be rewarded just the same.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I’ll be premiering two projects this month, Helsing and The Everests newest music video Gypsy Robes at the Arizona Filmmaker Showcase on February 17th at 6:00 pm, located at FilmBar in Phoenix. I encourage anyone and everyone to buy a ticket and come out for great films, laughs, and drinks. The vast majority of my work can also be found on my website ryanhenryjohnston.com. I have links to most of the projects I’ve completed and trailers for the ones that are still in post-production. In addition to that, you can also find my directing reel on my website which showcases additional projects and links to my social media, including my IMDB and Instagram pages. Views, likes, and feedback are always a great way to show your support. I really value what people have to say, regardless of whether or not they’re fans of my work. You can always take away something from someone else’s view and opinion, and I am an artist who plans on continuing to grow and learn with each new project.

Contact Info:

• Website: ryanhenryjohnston.com
• Email: ryanhenryjohnston@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanhenryjohnston/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryanhenryjohnston
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DirectorRHJ

Image Credit:
Sarah Nevels – Talk Studios
Daniel Tooker – Daniel Tooker Photography
Tom J. McCoy – Tom J. McCoy Photography

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