We recently connected with Ryan Henry Johnston and have shared our conversation below.
Ryan Henry, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I attribute my resilience to my mother. At a very young age, she instilled in me that it’s the challenges and defeats you face in life that make you who you are. I’ve learned a great deal more about myself and my strength from my failures than from my successes. My mother explained to me that life isn’t fair and you have to play the cards you’re dealt to the best of your abilities through hard work and perseverance. If you truly want something bad enough, and it’s for the right reasons, then it will work out in the end. At the end of the day, it’s important that you keep pushing, taking the good with the bad, and learning from both.
I have also gained a lot of my resilience by being inspired by my directing idols, Guillermo Del Toro and Peter Jackson. They are two incredible visionaries who at a young age refused to give up or sacrifice their creative voice in their art. They’ve both dedicated years to ensuring their visionary dreams come to life on the screen, no matter the odds. They’ve shown me that my cinematic dreams are possible with patience, time, and most importantly, passion for the stories I want to share with the world.
I truly believe the measure of a person’s resilience isn’t based on success, but rather their ability to rise again and again from defeat and adversity. Failure builds character and can show you just how badly you want something by never giving up.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
For the past ten years I have worked as independent film director/producer on a multitude of different projects including narrative short films, music videos, commercials and most recently a feature horror anthology entitled “Scare Us” which gained both domestic and international distribution. Scottsdale Community College (SCC) is where I really got my start as a filmmaker and met all the people I work with today. It was a great opportunity for a young filmmaker to learn and understand the multitude of things involved in cinema. I’ve always found the greatest joy for me is when I’m producing/directing films. I love telling stories that entertain others and help people escape from reality, even if only for a couple of minutes out of the day.
I have also always loved the art of collaboration and thrive in working with others to solve problems and create meaningful stories. Filmmaking to me is kinda like being Frankenstein, if you spend the time properly planning and bringing all the right pieces together and when the lighting strikes just right, that’s when a film really comes to life.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I would say that the three most important qualities I’ve learned that have helped me along my journey would be failure, time and collaboration.
Failure – It’s okay to fail. Dont fear failure, embrace it. You learn vastly more from failing than from success. Getting knocked down is hard, it hurts, but the ability to rise and rise again and learn from your mistakes is truly the measure of a persons spirit.
Time – Be patient. Opportunities and success come at different times for everyone. You can’t compare the timeline of your journey to others, you will drive yourself mad. People find success at different times, some younger, some older. The important thing is to love yourself and support everyone around you. The only certainty that you won’t make it is if you quit. DON’T QUIT! Keep pushing and working toward your goals. Your hard work will pay off, and success will come with time.
Collaboration – It is impossible to make it on your own. You need the support of others around you to help guide you and inspire you to help bring your stories to life. The biggest pillar of support in my life has always been my family and friends because sometimes they don’t tell you what you want to hear but what you need to hear. It’s important to have a strong foundation of honest and loving people around you to help cheer you on and inspire you to achieve greatness.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
The biggest challenge I have faced recently has been relocating from Phoenix to Los Angeles. I’ve spent the last ten years in Phoenix, working and collaborating with some of the most incredibly passionate individuals I have ever met. We created ambitious projects, and I made friendships that will last a lifetime.
Now having moved to Los Angeles, I find myself starting from the bottom again, and that’s okay. I welcome the opportunity to learn and grow in this new chapter and know from my past experiences that it will take time to achieve my goals. I’m actively working at developing new projects and attending as many social gatherings as I can to meet new creatives and build new friendships. I am excited for this new journey and look forward to the relationships I will forge and the projects that have yet to come to life.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://ryanhenryjohnston.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanhenryjohnston/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryanhenryjohnston
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DirectorRHJ
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/artofwarpictures
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5849644/
Image Credits
Sara Nevels – Talk Studios Daniel Tooker – Daniel Tooker Photography
