The Other Guy
Deb Mayo16 April 2007
There’s never a dull moment when it comes to talking to a producer. Truly. Take for example, a recent encounter with executive producer Chuck Ryant. To look at him, one might not think that he was in possession of his faculties. But he is. At least sometimes. And you should know that he could very well be asking you to hire him to be in charge of your next production. Yet talented, charming, in-command, Chuck Ryant is, needless to say, very adept at what he does.
But before we jump ahead to the very solemn Q&A session, there are a few milestones that will no doubt shed light on the “other guy” from Bob Industries. They are inspiring, to say the least.
1966: Emotionally scarred by Sister Mary Theresa at Most Blessed Sacrament School
1973: Ryant relentlessly beaten by Tommy Cerbo in school playground
1975: Graduated from St Phillip the Apostle School. and voted “least likely”
1979: Graduated from Paramus Catholic Boys High School without incident
1979: Ryant enrolls at Hofstra University to study Film & Television
1980: Hofstra cancels Film and TV program
1983: Ryant graduates Hofstra University with a Degree in Journalism
1983: Ryant hired as assistant producer at Compton Advertising
1985: Ryant produces first ever Tide Detergent Blasting Action Demo shoot using
explosives and photosonic camera
1985: Ryant produces vigorously Popping Muffin demo for Dunkin Hines Cakes
1986: Ryant produces Cowboy Sid and Sheila the Wonderhorse campaign for Krystal
Restaurants (promotion to ‘producer’ a certainty)
1986: Ryant assigned “manager” of Agency prop room
1987: Ryant moves to McCann Erickson
1987: Ryant locks himself in agency stairs overnight missing first Coke Classic production meeting.
1990: Ryant dresses as woman to avoid Gulf War Draft
1991: Fired from Propaganda by Steve Dickstein
1993: Fired by Steve Chase and Michael Romersa from Reactor Films
1993: Founds Bob Industries with partners TK Knowles, John O’Grady, Lisa Rubisch, Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris, Mark Kohr and Jason Smith, primarily to avoid getting fired again.
Now that you’re in possession of what makes the man tick, here’s how Ryant weighed in on the every-evolving, very revolving, state-of-advertising:
Q: How do you see the world of advertising evolving over the course of the next few years?
A: Well to oversimplify a question you could write a Masters thesis on to properly answer, I might just say this: on whatever venue/platform it appears, advertising will take the next step in it’s evolution toward becoming legitimate entertainment. Some work will always be a more serious sell, but as the messaging pervades our worlds even more thoroughly it will have to have added entertainment value to get any one to give enough of a shit to look at it, never mind be engaged by it. And duh, branded content, cell phone, shopping mall kiosks, shoes that play video, DVD underwear, cabs with English speaking drivers Jumbotron blimps, etc., they will all need something to say and something to show. As they once did in the past, advertisers will hold a powerful position to both effectively communicate their messages and to define the shape and delivery of the message. As a producer and creative it offers us endless opportunity to do what we do…do.
Q: Does the public have much more control over advertising these days? Less push from the advertisers – more pull from the consumer?
A: At the moment it is often hard to tell who has control. We all know our job is not just to make art, but to create film that speaks and sells a brand or product or message. I wish there could be a stronger partnership between client and supplier with that understanding. As far as the consumer goes they are our best partners if we can embrace them. Advertising can now be interactive, long-form, cinema-based, telephone-based, or viral, if you can stand that word. Think of how far we have come and how open the consumer is to even the concept of messaging in their toilet. It was not so long ago that ads in the theatre were aggressively booed -- now it’s commonplace. So access is there and growing -- and distribution is there and growing… So if we comprehensively look at what we produce, and go back to the basics and understand that entertainment, comedy, storytelling, intrigue, drama, and emotion can all be viable advertising forms of advertising (in any format and not necessarily all common to one another), then Madison Avenue can regain its fascination for the consumer and it’s power for the advertiser. And YES…YOUTUBE is cool but I don’t think putting the consumer in charge of creating and posting their own ads is completely the answer. But then again, I like Michael Mann films.
Q: With the playing field leveling in the directorial realm due to the internet, what are the biggest challenges facing production companies and their roster of talent?
A: The biggest challenge is not the competition. It is the breakdown of any perceivable process. I am not a big process person, but we basically live in a production world of chaos, no time, no money (this is not a complaint), and commercials that have become too precious. Commercials can be brilliant. But not everyone can do every thing. When you try and make an ad do everything then it usually just sucks. So basically it is a CLUSTERFUCK to try and go out and shoot a commercial and make it great.
Q: What strategy works best for Bob Industries? How is your business plan changing to adapt to the ever-morphing advertising climate?
A: Just be smart, adaptable, creative, innovative and never wear pants.
Q: What do you find exciting about the 360-degree landscape?
A: Well when the hype is all over and everyone can accept it as part of life today (and tomorrow), then we can probably start doing something about it with a rational head. Clients can plan, agencies can plan, and content can be used in incredibly innovative ways. My job is to create content, NOT to tell everyone how fast I am beaming it out and to not how many people or how brilliant I think am. Hire us for what we do. Not what we just promise. There’s a lot of power in actual talent. Let’s all have some guts.
Q: What’s the next evolution for Bob Industries?
A: The transition is more of a continued reach for our goal from the start. Developing, realizing and nurturing a truly creative environment. Commercials are our lives and our passion. But the best commercial work was always most shaped by outside influences. Either in form like the music video craze or in culture like the continued influence of international directors on American production and advertising culture. Our goal remains a drive to be fresh and interesting and forward thinking. No better way to do it then to look within as well as out. We have great directors, artists, and writers in our company, usually all wearing the same hat. We are constantly doing projects to nurture the creative soul. It is not about revenue but about things that excite all of us at the core level. With the internet and the new 360 world, any work on any format of any length that engages, entertains and satisfies the viewer is now viable. Our job is to create and produce that work and be innovative on how we adapt and apply it to the format that gets it out there.
