As head of production at Warp Films – Barry Ryan shared his experiences of producing films & TV shows.
Warp Films first began as Warp Records in 1989, CEO Mark Herbert expressed his concern with trying to push visual artists. Following this they soon became Warp Films – Dead Man’s Shoes became the first feature – length film produced. The company also worked with director Shane Meadows to produce This Is England, and decided to continue the success with a TV series, as they wanted to re-visit the characters and explore their interests.
Barry got his foot in the door of the film industry through a film school in Sheffield. He set out to be a director, but self-admittedly ‘wasn’t good enough,’ so tried producing instead. He made useful contacts and when he left, he set up a small short-filmmaking company, and worked at Nickelodeon as a floor manager at the weekends. Eventually, he landed his first production job.
He revealed that, as a producer, you’re responsible for everything, and you’re more diplomatic. You need to understand scripts, script editing, financing, and be good at talking to people. He said – “Don’t worry about the size of the budget, worry about how you’re going to control it.”
Barry spoke out about what’s best in being a producer – “It’s nice to see the country houses and landscapes of the UK, and you get to work within lots of different environments. Sometimes I forget the importance of where we are.”
So, what advice can Barry give to aspiring filmmakers? “If you devote two years of your life to making a film, you have to be passionate about it – you have to make stuff to understand it, fail hard and then work on your mistakes.”
Ellie Kemp – Level 3 TV & Film Production
