Meet Ryan Dennett-Smith: Producer & UPM

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryan Dennett-Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryan, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I work in the film industry so there is a constant risk in everything we do. I have come to look at risk not as something to fear or with a negative connotation, but rather as a way to create opportunity. My experience with the risks started with jumping into the industry. I didn’t know anyone, I didn’t know how it worked, and I was leaving a comfortable 9-5 job with a stable income. The fear I had was quite overwhelming until I changed the thought process from the fear of losing stability to the opportunity of chasing my dream in filmmaking. Fast forward a few years, I opened up a production services company, 3rd Shift Media, which had its own set of risks in being a small business owner. But I faced it head on and learned a lot as the company worked through growing pains. We are now producing commercials, trailers, & EPK’s for some of the largest brands, movements, and tent pole features in GA. And now as my business has grown and thrived, we’ve partnered with New South Independent to create In Line Pictures, a full service production company for features and tv. Again, this presents more risks because we are focusing on developing, funding, producing and distributing our own slate of films. Not a single one of the stages in successfully delivering a film comes without risk. We are asking investors to trust us with their money, we are asking talent to trust our track record of producing beautiful, high-quality independent films on budget, and we are asking distributors to trust our brand to sell worldwide. Our lives and careers are filled with a shroud of risks, but to quote my father, “He/She who Dares Wins.” I fully believe risk should be weighed, but don’t let the fear associated with that word make you miss an opportunity that could make you the happiest person on earth even for a moment.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
3rd Shift Media (“3SM”) is a team dedicated to production, offering comprehensive services based on the project we are given. We offer everything from development services, production services, and post production services for primarily Commercial, Industrial, EPK and Marketing. Most recently, we have jumped into feature production and in light of COVID, broadcast services. Honestly, we opened 3SM not really sure as to what we were going to do with it when we started. I was working as a UPM under many companies and LP’s for a bunch of commercials at the time and they were really the people who led me to the idea of production services. Providing all of our resources for staffing crews, securing locations, aggregating vendors and using all of our relationships to bring the productions together on time and on budget. We started out really small and sustainably rose to where we are today. I will be the first to tell you that growing a production services company was most certainly not easy. For that matter, starting and growing any company is never easy. My goal with starting this company and my career was to learn how to do production the “right” way and learn from other productions what works and what does not work. As I bounced around to different projects, I quickly learned there are many ways to accomplish a project and honestly there is no right way, just an indicator of how we wanted to approach the process. When we started getting crew, working with vendors, setting up insurance, payroll, and working with the unions, we made mistakes. But we learned from those mistakes and evolved to where we are today. The biggest lessons we have learned from all of our experiences with our clients is that the industry is constantly evolving and that we have to adapt to the rules set by creative, budget, unions, and delivery. We really have focused on the philosophy of bringing together quality crews to produce the highest level of projects. Quality dedication to each project through every step of the process has been what truly separates us from other companies. We have gained the trust & loyalty of not only our clients, but the cast and crews that work with us.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Welcome to Atlanta, a diverse melting pot of cultures, ideas, and most importantly experiences. I think right now I would focus on food and locations to take people. I love walking the beltline and visiting all of the food restaurants along the way. I love the international restaurant options off Buford Highway. I live in Decatur and the square is such a wonderful place. On weekends I love that I can drive 30-45 min in almost any direction and be on a lake or in the mountains. Hiking, rafting, shooting the hooch are all some of the most beautiful things in GA. Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There have been so many people who have pushed me, mentored me, and encouraged me to be who I am today. In the light of my career path, I would start with, Profitability Master, Ruth King (Business Ventures Corporation), for teaching me to build a business and teaching me how to manage money. Director, Jason Winn (Wild Winn Productions) for teaching me how to make a film while I was pretending to be a first AD for the very first time and encouraging me to continue on the path. All of the companies, agencies, producers & line producers that have given me the opportunity to learn from them whether reality tv, commercial and feature without the opportunities no matter how big or small they are I would not have been able to get to where I am today. The Crews who work with me to make these incredible projects, I could not do what I do without them. And I think most importantly, my friends and family outside of the industry who consistently have supported me even though they think (maybe know) I am crazy and have put up with me missing important dates and frankly disappearing into my film world for months at a time before resurfacing.

Website: https://www.3rdshiftmediainc.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3rdshiftmediainc/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandennettsmith/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3ShiftMediaInc