We had the good fortune of connecting with Ben Rytz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ben, what is the most important factor behind your success?
This is going to sound corny, but my parents are the most important factor about where I am today. The industry has been up and down so many times since I’ve joined that I haven’t had a stable year. I’ve had several really good few months but then nothing after that. I’d be homeless if I didn’t live with my parents. Living with them gave me the guidance, encouragement and safety net I needed to purchase gear, take on free work to network AND save money as much money as I could from the few paying jobs I did get when I first started. I don’t know where I’d be career, health and wealth wise without them.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Lazy Sloth Productions came about when I was in projection mapping class and talking to some friends about how tough it was to get work in the industry. Mind you, this was back in 2018-2020 so well before Covid. Every job we were looking at, freelance or employee, said “need experience” and we had close to none. Lazy Sloth Productions, from the jump, was meant to be a place for students or recent graduates to gain that “experience” WHILE paying as decent of a rate as we could manage based on the budget. We would teach them the roles inside and out WHILE on set so they have hands on experience AND can feel the pressure of working on a live set, give them the references and guidance they need to get better at their craft even if that means referring to one of the many many YouTube videos that we had to watch to learn something, and we’d refer them to other filmmakers whenever we’re asked to fill a slot.

A lesson I learned along the way is to ALWAYS do your best. If you take a free job, don’t short change them by doing the bare minimum just because you’re not getting paid. Make sure you’re giving them 100% because you never know who that person knows or if they have a paying gig lined up. Do your best, build your reel and hang in there. It’ll pay off in the long run.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m a little sad to say that I’ve been grinding and hustling so much for the past decade that I don’t have time to explore much. However, there are a few places I know of that I’d want to take them to and places we can try together.

For food, New York Chicken & Gyro HAS to be on the list. If you come to SoCal and don’t eat there, did you really come? The portions are very, very generous, the taste is excellent and the quality is great.

Places I’d take them would be to Top Golf even though I can’t hit a golf ball and I’d make a fool of myself, archery range since I’ve always wanted to go, and believe it or not, Universal Studios (which I haven’t been to) for all the behind the scenes and to pick up my wand. Ollivander says I’ll find one.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The organization that gets a shout out from me HAS to be Cypress College, where I attended. Two professors in particular, JJ Vazquez and Katalin Angelov (Kati, it’s pronounced like coffee but not really), were great guiding forces for me.

JJ was the one who landed me my first job in the industry creating the credits for a feature film. He also introduced me to DaVinci Resolve which I still use to this day, as well as teaching me the role of DIT. Even after I graduated and he left the college to pursue other work, he was still there to help me whether it was via text, email or video chat. I remember when I got my first DIT gig, I had fibbed my way onto a feature film role based on the old adage, “say yes and then figure it out”. I texted him the second I got the job and asked him for help on how to DIT and we hopped on a video call where he showed me how to use Hedge and Foolcat.

Kati instilled in me the sense of perseverance and pushing through no matter what boundaries were in my way. She pioneered the very first projection mapping course in the U.S. at a community college level, pushing through the red tape, politics and bureaucracy that comes with pitching and fighting for funds to start a course from the ground up. If that isn’t a great motivator to push for what you want, I don’t know what is.

Website: https://lazyslothproductions.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ben_thecolorist/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrytz/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benrytz/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LazySlothProductionsLLC

Other: https://www.instagram.com/lazyslothproductionsllc/

Image Credits
Lena Lee

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