Meet Bryan Beasley | Director / Photographer

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

Hi Bryan, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
Success is an everyday pursuit for me. It can be as simple as making a list Sunday night to see what needs to be accomplished throughout the new week, or it’s crushing through zoom meeting after zoom meeting to properly prep for a job. It’s been my experience that success is born out of hard work. The “habit” is simply doing the work, and it’s not for everyone. It eases my mind if I can do one thing a day that’s pushing me closer to my dreams.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My bio say I’m a Director and Photographer, but in reality – I’m just a storyteller. It could be filming reenactments for a Civil War documentary, showcasing new game play for a video game developer, or photographing a celebrity in a magazine spread – my team and I approach it all with one question, “What is the story we are trying to tell?”. This is what makes this line of work so fantastic. Every project brings new challenges, new experiences, and most of all, new stories to tell.

Every career has highs and lows, it’s how you build on those successes and how you learn from those failures that keeps you in the game. I’ve had two films shutdown and scrapped while in some stage of post-production. Years of work, never to be seen. I once had a play almost get canceled hours before opening night. I’ve been fired on set before. I’ve been threatened with lawsuits (although, as a documentarian, this is kind of a gold star). These are all learning experiences – how can I work different in the future not to let this happen again. On the flip side, I’ve had films open to sell out crowds at film festivals. Won awards. I’ve had my photographs published in Rolling Stone, NatGeo, and People Magazine. I once had a photo as an advert in Times Square – stories tall! It’s all been supper cool – but it all came out of hard work. Always setting those goals and keep moving forward. If you get knocked down, get back up. If it’s all cake, stay humble, and get to work on the next success.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’ve been in LA for over 25 years now, so my favorite hangs are all the old-school classics. Breakfast at Swingers or the Farmer’s Market on 3rd, maybe a treat at Bob’s Doughnuts. Lunch at Jones on Third. If we need to see the water, lunch at Shutters on the Beach. Dinner at one of four places: Musso & Frank’s, Dan Tana’s, Jones Hollywood, or Taylor’s in Koreatown. Perhaps catch a rock show at The Troubadour. Then a nightcap at Tom Bergin’s or Barney’s Beanery.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
“Shoutout” to my Family & Friends! My Father and Mother instilled the importance of education in me at an early age. I was lucky to attend NYU film school and the education and life experience I gained there was invaluable. I met kids from around the world, and we all had the same goal – to work and thrive in the entertainment industry. Once I got to LA, I was able to build on those relationships and foster new ones. I’m never happier then when I’m creating projects with friends. My best friend Bob Ross has executive produced some of my best work, and I’m always ready for the challenge when creative guru Josh Bernstein calls. In the last few years, I’ve been working with the sibling producing team of Jon & Jaime Roman. They are truly creative partners and I’m so blessed to have them in my foxhole when we are on productions. Lastly, my wife and two little daughters. They keep me humble and they keep me on my feet – all with a smile.

Website: www.BryanBeasley.com

Other: https://vimeo.com/bryanbeasley

Image Credits
All Images Bryan Beasley Photo