Filmmaker Ricky Tyree

Ricky Tyree was born in Buffalo,New York, and raised in Atlanta,Georgia. Growing up, his passion was in sports. He ran track, played football, and basketball. He became the editor of the school show as a freshman in high school, but it wasn't until his junior year when he discovered his passion for filmmaking.

Outside of working for the school show, he began editing highlight tapes for other athletes around the Atlanta area. He wanted to take his work to the next level, so at the age of 17, he created Sirrah Films. Sirrah is named after his grandfather James Harris who passed away in 1997. James Harris loved photography & painting, but died at a early age to cancer. After graduating from high school, Ricky attended Miles College in Birmingham,Alabama in 2008. Because of his knowledge of filmmaking, the school allowed him to take his major classes as a true freshman. His hunger to learn about filmmaking was on a very high level. There were times when he would stay in classes that he didn't have on his schedule just to learn more. At the time, his father lost his job in construction and his parents could not afford to send a lot of money to help pay for college material. So Ricky started filming events around the Birmingham area to help pay for things he needed. His name quickly around the city, much faster than he could imagined.

After couple of years of making commercials,highlight tapes, and recording events, he realized that making films is what he really wanted to do. To start a new beginning in his film career, he changed the from Sirrah Films to Shark Vision Films. After winning a couple of screenplay writing awards, he is now working on a few up coming films in hopes of reaching higher levels as a director & screenplay writer.

What is the current project your working on?

I'm currently working on the 3 short films titled Waiting On God's Message, King Of Klubs, and Reasons. I also plan to shoot my first feature film called "The Open Hill" later in 2012, which is a story about a young man who uses skateboarding to escape his troubled past. It's a very positive story , and relates to how some kids used sports to stay away from trouble in certain areas.

How do you measure success?

There are many definitions for success. Just completing the film makes me happy to be honest. But to define success as for my career, I just want to motivate & inspire. Expand people's minds with my visions. I don't measure success by awards like some people, base it off the impact it has on people.

How do you handle rejection?

Growing up, I didn't handle it very well. As I got older, I looked at rejection very differently. I look as a sign of God saying " Wrong direction, try again." I know it sounds funny to people, but thats just how I see it. If everyone was to stop after the first rejection, we would not have many great stories to talk about.

Did you always want to be a filmmaker?

I wanted to become a mechanical engineer, designing cars.

What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

It wasn't until my mom told me to check out the film industry in my junior year in high school. But great people like Micheal Mann, Christopher Nolan, Spike Lee, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, and many others inspired & motivated me to make that jump into the industry.

What is the best thing about being a filmmaker?

Is having the ability to bring your imagination to life for the world to see.

What is the worst thing about being one?

The stress of getting the funds, and trying to fit everything on a short film schedule.

What is the estimated number of projects you have worked on?

These up coming projects are going to be my first after college. I spent time writing the films, now I'm going to bring the scripts to life for the world to see.

Who is your favorite filmmaker?

Right now, I have to say Christopher Nolan. Besides having amazing plots to his films, he puts amazing detail in each scene. For an example; In the movie Dark Knight, there is a scene before the final fight between The Joker and Batman happen. There are two cops driving through the city at night, and they see that a fire truck is on fire in the middle of the street. That small scene didn't catch a lot of other people's attention as a major scene, but in my eyes it was amazing. It helped set the tone to make people realize that what they are dealing with is beyond what they could have imagined.

How has your life changed since you became a filmmaker?

It helped me become more vocal, and take over when need to. When I was younger, I was very shy. Filmmaking helped me come out of that shell.

What is one piece of advice you can give to someone who also wants to become a filmmaker?

Learn the business side of filmmaking first. You might come up with the next big film, but if you don't have all the paper work done correctly, you won't get what you deserved.

What do you like to do besides filmmaking?

I'm really big on sports, I like to go out and play basketball or football when ever I get the chance to. I also like swimming. I try to stay active and try new things.

Have you had any other jobs before you decided to become a filmmaker?

My last jobs were Dick Sporting Good's and Home Depot.

What are some of your favorite American films? Foreign films? Television shows?

Lion King, Inception, Pursuit of Happyness, Dark Knight, A lot of the Pixar films, Remember The Titans, Bronx Tale, Boyz In The Hood, Hitch and many more. I like a lot of different genres so its hard for me to name a specific on films. But my favorite TV show is The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air.

How would you describe your film education?

I would give myself a B- to be real with myself. I feel like there is a lot more I have to learn, I will probably always feel that way no matter how successful I become.

How would you describe the film "scene" where you live?

Atlanta is a young active city that is hard to label under a movie scene. I plan to move soon, might be heading to south Florida.

How has social media changed the film industry?

It has changed a lot. The marketing power it has is unmatched. Example; If Oprah was to retweet the name of my website (www.thesirrahfam.com) on twitter, the millions of followers she has we see it. I could reach over a million people in one click of a button.

What's your opinion on crowdfunding?

I think its great, it gives people a opportunity to get help bringing their vision to life. Not everyone has wealthy parents to get money from, so it helps alot for those people who need the help.

How does independent film differ from the mainstream?

Indy films are more orginal, mainstream tries to stick to what they think will sale. Thats why they do all these remakes. Most of the indie films that come out are better than the mainstream films.

You could go back in time and see any film being made. Which film would it be and why?

I would have to say The Lion King. I love how they were able to control the emotions of the audience. My favorite childhood film.

What's your favorite quote and why?

I have many qoutes that I live by and create. One of them is " Spend more time preparing, instead of comparing." It means to spend more time preparing for your moment, instead of watching the next person. It's almost like running track. If you just stay focused and stay in your lane, you will succeed. If you look at the person next to you, they will fly right by you. At one point, I was watching other filmmakers succeed, wondering how come I haven't reached their level yet. Until one day, I did a music video shoot that I didn't prepare for correctly, and it killed my heart. Thats when I realized, if I would have spent more time working on my craft, I would have been successful and maybe reached their level. But instead I spent my time wondering when I should have been fixing & perfecting. That lesson is stuck with me forever.

What is your opinion on movie remakes and sequels?

It's not bad sometimes. Some of the sequels are good. It depends on the plot of the next story.

What is your opinion on book to movie adaptions?

I think its great. It really helps people give them a visual of what they have been reading for years.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Of course, don't forget to follow me on twitter @Director_rickyT .

Thanks for doing the interview Ricky. I wish you the best of luck with your projects. I'll following your progress via your Twitter.