We recently connected with Balint Banner and have shared our conversation below.
Balint, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
The most meaningful project I have worked on so far would be the TV show I am developing called Shine. Although I had the idea for a while, the project itself really started off as a screenwriting project for a class, but the more I worked on it developing characters and the world, the more invested I got so later I turned it into one of my thesis projects for my masters, and have been working on it since. I believe it is so meaningful because there is a lot of me in the show. It is a world I created and characters I spend so many hours with. It also revolves around the theme of the old vs the new, which interests me a great deal. I love history and old things and I am sad sometimes to see certain things fade away as time goes by, but at the same time I realize that we have to innovate and keep up with the times to stay relevant and to improve. Also, beyond this duality the show is about believing in one’s self and going after their dreams and what they believe in, which is very close to my heart. So I think this attachment and passion for the content is what makes this project so meaningful to me.
Balint, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I got into Producing halfway through my bachelors degree in Filmmaking. I remember thinking to myself that OK, I am learning how to set up shots, edit and shoot a film, but I don’t know how to actually get a movie made or anything about the business of the film industry, while filmmaking is just as much a business as it is art or entertainment. So I started to get more involved in school projects as a producer and after graduation I went on to get a masters degree in Producing. I found that Producing is where my creative side and my entrepreneurial or business side comes together perfectly. Even though I also perform line producing tasks from time to time, I am mostly a creative producer, and I tend to get involved with projects from the start. As I think story is the most basic yet also the most important part of a film or TV show, I like to pay extra attention to the script, focusing on structure, character development and making sure that the story serves the overall theme and feel of the intended project. I always say that a good story holds a lot of value, and it can be very marketable on its own, which we see in book sales for example. Therefore, if filmmakers don’t overlook or rush the writing phase of a film or show, and then carefully add the visual possibilities of the medium of film, great projects can be created. Starting from this initial stage, I like to usher a project along, staying involved in creative decisions throughout the life of the film or TV show.
I am also a writer, which was born from my love of stories in general. I have loved reading novels since I was in my early teens. I think there is something magical about getting lost in a story, feeling the suspense of not knowing what is about to happen next, and being surprised about the twists and turns the story takes. Through my film school years, although I never majored in writing, I started writing scripts and educate myself with various scriptwriting books. Now I write and produce my own projects and occasionally help out other projects in the writing stage. I feel like this love of writing goes hand in hand with the producer side of me, and makes me that much more knowledgeable about not just story, structure and characters, but also about the experience of a writer, which helps me understand what they might be struggling with, or whether a note is helpful or not.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My goal is simply self-fulfillment. Once I can go to a movie theatre, watch a movie and then see my name in the credits as a producer or writer, I will feel like I have done something with my life. Of course it is not the end goal, I always make new ones as I meet others, but this will be a huge milestone. Also, I remember the wonder and magic of watching a movie in a theatre that really affected me or reached my soul. After these movies I used to think about the film for quite a while reflecting on what I have just seen and getting excited about filmmaking. These experiences are what made me want to pursue a career in filmmaking in the first place, and if one day I could create a film that gives this experience to someone else, I would feel accomplished.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Although I got interested in how films are made very early on, growing up in Hungary I never really considered filmmaking as a viable career option until my high school years. Compared to Hollywood, Hungary’s film industry was relatively small and opportunities were limited at the time I had to choose a career path. However, I remember watching the extras and behind the scenes videos of movies on VHS and later on DVD. It always fascinated me to look behind the curtains and see how the magic of cinema is made. It all just seemed like an impossible dream until my second year in high school, when I lived a year in Mexico as an exchange student, and the world completely opened up for me. There I had a conversation with a friend of the family I was living with one day, and he made me realize that if I don’t try to achieve this dream now, I will forever ask myself what would have happened if I did. This exchange year also made me understand that I need to get out of the mindset of putting myself in a box that creates limitations on what I can do and who I can be. Today, one’s opportunities are endless if one is willing go the extra mile. So I made a decision to pursue filmmaking. At the end of my exchange year I returned to Hungary, finished my high school, started film school in Scotland and after two years I moved to Sacramento with my family. I finished my bachelors degree there and moved to LA for my masters in Producing. I find it very interesting how a random conversation can change a person’s life, but sometimes we just need to hear a different perspective. This choice definitely shaped my life in a major way, and I still believe it was the best decision I ever made.
