Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Richard & Ryan Taylor. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Richard & Ryan , appreciate you joining us today. How do you feel about asking friends and family to support your business? What’s appropriate, what’s not? Where do you draw the line?
We feel that it is absolutely necessary to have family and friends support your business, especially when starting out. This is one of the main reasons why our doors have been able to remain open for the past 2 years. We had to get comfortable with charging family & friends rather than giving freebies otherwise we would run the risk of closing. However, asking family & friends for support is not always easy. At times, we have had to put our pride aside and ask our family for help when times got low. This led to having to get over the guilt that comes associated with asking someone to support your dreams, even when it does not appear like things are going to work out. Fortunately, our immediate family have been very supportive and already have an understanding of what it’s like to us start a new business venture.
Where we would draw the line for support is when asking someone to give more than what they have or if it starts to compromise the person and their ethics.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
We are Richard & Ryan, also known as “The Steampunk Brothers”, originally from Rancho Cucamonga, CA, and the owners of I.F.B. Studios, one LA’s newest film studios, centrally located in Glendale, California.
Richard E. Taylor II was born on “Mother’s Day”, May 13, 1990. After being casted for an agriculture commercial at the tender age of four, Richard discovered his love for acting. Since his acting debut, he has gone on to appear in commercials like Nickelodeon’s “The Big Help” program and on shows like “Glee” and “John Benjamin Has a Van”. Richard has also been featured in movies such as “Eyes to See”, “Thugs the Musical”, and “The Party Boppers”. His more recent appearances can be found in the films “Contraband”, and the upcoming film “Bolt from The Blue”. Richard has also performed in a host of plays and appeared in music videos with artist, such as, Lenny Kravitz and Mary J. Blige to name a few.
Outside of Acting, Richard earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology at the California State University, San Bernardino. He has more than 10 years of experience working in health services as a behavioral therapist. Richard also served as the office manager for Plan B… Therapy Family Counseling Center for 6 years. While there he was able to help grow the practice into a Million-Dollar Business.
Ryan N. Taylor was born October 11th, 1994. He first got his spark for the industry when he started taking acting classes at John Casablanca’s Acting/Modeling School in Beverly Hills, CA in 2007 where he attended with his older brother Richard. Ryan was given an opportunity to develop his camera, live switch board and directorial skills at the young age of 14 while serving as part of the Multi-Media Ministry at Cathedral of Praise International Ministries, in San Bernardino, CA, where Bishop Craig W. Johnson, Th.D. is the pastor.
Since landing his first leading role in the 2012 released feature film “The Young Believers”, Ryan has gone on to star in several commercials for companies like Reebok, Adidas, and Six Flags, as well as appeared in many music videos. His most recent appearance is in the Upcoming Feature Film “Bolt from The Blue” where he plays the News Reporter.
After graduating from Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, Ryan attended Pasadena City College before transferring to The University of Southern California and earning his bachelor’s degree in Cinema & Media Studies. While at USC, Ryan crewed on/ starred in over 20 productions where he found his passion for Assistant Directing.
Following earning his bachelors degree from USC in 2018, Ryan became a full time freelance Assistant Director, now having AD’ed on nearly 50 productions to date, with credits that include “The Last Whistle”, on Netflix, “In The Defense Against Tyranny”, on Amazon Prime Video and “Fine China” available on HBO. Ryan also interned and worked as a production assistant for “CBS’s The Late Late Show with James Corden” from 2017-2020. In addition, he has served as a line producer on multiple short films along with co-producing the 2015 released documentary, “Searching for Mentors” which features former basketball player Paul Pierce. And for companies like, Hennessey, Six Flags, and Vivo.
It was while assistant directing on set that Ryan got the idea to create a film studio and he knew just who his business partner would be. One day in early 2019, Ryan invited Richard to come check out a studio that he was filming at. They noticed that the studio was ran by two young friends which spark something in them, making them think “Hey, maybe we could do something like this”.
It wasn’t until a year later, in the mist of the Covid-19 Pandemic that our vision started to take form. With so much time on our hands, it gave both of us a chance to think about what our next “Move” is. Ryan had noticed that all his AD gigs were cancelled or postponed except for the ones that were shooting on a stage or in a controlled setting. From there we had to get to pitch the idea to our Family as we would need as much support as possible.
Starting a new business venture is no easy task which is something that we knew going in. Even though we did as much research as we could, some things can only be learned from firsthand experience. We had to develop a game plan for the business and be willing to put in the long hours required to help grow it. But first, we had to get over the initial hump of taking a risk. Fortunately for us, we were trained by our parents to take risks. From a young age, both parents pushed us to go for whatever we believe in while knowing that they will always be there to support regardless. Also, having a mom and dad who come from an entrepreneurial background really aided us when starting our business. As kids, our parents owned multiple Board & Care Residential Homes for persons with special needs, which forced us to have daily interactions with staff & clients as well as spending our free time in the back of a car headed to the bank or post office. Also, our mom is an LMFT who has had her own private practice for many years which is where we gained a lot of in-office experience.
It was after getting the greenlight from our family and months of searching with a realtor that we finally found a location however it looked nothing like a film studio. It took 3 & ½ months of renovations and additions before we were ready to open the doors on March 7th, 2021. 2 Years later, our studio has housed many productions ranging from films, music videos and commercials to photo shoots and live events/attractions. One being our Annual Film Festival, launched 6 months after being open, which gave filmmakers and creatives the opportunity to showcase their artistic magic and win FREE Studio Time. The festival is not your ordinary Film Festival, but more of a festival of the Arts featuring: live music/performances, food trucks & vendors along with, film workshops/live Demonstrations.
I.F.B. Studios is also home to seasonal walkthrough photo-op attractions where the community gets the chance to experience being in a film studio with themed sets and capturing some fun photos for the holidays.
Aside from our events & attractions, one thing that sets us apart from other studios is that we are a Black Family-Owned Studio which is rare to find in Los Angeles and our hospitality is unlike any other studio around. We strive to provide the best experience while filming here by making sure that each production feels well cared for and at ease with our always friendly and professional staff. Also, be sure to keep your eye out for the Steampunk Bros anytime you are at I.F.B., it’s our way of bringing a little flare and excitement to filmmaking.
Another thing that sets us apart from other studios we are available 24/7 and we include Free G&E, wall flats, select props and a 21.5” iMac computer (Final Cut Pro & Adobe Premiere Included), perfect for your DIT or Editor to get started on post while in production. We also offer in-house assistant directing services and mental health therapy for those long days on and off set. Working a 12-hour day? Relax on set in our superlative Green Room that offers a full-body massage chair.
Oh yea, did we also mention that our studio is right next door to a Brewery, making for easy access to “Wrap Beers” after production has wrapped for the day.
Opening a film studio has taught us the importance of pulling our resources together as a family and supporting one another. We can truly say that our doors would not still be open if our family did not come together and trust God with the process.
In the end, we hope to grow I.F.B. Studios into a global household name and inspire people who look like us, while being a place for all to be able to enjoy the beauty of filmmaking.
If you have not already filmed at I.F.B. Studios, you are truly missing out on an exciting filmmaking experience.
How’d you meet your business partner?
How did we meet? When Richard asked our parents for a little brother, and they eventually gave in. One of the perks of being business partners with your brother is that typically you’ve known one another your whole life and are familiar with each other’s personality & work ethic. Since we live together, we are use to being in each other’s company for long hours which is needed when starting out a business. Luckily for us, we also have similar visions & goals which allows us to have a great synergy when working together.
With Richard’s acting/business background and Ryan’s knowledge regarding film both behind the scenes and in front, we combine our strengths daily to run a business of our own. Having a brother as your business partner allows you to have someone close to be able to share the journey with and you realize that everyday your business grows, the more of a legacy that you leave behind for your family.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
When it comes to managing a team and maintaining high morale, we like to make sure that sure that everyone feels like they are contributing and valued. We have learned that having effective and consistent communication is key as well. By making sure everyone knows what the game plan is, you allow for the team to be able to utilize their strengths to tackle the plan. Also, we have learned that it is important to set realistic goals that can be easily met to build the teams confidence while also setting goals that challenge the group to drive the business further. Once we have achieved those goals & milestones, we like to celebrate each accomplishment by rewarding ourselves for the hard work that the team puts in. This in returns fuels our team with the drive to keep accomplishing more goals.
Another thing that we had to learn in order to keep the morale high is the power of tongue, and being mindful of how we speak on the business. During hard times, we learned that it is important to stay hopeful in our language and be there to catch each other when one is slipping.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ifbstudios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifbstudios/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/IFB-Studios/100069574023273/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/IFBStudios
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzY1notgQ-E7nyY5c3Sw44A/featured
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ifb-studios-glendale
Image Credits
Dario Tejada Connor Terry Rebeca Dourado Brittney Janae