Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan McDonough and John Blanford, of Pastime Pictures.
Hi Dan and John, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Dan McDonough: When I was 18 years old, my Mom helped get me a summer internship at a company called “Duke Energy” in Cincinnati, Ohio. The people I worked with were incredibly kind and caring, but they couldn’t figure out why an aspiring filmmaker wanted a job at a Hydroelectric plant, as these internships were typically for future engineers or project managers. The truth was, I needed the money and at the time I didn’t know how to make a career out of my true passion – Filmmaking.
One day an executive at the company called me into his office and asked for my “creative opinion” on a PowerPoint he was making for a big company conference. I told him that instead of a PowerPoint, I could help him stand out by making a custom animated video. He didn’t love the idea but agreed to give me 24 hours to come up with a “proof of concept.” This was the summer after my freshman year of college and at this point, I had only taken a single, one-hour class on animation. However, I was determined to capitalize on my first opportunity to get paid for Film/Animation work. That evening, I pulled an all-nighter, simultaneously reading a textbook on animation, while putting together my pitch. When I presented my vision to my boss the following morning, he loved the idea and agreed to let me do the project. He went on to play the video at the company conference, and it was a huge success. After receiving numerous referrals from this conference, I spent my Sophomore and Junior years of college doing contract animation projects for companies all around the country, in addition to getting my degree.
While I was having success as an animator, my passion for movie-making never left me. Shortly after college, I got to work on my first real movie set. The connections I made there ultimately inspired me to move to Atlanta’s blossoming film industry. After a short career as an animator here in Atlanta, I decided to turn my full attention towards getting hired on a film set. I spent weeks dropping off resumes at production companies all around the city. I did as much networking as I could and eventually became a Production Assistant. After a few years in the industry, I landed a job on a Fox Television show called “Sleepy Hollow,” where I would meet my future business partner, John Blanford.
John Blanford: From the time I was a little kid watching E.T., I dreamt of making movies. I have a small library of DIY films that will never see the light of day, wherein my middle school friends and I did our very best to imitate the stories that captured our imaginations most: The Matrix; Blair Witch Project; Mission Impossible; etc. We went to extreme lengths, breaking bones, building sets, and making shameless requests, like convincing a local police station to let us film their helicopter landing.
As I grew older and started thinking about more adult things, such as college and a career, filmmaking felt more like a fading dream than a reality. As far as I was concerned, movies were made on Mars, and I didn’t know a single Martian. It wasn’t until a film elective my senior year at Boston College, amidst a flurry of LSAT prep and Law School research, that I met a real-life filmmaker. He was retired, but he had dared to touch Mars. His opening statement to the class: “Someone in the room could win an Oscar someday if we could find the insane bravery necessary to chase our dreams.” I ripped up my law school applications that day and immediately started running around campus with a camera in order to apply to every film school in Los Angeles.
Most schools interpreted my sudden spike in enthusiasm as a quarter life crisis, but Loyola Marymount’s MFA program appreciated my willingness to further pursue my passion. I was finally headed to the West Coast to start my journey as a filmmaker, and I was determined to turn this scholastic opportunity into a paying job as fast as possible. That opportunity came in the shape of a handshake and a great conversation with Melissa Blake. She was a successful alumni of LMU’s writing program and saw an eagerness in me that she rewarded with a Summer internship opportunity on one of her shows in… Atlanta, Georgia. I was shocked — I thought LA was the big red planet I’d been chasing my whole life, but now I packed my bags for the South. I showed up for my first day on the set of Fox’s Sleepy Hollow where I met Dan McDonough, who taught me how to turn on my first walkie-talkie. While I thought Atlanta would be a small detour to my ultimate journey back to LA, I quickly realized that Atlanta could be my home base for my career in the film industry. After a fruitful few years in the south, I was given the incredible opportunity to briefly return to LA to work with one of my heroes on Spielberg’s The Fabelmans in 2021.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Long before we founded our company we were working 80-90 hour work weeks as Production Assistants. Along the way, we fell in love with the process of filmmaking and eventually worked our way up the ladder to join The Directors Guild of America as Assistant Directors. We were fortunate to work on a broad array of big-budget Hollywood productions including “Jungle Cruise,” “Wanda Vision,” “Shazam!: Fury of the Gods,” “Free Guy,” “Tag,” and “Bad Boys for Life.”
As Assistant Directors, we became very knowledgeable on how to manage large-scale film productions but our heart was deeply rooted in the creative process. In 2018, we found ourselves at a crossroads in our careers. We wanted a new challenge that would combine our logistical knowledge with our creative instincts, and Pastime Pictures was born. While the prospect of producing our own films was an exciting next step, it was important for us to honor our roots as production assistants (a.k.a. “PA’s”). Contained in our company name are the words “PA’s Time.” This serves as a constant reminder that every member of the production is an artist with intrinsic creative value.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Our background as Assistant Directors has given us a unique perspective on being a Producer. Our company is just as dedicated to building a prosperous work environment as it is in producing quality films. We achieve this vision through the stories we produce, the artists we collaborate with, and the environment in which we work.
We believe that the creative process shouldn’t be controlled by only the Producers and Directors. We work hard to empower every person to play a creative role in the development of each project. The Pastime Pictures brand is dedicated to “uniting audiences through shared experiences that are rewarding, meaningful, and timeless.”
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risk taking is a necessary part of any business, but we try to take calibrated risks. When we founded Pastime Pictures we had solid resumes as Assistant Directors, but we didn’t have any credits as Producers, so we were in essence, starting from scratch. Producing a Feature Film or Television show as our first project was far riskier than producing a short film. However, this was where our expertise was so we were willing to take the risk. We believed that if we found the right project, we could use our combined 20+ years of experience to put the right team together and make a quality film. In 2021, this dream came true. We partnered with a few other like-minded companies to go into production on our first feature film. From raising funds to building a top-tier crew, we were incredibly humbled by the support we received from our industry relationships to help us achieve our vision.
With our first film nearly complete, we have begun the development process on several other film and television projects. The Atlanta film community has been a critical backbone in both of our careers, and it is important to us to create an environment where we can empower and support the wonderfully talented crew base here.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pastimepictures.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pastimepictures/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pastimepics
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82501748/admin/feed/posts/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/pastime_pics
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe4g-v2jpEvSW2bmLGs4-eg/featured
Image Credits
The professional photos were taken by Blake Ballard. All images taken by him have “Photo by Blake Ballard” in the title. All other Images were taken by either John or myself.
