Listen to this articleWhen Richard and Amy Janes started looking for places to retire, leaving their Hollywood jobs in Los Angeles, they unknowingly revived a dream to start their own film studio on a ranch somewhere.
After a short trip to Oklahoma, the couple found a land of green grass, more affordable opportunities, and an empty elementary school that would be their legacy.
“We looked all over the world for a place to retire to because my husband’s English, and we happened to come to Oklahoma because one of my girlfriends from Los Angeles said she was coming out to see her parents in Oklahoma,” Amy said. “My kids have never seen Oklahoma, so we jumped on it. We came in April 2018 for five days and absolutely fell in love. We bought a home here in June and moved to Oklahoma after 20 years in Los Angeles.”
They also revisited a dream the couple had about building a studio outside of the Hollywood scene in a place where the quality of life met the quality of content. In their youth, they looked at ranch property in California, envisioning a place they would call “Filmmakers Ranch.” When they stumbled upon the shuttered 25,435-square-foot Green Pastures Elementary School in Spencer, they realized their dream could come true in Oklahoma.
In 2020, the couple, along with Melodie Garneau, opened Green Pastures Studio, which provides training, production infrastructure, sound stage space, support services, facilities and production vendors for the movie and film industry. The name pays homage to the structure’s deep history as a school.
Now, four years later, Green Pastures Studio has undergone a rebranding that will allow it to expand to additional locations throughout the United States. Now called “Filmmakers Ranch at Green Pastures,” the red-dirt movie production studio is only getting stronger.
Building out a filmmakers’ hub
When Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell found out about the Janes’ history in filmmaking, he asked them to join a group of filmmakers working to build the state’s film industry.
“When we looked at what we needed, we all said we needed more infrastructure at that point,” Amy said. “We needed more education.”
Green Pastures began offering both in-person and online classes designed to support any film project coming to the state. During the pandemic, the studio also became the focal point for the entire film industry by standardizing health and safety protocols; those protocols were adopted by film production unions like SAG and more.
“The first thing we started business-wise were the classes in September 2020,” Amy said. “We recognize that filmmakers in a smaller emerging market tend to do all the jobs. They don’t recognize the idea that there’s a difference between a set PA and a first-team PA. We decided we were going to train everybody. The class is called ‘Set Ready’, and it teaches how to be a production assistant. We look for people who already have job experience, and then we help them transition that experience onto a set. So whatever your experience is, we can find a way to get you exactly onto a set.”
From there, students can narrow their interests into production, editing, makeup and hair, sound-mixing and other film-related jobs.
The film studio campus also attracted independent movies like “What Rhymes with Reason” and “Finding Carlos” to major studio projects like “Oppenheimer” and “Tulsa King.” Richard Janes’ own indie film “Cricket’s Requiem” was shot and produced locally (and will debut at the 2024 deadCenter Film Festival).
“We are now in a position where other states are calling us and asking if we can do this for them, too,” said Amy. “That’s great, but the Green Pastures branding doesn’t fit everywhere. We knew we wanted a place where people felt like they could come collectively. So, we went back to “Filmmakers Ranch.”
Amidst 12 acres just north of Midwest City, Filmmakers Ranch includes three sound stages, six acres of backlot and support spaces, including Oklahoma’s largest grip and electric company and a full Dolby Atmos Post Production facility.
Building bigger with bigger goals
With the rebranding, the 52,000-square-foot facility has two new production vendors and the state’s first certified Dolby Atmos sound mixing stage, only one of three in North America. New stages are in the works beyond the three existing stages, and the Filmmakers Ranch location will act as a “one-stop shop” for education, shooting and pre- and post-production.
Oklahoma’s first film and television studio campus continues to expand. NGP Film, Oklahoma’s largest film equipment rental business, and Apex Post Production, a full-service post-production company, are now based at the ranch. GP Film owner and founder Nathan Gardocki has supplied equipment to numerous projects in Oklahoma, including Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon, Oscar-winner “Minari” and the Oklahoma-centric series “Reservation Dogs.”
Apex Post OKC brought the certified Dolby Atmos sound mixing stage and immersive Dolby Atmos to Spencer. Amy said just having that sound mixing ability could create 15 full-time jobs and boost the state’s attractiveness to the film industry.
“We don’t have an investor purse or have an amazing investor, so anytime we make money, it goes straight back into here,” Amy said. “Getting word out that we’re here has been slower than we liked.”
An industry on the rise
Nevertheless, Oklahoma is already on the lips of the industry. Over the last 10 years, the state’s film incentive program ushered through the Oklahoma Film and Music Office, has incentivized film and television productions to spend over $300 million dollars into the state economy, while the state has paid out less than $40 million.
The film incentive also created thousands of part-time and full-time jobs for Oklahoma residents, and in 2021, Oklahoma below-the-line crew members earned more than $100 million that year alone.
In May of 2021, the Filmed in Oklahoma Act of 2021 created a new rebate program and raised the annual cap from $8 million to $30 million. While that was a huge jump, the Janes hope Oklahoma eventually adds more incentive dollars to attract more film and television.
Until then, they are ready.
“We’re essentially teaching hospital for the film industry,” Richard Janes said. “Just like a teaching hospital like OU Health, you have the best research and best minds doing life-changing surgeries. We use that same model, pushing the boundary between business combined with education.”
Richard added that the film industry is downsizing, seeking smaller venues and less big-budget spending. Filmmakers’ Ranch is poised to offer the best option for productions seeking an economical option.
“Oklahoma really is in a number one position in the country, given the geographic options we have here,” Richard said. “The key to being sustainable is homegrown talent. We offer crew, equipment, actors, writers, directors, all of it. We are a one-stop facility growing homegrown talent.”