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Introduction
Dominic Anaya is the Executive Producer, Head of Production, main Production Coordinator, Production manager, Screenwriter, Director of Photography, Director, Camera Operator, Equipment Manager, Studio manager, Owner of Beyond the Pines Productions, Beyond Rentals, a Government services Administration preferred-vendor, and single father, and...I'm out of breath from writing all these roles!
All jokes aside.
2014
In 2014, while recovering from depression due to a break-up, I called my Dad late at night, while going through what felt like a mid-life existential crisis. I told him I didn’t know what I wanted my major to be in college after switching from an assosicate’s degree to massage therapy then back to an associate’s degree earlier that day.
My dad mentioned and not verbatim, but that I always enjoyed doing creative things and that I was good at it; he mentioned the comics books that I’d use to create from pencil, crayon, notebook paper, and staples. I thought of acting because I enjoyed becoming various characters and entertaining people. When I was 9, with the permission of my teacher, I’d do my own “comedy-hour” show which was really 5-minutes or so after lunch. My teacher Mrs. Boldt gave me this time because she didn’t know any other way of reducing the manic energy I had as a child.
Come to think of it, all of that expression came from the trauma I suffered from living in a dysfunctional family. I didn’t know at the time, but Drama, Debate & Speech, "speech" being the more creative expressive side of the class, (2009-2012) became my outlet. So when my father mentioned creativity, I Immediately thought of acting.
Later that night, I mistakenly joined the film program at Palm Beach State College in Lake Worth, Florida because it had “Acting for Film” as a program on the course syllabus. I thought it would be interesting to learn about film, but the main reason I stayed in the program was because I could act in the student films.
2015
I eventually began to fall in love with every aspect of film because ultimately I wanted to express and share what I was feeling through the camera. Between 2015-2016 while attending film classes, I worked as a delivery driver at Papa John’s, waiter at Ruby Tuesday’s, and occasionally went on-set to work as a Production Assistant or Camera Production Assistant for various companies while staying at mom’s with my girlfriend who was pregnant at the time.
2016-2017
In 2016 at 23, I dropped out of film school with 80% of my associate’s degree completed because my son was about to be born, and I wanted to focus on making money. From mid 2016 to mid 2017, I made the leap of faith with my career and quit Ruby Tuesday’s to work full-time as a freelance production assistant and camera production assistant. I got a few jobs here and there as a videographer filming b-roll and behind the scenes for reality tv shows, I shot some music, home, and business videos during this time while working as a remote associate producer for a company based in LA for about 6-months.
I eventually was fired from the remote producing job because I tried to take a lead for myself and got caught in the process. It was at that company, that I learned a bit about producing. I took what I learned and went full-time on my business and started it with my low-limit personal credit and store cards.
2018-2019
In January of 2018, I officially incorporated Beyond the Pines Productions and set goals to make 4K/mo in revenue while renting a home and eventually an apartment with my girlfriend at the time and son. Now here’s what I earned in revenue, by the end of 2018, I made around 57-64k in which mainly came from remote editing, and in October 2019 I rented a warehouse and converted into a studio with only 4-6k in my business checking after the deposit, ending the year with 163k.
2020-2021
By 2020, I got married during the height of the covid pandemic, but managed to earned 193k which mainly came from studio work. In 2021, I earned 390K in revenue and made six figures in personal income which came from a mixture of studio and equipment rentals, in-studio, and on location productions.
2022
In the beginning of 2022, I purchased my first home and by the end, I earned 346k in revenue and six figures again personally, and I was robbed while going through the divorce process for 270k worth of equipment in October which changed the trajectory of how I viewed life entirely.
2023
I eventually was divorced in february of 2023 and closed out the year with 71-80k, however, I still turned a profit which was comparable to all the previous years. The company profit ranged from 36-47k between 2019-2023 because I poured the majority into my business which wasn’t the best strategy, but because the aforemtnioned losses, I learned how to cultivate a successful mentality which aimed to limit failure while learning to focus on what I can learn from the failures.
2024
I began therapy which was based on western psychology in mid-2022 and eventually transitioned to a psychospiritual therapeutic approach with 1-on-1 sessions Master Ken Smith of Martial Arts Medicines, who's also a client of our company. I also purchased Ken’s program which is called “Perspectives on Anxiety & Depression”. The program and the 1-on-1 sessions changed my perspective on myself and life. It made me more life sensitive versus egoistically sensitive. If you struggle with anxiety and depression then I suggest Ken’s program because it helps tremendously.
As mentioned in the Tao Te Ching, the Stephen Mitchell rendition, which was originally written by Lao Tzu around 400BC, “What does it mean that success is as dangerous as failure? Whether you go up the ladder or down it, your position is shaky. When you stand with your two feet on the ground, you will always keep your balance.”