We recently had the chance to connect with Luke Ring and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Luke, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
When asked about recent moments that have made 21-year-old director Luke Ring feel proud, attention naturally turns to Xela, the sci fi drama that marks a significant shift in his artistic journey. Though Luke has directed numerous films, Xela was the first project where he stepped away from operating the camera and focused solely on directing. That change alone reshaped the experience.
Xela, written entirely by his father, Mark Ring, is a tense, introspective thriller exploring memory and identity. The script carries a quiet psychological weight, the kind that demands precision and restraint from everyone involved. Luke approached it with the intention of honoring the voice Mark had crafted while stepping into a role he had yet to fully inhabit: directing from the monitor rather than behind the lens.
The production unfolded over a single day. A daytime shoot. Lean, focused, and intentionally tight. Cinematographer Tommy Oldham led the visual side of the project, using vintage lenses to create an atmosphere that felt immediate yet timeless. The aesthetic, rich with distortion and character, gave Xela a textured identity that distinguished it from Luke’s earlier work.
What struck Luke most was watching the performances come alive in real time. Dale Dobson, cast as Dr. Mason, brought a composed and unsettling stillness to the antagonist role. His presence added gravity to the story’s tension. Opposite Dale, Brady West stepped into the role of Alex, grounding the film with emotional vulnerability and a quiet urgency that shaped the tone of the narrative. For the first time, Luke could observe every nuance of their performances without juggling camera operation. That clarity allowed him to direct with a deeper sensitivity, guiding the emotional beats rather than managing the mechanics of the frame.
Despite the compressed schedule, the shoot flowed with surprising ease. The crew moved in sync. Performances locked in quickly. The tone stayed sharp. It was the kind of day where everything aligned, not through luck but through preparation, trust, and the shared commitment of the people involved. For Luke, it was proof that stepping out of familiar habits can elevate the work in ways he didn’t expect.
Pride came not from scale but from evolution. Xela marked his transition from director-operator to director-leader, someone who can step back, observe, and shape performances with intention. It also underscored the value of collaboration. Mark’s writing, Tommy’s lensing, and the cast’s discipline gave Luke the rare experience of watching his team carry the weight of the film with him.
As a filmmaker living and working in Michigan while rising in the Chicago commercial scene, Xela represents more than another project. It is a turning point. A reminder that growth often arrives in the form of new roles, new challenges, and quiet moments on set when everything finally feels right.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
At just 21, director Luke Ring is quickly becoming one of the most intriguing young filmmakers rising out of the Midwest. Based in Saint Joseph Michigan and working frequently in Chicago, Luke represents a new generation of directors who choose to build from their hometowns rather than abandon them for the coasts. His path reflects a blend of discipline, independence, and artistic risk that feels rare for someone his age.
Luke is the founder of Sukavision, his personal film brand through which he has created more than eleven narrative short films and over five hundred uploaded videos. Without film school or traditional industry access, he developed his cinematic voice through sheer repetition and self-funding, investing more than fifty thousand dollars of his own savings into equipment, collaborators, and original stories. That level of commitment has set him apart as a self-made filmmaker in a region that is actively redefining its creative identity.
He also works as a Creative Director at JV Studios, a Chicago-based production company that expanded into Saint Joseph Michigan, where he directs, edits, and develops commercial work for national brands. Under the guidance of Creative Director Vince Pinto, Luke has been able to merge commercial discipline with narrative ambition, building a skill set that moves fluidly between high-end advertising and personal filmmaking.
What makes Luke’s work compelling is his focus on emotional clarity and minimalist tension. He gravitates toward psychological stories that rely on movement, silence, and atmosphere rather than heavy dialogue or spectacle. That style takes its most realized form in his newest project, Xela.
Xela is a sci fi drama written by his father, Mark Ring, and filmed in a single day with cinematographer Tommy Oldham using vintage lenses to create a textured, dreamlike visual language. The film stars Brady West as Alex, a character caught in a psychological conflict about identity and memory, and Dale Dobson as Dr. Mason, whose composed presence adds a chilling undertone to the story. Xela represents Luke’s boldest creative step yet, showcasing his growth as a director who can lead a cast, manage a tight production schedule, and craft a narrative that feels both intimate and unsettling.
For readers discovering him for the first time, Luke’s work stands out because it embodies the spirit of modern independent filmmaking in Michigan and Chicago. His films feel personal yet cinematic, small in crew yet large in vision. His brand, Sukavision, continues to expand as a home for raw, honest storytelling. And with Xela entering its release stage, he is solidifying his position as one of the Midwest’s emerging directors to watch.
Luke’s journey is defined by intention, self-reliance, and a willingness to take creative risks long before he had the traditional infrastructure to support them. Now, backed by a growing community of collaborators and a studio that believes in his potential, he is shaping a career that reflects both his roots and his ambitions.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
When asked who he was before the world tried to shape him, the story of 21-year-old director Luke Ring returns to a time long before titles, deadlines, or expectations. Long before JV Studios, before the commercial sets in Chicago, before the festival screenings. It goes back to seventh grade in Saint Joseph Michigan, when Luke was a kid running around with a camera, posting weekly vlogs to YouTube simply because something inside him insisted he do it.
Before anyone told him what a filmmaker should be, Luke was a boy learning to see the world through the lens of small, ordinary moments. His dad was the first person to hand him a camera, the first to encourage him to create without fear, without rules, without worrying about perfection. Those early days were not about careers or futures. They were about curiosity. About capturing life as it happened and discovering that storytelling made him feel more alive than anything else.
While other kids experimented with hobbies that came and went, Luke found a clarity unusual for someone that young. He didn’t question whether film was his thing. It simply was. The weekly vlogs became short films. The short films became obsessions. He spent countless nights editing in his bedroom, building a foundation out of instinct and repetition long before he had the language to describe what he was doing. There was no plan B, and he never wanted one.
Who was he before the world tried to tell him who to become? He was the kid who knew exactly who he was. A storyteller. A filmmaker. Someone who felt most himself behind a camera, even when the equipment was basic and the audience was tiny. Someone who learned early that vision can grow from the smallest places, even a lakeshore town like Saint Joseph Michigan.
That clarity is what shaped everything that followed. It fueled Sukavision, the brand he built from scratch. It guided him through self-teaching, through hundreds of videos and eleven short films, through investing more than fifty thousand dollars of his own money into gear and creative growth. It carried him to JV Studios, where he now works as a young director shaping commercial and narrative work between Michigan and Chicago.
Before the world had an opinion, Luke already knew the answer. Film was not a choice. It was the only path that ever made sense. And in many ways, he is still that kid from seventh grade, chasing the feeling he first discovered with a camcorder in his hands and a story in his head.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
When asked if there was ever a moment where he came close to giving up, the story of 21-year-old director Luke Ring pivots to a quiet night that nearly altered his entire future. Long before JV Studios, before commercial sets in Chicago, before the festival screenings and narrative projects, there was a moment of uncertainty that nearly pushed him off the path he had always believed was his.
Luke grew up in Saint Joseph Michigan knowing filmmaking was the only thing that made him feel awake. Yet, like most self-taught artists without a clear roadmap, he eventually reached a point where doubt whispered louder than ambition. One night, overwhelmed by the pressure of choosing a “realistic” future, he sat at his computer with the DePaul University film program application open, ready to enroll. It was the logical choice. The safe choice. The choice the world encourages when passion begins to look impractical.
He hovered over the enrollment forms for hours. The cursor blinking. The uncertainty heavy. It was one of the few times he wondered if building a career from scratch in Michigan was too big a dream to carry alone.
But something inside him resisted. A small, stubborn belief that the path he was carving mattered. That his identity as a filmmaker wasn’t something a degree could validate or replace. He closed the tab that night without enrolling, trusting the quiet intuition that had guided him since seventh grade.
What followed is the kind of full-circle moment that feels almost mythic in hindsight. One year later, the kid who nearly enrolled at DePaul was now directing and editing professionally for JV Studios, splitting his time between Chicago and Southwest Michigan. He had stepped into the role of Creative Director, mentoring under Vince Pinto, and leading commercial productions across the Midwest.
Then, fate delivered its final twist. JV Studios was hired to shoot a project on the DePaul campus, and Luke returned not as a student but as the director behind the camera. Standing on the grounds of the school he nearly attended, now leading a professional team and shaping a project on his own terms, the moment hit him with quiet force.
The near detour. The doubt. The dark. The late-night hesitation. None of it had defeated him. It had prepared him.
It reminded him that believing in yourself when it feels hardest is often the most important creative act. That the road he built in Michigan, self-funded and self-taught, was not a lesser path but a stronger one. That the leap of faith he took by backing his own vision had carried him to exactly where he needed to be.
So was there a time he almost gave up? Yes. But he didn’t. And now, with a career rising across Saint Joseph Michigan and Chicago, with narrative films like Xela, Little Library, and The Great Escape shaping his reputation, and with a studio that trusts him in ways he once only imagined, Luke stands as proof that the darkest moments often precede the most meaningful breakthroughs.
It came full circle. Because he chose to believe before anyone else did.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
When asked what belief or project he is committed to no matter how long it takes, 21-year-old director Luke Ring speaks from a place far deeper than ambition. There is a core truth at the center of his filmmaking journey, something he has carried since the seventh-grade vlogs shot on his dad’s camcorder in Saint Joseph Michigan. It is the belief that consistency, not luck, builds a director. That showing up day after day, year after year, even when no one is watching, is what shapes an artist’s voice.
For young filmmakers searching online for direction, wondering how to start without film school, how to break in without connections, or how to grow as a director outside Los Angeles or New York, Luke’s story offers a rare kind of clarity. He built everything in real time. He posted hundreds of YouTube videos. He taught himself lighting, story structure, editing rhythm, pacing, and performance direction by creating nonstop and failing forward. He poured more than fifty thousand dollars of his own money into gear and short films through Sukavision, not because he had excess resources, but because he believed in building a body of work long before anyone asked him to.
He often says that no film school could have taught him what consistency did. The quiet nights in his bedroom learning to edit. The weeks spent rewriting scenes with his dad Mark. The discipline to create something new even when inspiration wasn’t present. The patience to rework shot lists, reshoot scenes, and refine films like Little Library and The Great Escape until they felt honest. Those habits strengthened him more than any tutorial ever could.
That same belief anchors his newest project, Xela. Even though it was filmed in one day with cinematography by Tommy Oldham and performances by Brady West and Dale Dobson, Xela represents years of internal preparation. Years of building confidence. Years of trusting that storytelling grows through repetition, not shortcuts. For young filmmakers searching phrases like how to direct your first film, how to work with actors, how to make a micro-budget thriller, or how to create cinematic visuals with vintage lenses, Xela stands as an example of what can happen when someone commits to the long game.
In Luke’s world, consistency is not just a habit. It is a worldview. He believes that the work compounds. That every short film improves your instincts. That every edit sharpens your sense of timing. That every collaboration deepens your ability to lead. That every creative risk makes the next one easier to take. His path to JV Studios happened because he kept showing up. Because filmmaker and writer Ryan Cheevers saw the discipline behind his projects and introduced him to the right people. Because the studio’s Creative Director, Vince Pinto, recognized that consistency reveals promise long before accolades do.
What makes Luke’s belief system compelling is how unglamorous it is. He does not credit breakthroughs or viral moments. He credits repetition. He credits stubbornness. He credits putting in the hours when no one expects it. For aspiring Midwest filmmakers searching how to keep going, how to stay motivated, or how to build a directing career young, Luke’s stance offers a steady answer.
His long-term commitment is clear. He believes in the slow build. He believes in trusting your own trajectory. He believes in holding a project in your hands for as long as it takes to shape it into something deeply felt. He believes in staying rooted in the story, whether he is directing commercial work in Chicago or crafting intimate narratives in Saint Joseph Michigan. He believes in becoming one of the great directors of his generation through deliberate, patient, and relentless practice.
The project he is most committed to is himself. The version he is becoming. The filmmaker sharpened through years of consistency. The young director who refuses to rush the process. The artist who knows that everything meaningful takes time.
Luke’s philosophy is simple. Trust the long road. Create endlessly. Let consistency build the legacy others will one day see.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
When asked if he has ever gotten what he wanted only to find it did not satisfy him, 21-year-old director Luke Ring pauses. Not because he is unsure, but because the question touches the heart of the filmmaking experience itself. For a young director who has spent more than a decade building a career from seventh-grade vlogs to commercial directing in Chicago and Southwest Michigan, the answer is embedded in the rhythm of the industry.
Luke’s path has been marked by milestone moments that would thrill any emerging filmmaker. Premiering Little Library at the Cleveland International Film Festival. Completing eleven narrative shorts before turning twenty-one. Directing high-level commercial work at JV Studios under Creative Director Vince Pinto. Bringing ambitious projects like The Great Escape and Xela to life with self-funded budgets and handcrafted vision. Each achievement felt like a summit at the time, a point he once believed would bring long-term satisfaction.
But filmmaking carries a quiet truth that only reveals itself through experience. Satisfaction is temporary. The bar rises the moment the project ends.
Like many self-taught directors, Luke discovered early that this industry is less about single victories and more about leveling up. Every completed film opens the door to a more challenging one. When Xela wrapped, for example, he felt proud of the cast, the writing by his father Mark Ring, and Tommy Oldham’s vintage-lens cinematography. Yet within days, his mind shifted toward what he could improve next time. How to deepen performance direction. How to elevate visual tension. How to expand scale without losing emotional precision. For young filmmakers searching online for why finishing a project feels empty, Luke’s experience reflects a universal creative truth.
This lack of lasting satisfaction is not disappointment. It is propulsion. It is the quiet engine that moves a director forward.
Luke often looks back on earlier projects that once felt monumental. Completing his first short film. Saving for months to buy a new piece of equipment. Landing his first paid directing job. At the time, each milestone felt like the center of the world. But as his abilities grew, so did his expectations. What once fulfilled him no longer matches the filmmaker he is now becoming. This evolution is both the challenge and the gift of the craft.
It is also why he continues to invest in himself. More than fifty thousand dollars of personal savings poured into gear, collaborators, and stories under Sukavision. Hundreds of late nights in Saint Joseph Michigan shaping edits. Countless hours studying the work of directors he admires. For a young filmmaker searching how to stay driven in an unpredictable industry, Luke’s answer is simple. Growth replaces satisfaction. Momentum replaces comfort. The pursuit becomes the reward.
Has he ever gotten what he wanted, only to feel it fall short? Yes. Many times. But that is precisely why he keeps pushing. The moment a project stops challenging him is the moment the next one demands to be made.
Luke is emerging not because he is easily satisfied, but because he is not. Because the next story calls louder than the last. Because the hunger to improve, to evolve, to level up, is the quiet pulse behind every frame he directs.
And for a 21-year-old filmmaker rising in Michigan and Chicago, that hunger is exactly what will carry him into the future he is building.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lukering.com
- Youtube: luker1ng
Image Credits
All photos owned by Luke Ring of Sukavision. Taken on the set of Xela, a sci fi short film
