The Academy Insider Podcast - Your Guide to The Naval Academy Experience

#078 Big Decks: Behind the Scenes of a Military Comedy Classic

• GRANT VERMEER • Season 2 • Episode 78

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Join us on the Academy Insider Podcast as we welcome back Rylan, the comedic genius behind "Big Decks." This episode promises a hearty laugh as Rylan recounts the hilarious journey of his latest video project. With clever use of nautical terminology and grounding humor, Rylan’s storytelling captures the unique spirit of the Army-Navy game in a way that's both entertaining and pride inducing. We share the thrill, challenges, and ultimate triumph of this year-and-a-half-long creative endeavor, where Rylan creates the most epic spirit spot of all time.

Ever wondered what it takes to film a high-tech military project on a historic aircraft carrier? Get an insider’s perspective as we explore the behind-the-scenes action of shooting a visually stunning video on the USS Midway Museum in San Diego. Initially planned for a studio with virtual reality backgrounds, his plans shifted, leading to an intense 48-hour shoot that weaves together military unity with a touch of humor. Thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign and the support of the Midway team, Rylan's production captures the essence of military worlds in a cinematic style, with a fun easter egg hidden for the eagle-eyed viewer. Be part of the celebration and share in the excitement as we gear up for the Army-Navy game, and don’t forget to send your questions for Ryland in future episodes!

The mission of Academy Insider is to guide, serve, and support Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families.

Grant Vermeer your host is the person who started it all. He is the founder of Academy Insider and the host of The Academy Insider podcast and the USNA Property Network Podcast. He was a recruited athlete which brought him to Annapolis where he was a four year member of the varsity basketball team. He was a cyber operations major and commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community. He was stationed at Fort Meade and supported the Subsurface Direct Support mission.

He separated from the Navy in 2023 and now owns The Vermeer Group, a boutique residential real estate company that specializes in serving the United States Naval Academy community PCSing to California & Texas.

We are here to be your guide through the USNA experience.

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If you are interested in sponsoring the podcast, have an idea, question or topic you would like to see covered, reach out: podcast@academyinsider.com.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Season 2 of the Academy Insider Podcast. Academy Insider is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that serves midshipmen, future midshipmen and their families. At its core, this podcast is designed to bring together a community of Naval Academy graduates and those affiliated with the United States Naval Academy in order to tell stories and provide a little bit of insight into what life at the Naval Academy is really like. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you so much for listening and reach out if you ever have any questions. Big Decks is here. Big Decks is here. Welcome back to the Academy Insider Podcast. If you haven't seen the brand new epic spirit spot that's just been released, then you need to go to YouTube right now and check it out. You can also head to wwwacademyinsidercom backslash big decks, where we have all of the resources, from the official poster to a link to the video, and then we're also going to have a form for you to submit any questions. If you want to ask Ryland any questions, because we will do an ask me anything with him into the future, but today's episode you're just going to hear from Ryland. You're going to hear him talk about his vision and what he wanted to create out of this video, and here's a spoiler it's all about go america. Yes, it is the army navy game. We're trying to raise hype for the army navy game and it's always beat army. But this video is all about go america, and so I'm so excited for you to hear it. His process, the iterations he went through and everything that went into creating this epic video. You're gonna love it. Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments. Shoot me any questions because we'll have more conversations with Ryland in the future. Otherwise, you already know what it is Go Navy, beat Army baby.

Speaker 1:

The Academy Insider Podcast is sponsored by the Vermeer Group, a residential real estate company that serves the United States Naval Academy community and other select clientele in both California and Texas. If I can ever answer a real estate related question for you or connect you with a trusted Academy affiliated agent in the market which you're in, please reach out to me directly at grant at the premier groupcom. You can also reach out to me on my LinkedIn page, grand premier, and I'd be happy to respond to you there. Thank you so much, and now let's get back to the episode. Rylan, my guy, congratulations. Big Dex is out. How are you feeling, man? How are you feeling about the release of Big Dex?

Speaker 2:

Oh man, the last 24 hours has just been amazing. We dropped it on Friday and finally it's out. This has been literally probably a year and a half in the making from when I first started writing on it, to raising the money, to shooting it, to post you name it. So it's like you know. It's grown its wings and it's flown. It's out there. It's great, it's great.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, 100%. I was talking with my dad actually as well earlier this week as it was getting ready for the launch and release dad, actually as well earlier this week as it was getting ready for the launch and release, and we were talking about being in Vegas together right At the at the military influencer conference, and you kind of approaching me with this idea, right, like you, like you said you had started writing it and it was like in your head, but you're like I don't know if I'll ever be able to bring this to life. And you came to me with it and I was like dude, like however, we can make this happen, like whatever I can do to help you get this out into the world, like I want to do it and so, like for me, too, it's been so fun to watch you kind of like again get to this point where it was an idea and now it's it's out and it's on YouTube and people are sharing it and cracking up. And so, you know, I kind of want to talk again. In our previous discussions you know it's you you've had to be a little bit more secretive because you didn't want to give away, you know, like the theme of the video, this idea of of big decks being the double entendre that you're really playing off of.

Speaker 1:

You know, from from helm, yeah To, to. We give a ship. All these different things, this one is big decks for you. Like, how, like what was your mindset and focus in? Like grounding this joke and maybe terminology, and like what was the vision of? Like bring this, this to life, now that that idea is out there? Like, how did this idea come to life, what's the significance of it and what did you want people to take away from the video?

Speaker 2:

It was such a calculated process, I mean, for the last year and a half we started, I started writing on it and I had the version that we see now on YouTube is drastically different than probably the 10 or so versions that I wrote a big decks before. And it's because I was trying to settle on, like, what is the rhythm, what is the joke, what is the pacing, where's the comedy? You know, I think the greatest thing is let's see, holy, holy cow. 10 years ago I released we give a ship. A decade ago I'm I'm really old um, we released we give a ship, and it was the first nod to the you know, double, double entendre, right, like and and I didn't think that that would be the, the brand that I was starting to make, but I love the humor. And I think, at the end of the brand that I was starting to make, but I love the humor, and I think, at the end of the day, we are the US military, like it's not. We operate in a real world, very grounded scenario. And so I thought like, hey, having a little bit adult humor would be funny, and everybody agreed with that, right? I think the video is still being watched online. It has like a half a million views.

Speaker 2:

And so when Hell Meow came around, it was kind of the same vein. I was like let's have something that can be a slogan for people to yell. And I can't remember when or how I came across the idea of big decks. But the thing that I loved is that in the surface community and to all those SWOs out there that are watching this, they can please email me and fact check me on this, because I'm not a SWO, I was a CD guy, but you know there is a term that's like oh yeah, I'm on a big deck, amphib or carrier right. And so big decks itself was not a far reach where I wasn't trying to make something happen. I was just like this is terminology that we use in our everyday. Let me ground it in a really fun way Because at the end of the day, like I'll be point blank, we do have the biggest decks in all of the world and everybody knows that, like we have the biggest ships right. So I was like, why not play with that humor? And, as you have seen as hopefully everybody is seeing that the script itself is really, really grounded in actually commenting about the size of the aircraft carriers, right the decks and so running with that was just so much fun.

Speaker 2:

And I will say, because we were so critical scrutinizing, there are many versions of this spirit spot that will never see the light of day. Because we did. We shot a lot more. We have so many other jokes, but at the end of the day, I have been sharing it with a number of small focus groups moms, dads, grandparents in and around the neighborhood where I live, literally knocking on doors and be like hi, can I show you a video? And the feedback was that it was very fun. There were no the version that we see now. It's just, it's made for everyone and that was the intent. Right, like, at the end of the day, yes, it's go Navy, yes, it's beat army, but I wanted this to be a very unifying go America. And I think how fun it is that at the end of the day, that's ultimately what America's game is. Right, it's go Navy, go Army, go America. And so, anyway, I just really wanted to lean into that and Big Decks was a fun way to do that and I'm so happy that it's out.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, 100%.

Speaker 1:

I'm just going to double down on what you're saying, which is exactly that, and again I really want to emphasize that big decks is not a far reach, like you said.

Speaker 1:

Again, in the service community you have all these things, you even know it as a midshipman, if you're on a destroyer, even a cruiser sometimes you would call it you're on a small boy, right, like you have a distinction of class type ships in the Navy, right, you can be on a small boy or you can be on a big deck, right, like those are.

Speaker 1:

Those are the terminologies that are just like very commonplace, and so you know the joke itself is not a far reach, and I think one of the really cool aspects and it comes down to even where you decided to film which was on board the USS Midway, which has been turned into a museum in San Diego but its significance in United States history and military history, and it comes to our military power with the United States and, quite literally, the size of our deck and our ability to utilize air power from sea Right, and so I think this is so cool, and was that a tactical decision on your end too, to try and get to the midway, like, like what was this? Like full push of like I just again for your thing of like this being a go America video, family, friendly, funny, raising the spirit of America's game and really nailing down on this idea of go America.

Speaker 2:

Well, I'll tell you that the iterations there were numerous iterations because when I first had the idea, I was hoping that I would maybe film on an actual aircraft carrier, like a, like a actual US Navy aircraft carrier. But as I started formulating the idea, I realized and this is, this is. I mean, I'll be point blank, this is. I in some ways had my hands tied when I was in the Navy because there were certain creative things I could and could not do, because the Navy always had the final say. And so I knew that if I tried to film on the Ford or the Bush or the Stennis, I knew that I would face a lot of opposition because the idea was inherently edgier. So from the the get-go, I, I said, okay, I think I have to film this outside of the us navy system. I didn't even bring it to them in the first place because I said I need to create this separate from them because I I just wouldn't have the creative freedom right. So first I teamed up with pro 4, production 4, which is a production company based out of austin, and I teamed up with them because I've shot all of the USAA commercials with them. They're a fantastic production company and they have a digital studio. So we first were going to shoot this all in a studio, like on animated virtual reality backgrounds, think of like the Mandalorian, where the camera moves and the background moves. It was going to be quite the high-tech reveal and project. But as we were talking about the reality of what we were trying to do, I first was like, okay, I have the Midway here, is it too far of a stretch to call them? And at the same time the production company in Austin called the carrier that was in Corpus. The production company in Austin called the carrier that was in Corpus. And they went and toured the Corpus carrier. And I went to the Midway and I'd been on the Midway before because I did a lot of work with the Top Gun Maverick for their promotional work for around the global premiere, so it was on the deck. Then, whenever Tom Cruise landed and, you know, went down, I saw that they they could turn their space into something really cool and cinematic right. So I ended up calling them and I said I had this crazy idea and they're like who are you? And I said I'm this guy who used to go to the Naval Academy. I made this video called Naptown Funk. And they're like oh, we know Naptown Funk. So that got me the meeting.

Speaker 2:

I went in and I made everybody sign NDAs before because I wanted to keep the idea pretty close. And I went in, they signed it and they're very apprehensive. They're like okay, you're making a sign, this better be a good idea. I give it to them. They were cracking up and like I just have not had like the Midway, shout out to the USS Midway Museum because they are just fantastic people Vanessa Paulette, the whole team over there. They were behind me from day one and they were like let's see how we can make this happen. They were just so accommodating and also, at the end of the day, even though the team that I had helped from production perspective fly in from Texas, it just made so much sense to shoot it on the Midway and also shout out to the Midway.

Speaker 2:

And anybody who hasn't been to the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, you must add that to your list. Just such a cool spot and place. And so we told them what we were trying to do and they're like okay. And so they were on board and what you see in the video we shoot the opening scenes on the flight deck. We started shooting it. We got there at like 5.30 am when it was still dark, started shooting around 6, 6.30, right when the sun was coming up. That's because the museum didn't open until 10. So we had the entire space to run through. Grant you, that's when you made your cameo man.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's right. I was the first shot of the whole thing. I didn't want to hold us up.

Speaker 2:

You set the tone, man, you set the tone. And here just there's Grant, right there the great, the top rack.

Speaker 1:

Come on now.

Speaker 2:

And so we, you know, we started shooting and then every the biggest question I've been asked lately is like where did you all shoot all of the other scenes and like the international scenes and all of that stuff? And we shot that on the carrier. We had a couple of classrooms where our production designer built out an actual set for all the other scenes. The Pentagon scene was all there, everything was there. And it's so cool that everything you see on the big decks is filmed on the Midway. So it's just cool that we have that type of space access. And I mean, at the end of the day, like, if you're making a piece called Big Decks, you better shoot it on a big deck, you better shoot it on a big deck. You better shoot it on a big deck.

Speaker 2:

That's it so anyway, just so grateful that we did that. It was two busy, long days in October that we shot and couldn't have been happier.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no, I highlight on that as well. Again, all this happened in 48 hours from the actual, like the actual filming side of the house, right Like you should have seen Rylan in action, and I know Rylan. I believe the intent for you is to release kind of a full behind the scenes video to show everything that happened in the creation of it, but it's just so cool that you were able to accomplish all of that in again this timeframe that you said, like there were a couple of times where there's a couple of scenes that still needed to get filmed on the deck and museum was open, right. So now it's like coordination and a half trying to bring everything to life and he did it and he did it, and so I will I'll tell everybody.

Speaker 2:

Everybody's watching it's this exclusive easter egg. There is one scene where there's a pedestrian walking through the the video. I'm not going to tell you where it is, you just got to find it on your own. If you you find it, message me whatever. And yeah, it's really. I mean like that's the thing is. We're shooting, we have four hours.

Speaker 2:

I remember my first AD that's my first assistant director was yelling like it's opening. You got to wrap it up. You got to wrap it up and I remember I was standing there and they're like there's someone in the background. I'm like let's go. And anyway, it was a wild 48 hours, but that's kind of the status quo. I shot Naptown Funk in three hours and 57 minutes because I had four hours to close down Maryland Ave.

Speaker 2:

So this is nothing new to me and despite the fact that we had 70 crew, cast and crew on this project, it's just amazing that we were able to accomplish everything we did. And I'll just say this the one thing that I'm just so happy is that I truly feel like we were able to capture all of the different worlds with everyone's support through this Kickstarter. It really lent itself to increasing the production value and allowing us to like. What does the Space Force look like, what does the Air Force look like, what is Coast Guard? What about the Marines? What about Pentagon? And what about all the other nations that are jealous of our power projection? Anyway, it was just a fantastic time.

Speaker 1:

Oh man, that's awesome and so cool and in your opinion again, as the creative here again, a lot of the Army Navy Spirit spots, like we've mentioned before, are purely like a beat Army thing, right? Or like a beat whoever we're playing. You made the conscious choice to wrap in every single service as well and kind of end the video with a with a hardcore like go america right, like what was it, like what was your intention and desire and the hope of? Like the output of this in your mind and just like the overarching, like high level military united states and just like global geopolitical idea here with with this video.

Speaker 2:

I've been out now for three years almost three years, right and I think the one universal thing that anybody who serves takes away is, yes, the rivalry between branches is so much fun, but at the end of the day, it truly is.

Speaker 2:

You know, this is so cliche, but it's so real. It's one team, one fight. And it was very important to me that, now that I'm out, I have this kind of different perspective of my time in service, and I think it's so important that we highlight, at the end of the day, yes, okay, one day of the year, on Army-Navy game day, we can, like you know, beat each other up on the field, right, but it truly it's, you know, up on the field, right, but truly it's a unifying thing. And I think, go America, just put into perspective that, yes, the Navy has the biggest decks, but the Navy is still part of the US military, so we as a collective have the biggest decks in all of the world, right? And so I just thought it was very important to bring it together and, yes, to poke fun at the different branches of service, you have to. That's the comedy element. But at the end of the day, this piece is about bringing us together and truly sharing in that unity and patriotism, and so that to me was really important.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, 100%. Well, Ryland, thank you so much, man. I know we'll have an intention for anyone who's listening here on Academy Insider and you want to ask Ryland a question specifically, Ryland and I are going to do another version of an Ask Me Anything about any piece of the spirit spot that you enjoyed or you had a question about, or there's a unique aspect to military thing that you might not understand the joke fully, or whatever the case is, or just his creative idea, the design, who the actors are, et cetera. We're going to do that. Shoot me a message here on Academy Insider, you can send me an email, you can send a message via social media, whatever it is, with questions for Rylan. And we're going to start to build this because we're going to do an even more in-depth breakdown of all of you know, like all the content inside, and allow you to ask any questions that you have.

Speaker 1:

But this, this episode today, was really again just to allow Ryland to just like, let the, the, the stress and the burden of like this looming over his head to get out of there and just highlight what he wants. You know the takeaway to be from this, from this video and everything, and so I appreciate that greatly, Rylan. I'll turn it back over to you for anything. Any last thoughts that you have before we just continue to share this video. Go around and move forward.

Speaker 2:

It's just been a phenomenal journey. So grateful for Academy Insider support, so grateful you're acting chops hell of an acting chops. Watch out Academy Awards. I just want to share this video. I want it to, I want people to enjoy it. And you know, as we ramp up to army Navy week, which is going to be here before we know it, why not kick it off early? And I hope big decks did that?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely, and I love it, ryland. Thank you so much, brother. Again, I think what you're doing here with this video and, again I think, a lot of times when you're in the service sometimes and it's not necessarily a bad thing, I understand from the organization perspective, but there is red tape right and so for us to be able to be out of the service now, kind of be able to have a little bit more creative freedom, but still do it in a way as, again, I know, our intention is to wildly support and have it be an overwhelmingly positive experience for our military community that we care a ton about. This has been really cool to watch you bring it to life. So thank you so much for what you do, sharing your talents and showcasing everything you do with all of us, bringing a little bit of joy, laughter and just overall pride leading up to the Army-Navy game.

Speaker 1:

So thank you, brother, and again, anyone listening, shoot us questions because we'll be back to get you a little access directly to Ryland. So appreciate it, ryland, you're the man. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Academy Insider Podcast. I really hope you liked it, enjoyed it and learned something during this time. If you did, please feel free to like and subscribe or leave a comment about the episode. We really appreciate to hear your feedback about everything and continue to make Academy Insider an amazing service that guides, serves and supports midshipmen, future midshipmen and their families. Thank you.

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