We recently connected with Tyler Thomas and have shared our conversation below.
Tyler, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
I’m much happier as a business owner and freelancer. I love to curate my own style of work and the way I want to get things done. I also enjoy being able to make my own schedule. It’s just like if I need time off of work, I don’t need to request it off, I just need to accept that I won’t be getting as much done, which has its ups and downs. I don’t often think about what it’s like to have a regular job because I knew from an early age that working freelance/owning my own business and in a creative field is what I always wanted to do. I can’t really picture having a set schedule or going to the same place everyday for work. I love to take time off of work to travel and have fun because that’s where my inspiration comes from. I need time to recharge to see and experience new things to generate new ideas, concepts and projects. The film industry is really spontaneous and random; you might be booked for a month straight then not have a single day of on-set work for the next month. It takes a certain type of personality to do it. The inconsistency can be super fun, but also pretty scary at times but at the end of the day the spontaneity is worth it.
Tyler, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a freelance Commercial Director and co-owner of Winterhaus Studios, a production company and creative studio based in Minneapolis. I first got into the film industry by going to film school and interning for a freelance Cinematographer, Kevin Horn, who was based in MPLS at the time (shout out Kevin). Kevin brought me on a bunch of big commercials right away and I started hopping in with the lighting crew. After making a career out of lighting on commercials and a couple movies, I knew I wanted to work towards the goal of becoming a commercial director. I started to find work between lighting jobs as a director and eventually curated a portfolio that represents me and what I want to do.
As a director, I really like to focus on lifestyle, art direction and fun. I like to make projects feel high-energy and exciting, as well as have a unique visual look – whether it be with the color palette, camera movement, or wardrobe and props. Winterhaus Studios is an extension of this mindset, helping brands accomplish this fun, unique, and creative way to show their product.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I’ve always strived for two goals. First, to create unique work in my own style and work for brands I believe in. The second goal is to work and collaborate with my friends. I have been super lucky to have met a lot of other like-minded and talented film industry folk that makes this my dream job.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
I run Winterhaus Studios with my good buddy Josh Manoles. Josh is a super rad guy with a deep portfolio in graphic design and motion graphics. I always looked up to his work, even before we really knew each other. Josh left his job at Adidas in Portland and moved back to MPLS to work on his company at the time, Public Snowboards. We had a lot of mutual friends through skateboarding and started skating and hanging out together when we realized we had a lot in common creatively. Two years later in 2022, Josh and I officially launched Winterhaus Studios together and we’re having a blast doing it.
Contact Info:
- Website: directedbytyler.com // winterhaus-studios.com
- Instagram: @thank_god_ima_country_boy // @winterhaus.studios
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-thomas-3a517225a/
Image Credits
Dallas Currie, Jacob Velander, Chris Behnen