We were lucky to catch up with Tom Gault recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tom, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

In the very beginning of my journey in high school, I had an older friend that introduced me to cameras, tech, editing,…etc. And for several years we worked together growing his local production company in Tennessee as a small team of creatives. It was always just fun for me and I had no plans of choosing this as a career path. I learned by watching others, the same way then as I do now. Youtube, forums, web tutorials and colleagues have been my curriculum since day one. Although it wasn’t until I moved to Los Angeles in 2015 that I began learning firsthand what real industry work looked like on set and in the office.

Looking back, it might have sped up the learning process to find a more direct mentorship, or even simply choosing which department I felt most comfortable in on set. It can be really disheartening to feel like no one would want to take you under their wing or take the time to teach you how things really go in this industry. As a result, imposter syndrome and self doubt naturally threw a wrench in my development. However, I’m proud of my work and I know that ultimately it’s all the outcome of my own desire to stick with it. I mean I have a degree in a completely different field! There’s no reason for me to hang onto this career if I didn’t get so much joy and affirmation from it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

The early days of my filmmaking experience were mostly filled shooting weddings in high school. I continued operating in that arena through college where I would make promotional video content for campus organizations and such. Ultimately it was just a hobby until I graduated with a business degree and decided I felt most compelled to pursue a career in filmmaking. I left my hometown of Knoxville, TN with no plan and no money to move to Los Angeles. The last eight years have been a journey of self-taught growth in my work behind the camera and on screen.

Today I can confidently refer to myself as a jack-of-all-trades (master of a few). I feel like a fluent comedic director and editor who happens to have taught himself how to shoot and light as a cinematographer. I think everything stems from my early days playing music. I was a drummer my whole childhood, and even now everything has a rhythm. My cinematography, my performance, my editing. It has has a beat and once you find it in your head you can’t let it go. It may sound a little odd or different, but I believe one of my biggest strengths to be imitation. I had a professor that always taught me to “Steal Shamelessly” and I’ve found that in the end, that imitation winds up being a unique creation that’s all your own.

While I can’t say I’ve had the most illustrious career, I’ve been very proud of some key moments in my journey. For three years now I’ve worked closely with Jessica Alba as an in-house video director for everything she does on the web.

I’ve shot more “zero dollar” projects that I would like to admit. music videos, short films, sketches, pilots, song demos, you name it. Every time I surprise myself with how well it stacks up against the players with lots of cash to throw at their projects. You learn to operate more effectively when there’s no money. So then later when the budget does actually come, I am able to perform beyond expectations and also with grace and humility.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Any creative in any department would tell you that finding the right representation is difficult. If I’m being honest I feel like a cinematographer might have it the hardest. There’s simply no literature or direction on the web for a DoP to find management or representation like there is for actors, and directors.

One of my driving goals is certainly to find an agency or management that liked my work and wanted me on their roster. In the meantime it’s enough for me to keep my head down and keep making things that entertain people.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

This is an interesting question, and I have some pretty strong opinions about it. In my corner there are so many line items in the rule book of shooting. Don’t cross the 180 line, always shoot in the right ratio, follow this composition guide, blah blah blah.

At the end of the day all the things we’re taught are simply guidelines for safety in this profession. However, every great innovation in filmmaking usually came from breaking a rule or trying something new. So for me it wasn’t so much “unlearning” a lesson as much as it was “learning” to trust my gut, and be willing to take counsel from others you trust when what’s on screen isn’t feeling like you know it should.

If you want to light your frame like a weirdo with no training, do it. If you wanna put your actor’s face in the bottom right corner of the screen do it. I’m always reminding my peers that what we do is fun, and should always stay that way. We are so lucky to work in a field that allows for that in a new way with every project.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tomgault.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomgault/
• Other: https://vimeo.com/tomgault