TOM STOOPS
Actor, Director, Screenwriter, Teacher, and now head cinematographer for Polestar Productions Studios!
Brandy Reign: How old were you when you started to get into the film industry?
Tom Stoops: It was 2009 and I was thirty-eight. I had just got custody of my two boys. It was the same year I started writing and had a short story published. I’ve always been a fan of film and the processes and techniques used to create what’s seen on the silver screen. I was pumped when DVD’s came out and they had the extras included where you could watch how certain scenes were created. I would watch everything and would watch it all over again.
I would go as far as watch the movie a second time with the commentary on so I could hear how the scene was created as well as the different technical aspects such as camera work, lighting and the sound…I was obsessed. What got me started in the film industry was not what, but who. My brother came to me and how I would like to make a movie. I of course thought it was an awesome idea. I bought a video camera, which was a little better than the one I already owned, but it was still just a consumer grade mini camcorder.
My brother and I brainstormed and we came up with a zombie television series we called The Zombie Chronicles. This was before the zombie genre made a comeback and before The Walking Dead premiered on television. We had an awesome set out on our uncle’s property and it was going well, but there were some things that had transpired which halted production and the dream never was finished. We never stopped though and got involved with other local film makers and worked on other projects over the years.
zombie genre made a comeback and before The Walking Dead premiered on television. We had an awesome set out on our uncle’s property and it was going well, but there were some things that had transpired which halted production and the dream never was finished. We never stopped though and got involved with other local film makers and worked on other projects over the years.
Brandy Reign: What do you love most about what you do?
Tom Stoops: I love the process of film making. It’s an art form, just like a painter uses brushes, paints, creativity, and technique to paint his vision on the canvas. There is more to making a movie than just pointing a camera at someone or something and hitting record. You must have that vision of your “painting” in your mind and use the tools available to reproduce your vision for all to see. The lighting, the type of camera(s), the movement of the camera, the position of the camera, how everything is positioned in front of the camera, and most of all your technique in manipulating all of those various things to create your picture…it’s just a rush to see it all fall into place as you saw it in your mind.