Tom Smith is the Award-Winning English Director of 15 Shorts Film

Tom Smith is an award-winning film director from London, UK. Tom has directed over fourteen short films and has developed his own style of filmmaking that have tackled both Social issues and the experimentation of film as an art form. Tom Smith‘s films have received high praise, with screenings at various film festivals, institutions and cinemas around the UK, the USA and internationally including the BFI Southbank, Picturehouse Cinemas, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Los Angeles Cinefest and the Limelight Film Awards. Tom’s professional YouTube channel, where all of his short films can be found has gained over 2.9 million views.

Meet The Crew: Tom Smith

Award winning writer/director @tommsmith1993 directs his fifteenth short film with GHOST, his second collaboration with producer Anna Margeti. He’s previous films have gained over 3.1 million Youtube views, winning over eight awards in the process. pic.twitter.com/wWJUkdJWJP

— GHOST – Short Film (@ghost_shortfilm) July 15, 2018

indieactivity: How would you describe your work as a director?
Tom Smith: I like to think my work speaks for itself. I’m very driven by the passion you can have for your craft and am very patient as a director. My work is very gritty, but very honest at the same time.

indieactivity: How did you get into directing?
Tom Smith: My first cinema trip when I was five was to see the original Star Wars, and whilst that made me want to become a storyteller (back up career was to be an Author), it was Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings trilogy that made me really want to become a filmmaker. Everything about it screamed to be, this is your future!

indieactivity: How do you choose a project to direct?
Tom Smith: The value and message of the film. What is the film trying to say? How will having this movie on your filmography affect your future career choices.

indieactivity: Briefly describe wrong impressions actors, writers,and directors have about directing?
Tom Smith: I personally hate the stigma of people thinking that Directing is simply pressing record on a camera and saying action. It months and sleepless nights of preparation, designs and losing your own sanity. People seem to think it’s such an easy undertaking but it’s a lot of work that really does test your patience with people and how much respect you can have for your industry.

indieactivity: What books do you read?
Tom Smith: The Film Directors Intuition by Judith Weston is very insight, in understanding the mind of a director and knowing just what creative and narrative decisions you have to make in every aspect of the production.

indieactivity: Why will you choose an actor, writer or producer. What do you look for?
Tom Smith: Talent is an obvious answer, but its someone who can bring something new to the table, as much as that statement has been said numerous times before. Someone who really appreciates and understands their craft.

indieactivity: When you are offered a job, what things do you put in place to do a good job?
Tom Smith: Time is always your enemy. Not just on set but throughout the entire production time. You can’t let it defeat you so you work with it. It’s also knowing who is good at their job. The last thing you need on set is someone who’s not keeping with time.

indieactivity: Briefly explain your latest work?
Tom Smith: My latest short film Change, which premieres at this year’s Chelmsford Film Festival is a social realism drama about homelessness and prostitution. It tackles the stigma of social drams and presents the film in an honest and realistic way. In many ways, it’s very British, but it’s also dark and gritty about the subject matter

indieactivity: What thing/situation helps you during production?
Tom Smith: Taking time out for yourself. With your entire production team and actors asking questions all the time, it’s nice to have five minutes to yourself. Wherever you are on location, or in a studio space, find an area and ask to not be disturbed for five minutes or so. It helps your brain get around everything you need to do that particular shooting day. Sometimes it can be doodling quick storyboards on paper, or re-reading over the screenplay..

indieactivity: Explain a creative choice you took on set on a recent production?
Tom Smith: We had a scene set in a kitchen which wasn’t working. At no fault of the actors or script, but the essence of the scene just wasn’t working, yet it was narratively a valid scene which we needed, so I took the choice to allow the actors to simply improvise the script, allowing the camera to move freely in a one shot, one take motion, which allowed the actors to simply construct a new narrative around what was already in the script. That take ended up in the final cut.

indieactivity: How do you advise directors to find projects?
Tom Smith: A good director can direct anything, so don’t be afraid to look at genres you wouldn’t normally look at. Travel and read books. For someone such as myself who lives and works in London, riding the Underground is enough to give me a brainstorm of ideas for stories to conjure up. Fill your entire room up with notes, write everything little thing you think of down and see if it all works together.

indieactivity: How can filmmakers finance projects?
Tom Smith: Crowdfunding websites are a safe haven, but it’s really understanding how much finance you need for a project. People are more likely to invest money in your project if you can guarantee you can make it for an easy sum of money. I went to a Q&A once with the Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn (director of Drive, The Neon Demon) who talked about how he was given a budget of $6 million to direct Only God Forgives, yet only used $4.8 million of it because he didn’t need the rest, so he used the remaining money to fund he’s next movie.

indieactivity: What do you want from an actor in production?
Tom Smith: Patience. An actor needs to understand that the crew does more work than themselves on set. It’s about trying new things and not being afraid to say your own ideas out loud. A good actor will respect the director’s wishes, if he or she has clearly been working on the idea for some time.

indieactivity: How do you prefer to work with a producer during a production?
Tom Smith: Right from the beginning, you always try to work with a producer, or never attempt to do both roles. The last thing you need on set is a headache because your worrying about every aspect. Leave some room for creative space, that’s the job of the Director. You are the captain, so you steer the ship. Let the producer worry if someone has got a cup of tea in their hand.

indieactivity: What do you think a director can do to get into the film industry?
Tom Smith: Shoot your idea. Filmmaking nowadays is cheaper, but it’s certainly not easier. Make a YouTube and Vimeo account and put your films online for a worldwide audience to see. Two of my own shorts have reached over 1.4 million views each, mostly because of the subject matter tackled in the films and the effect it has had on the audience.

indieactivity: Who is your favorite director?
Tom Smith: You can’t finalise a favourite director, because you love so many things about different people. If I had to pick one however, it would have to be Martin Scorsese.

indieactivity: Why this director?
Tom Smith: Scorsese is a master of his craft. Why? He craves every aspect of the cinematic art form and truly knows what makes a great motion picture. He’s work in the restoration of old movies has taught many young filmmakers, myself included that you need to study the past to work towards a better future. His technique of referencing and paying homage to filmmakers of the past whilst putting his own stamp on the work. Besides, he makes bloody awesome films!

indieactivity: What advice would you give to directors around the world?
Tom Smith: Learn from the past. A director needs to be able to look beyond the years of Scorsese and Spielberg to really appreciate cinema as an art form. You need to be able to embrace the old school techniques, so go out and shoot something on 35mm, make a film in black and white, even make it melodramatic. Your production team will crave and work off your passion for the project, so make sure whatever work you do is something you are willing to lose sleep over, because you want to get it right. You don’t learn everything about filmmaking by reading it from a book.

indieactivity: Briefly write about your career?
Tom Smith: I have directed over fourteen short films since 2013. I completed a trilogy of social realism dramas with Empty (2015), which explored a young girl suffering from an eating disorder and the effect of mental health, Smoke (2015), a drama about domestic violence in a lesbian relationship and Change (2018), which as mentioned above tackled homelessness and prostitution. I’ve also directed a fantasy short called Pathfinder (2015), which was my homage to Lord Of The Rings and in many ways, the most ambitious project I have directed yet. There’s so much talent I’ve discovered that I couldn’t get into at this stage in time, but you can follow the link to my website and watch all the films yourself.

Delighted to announce, my next short film.

GHOST

Follow the film on Instagramhttps://t.co/ChyIgLQITI

Twitterhttps://t.co/hrBahgMbo0

& Facebookhttps://t.co/j1zD4CV9B7 #comingsoon #shortfilm #indiefilm #movieposter #filmmaking pic.twitter.com/iLPEteXqgR

— Tom Smith (@tommsmith1993) July 13, 2018