Cinematographer Thomas Tyson-Hole on shooting commercials

British cinematographer Thomas Tyson-Hole has built a career defined by instinct, adaptability and a restless creative energy that traces back to skateboard videos he made while growing up. He has developed a reputation in the commercial world for bringing cinematic intention to high-pressure, fast-turnaround shoots, and he has become a trusted voice for directors who need someone who can think on their feet without sacrificing quality or craft. In this exclusive video, Tyson-Hole reflects on his journey thus far and shares his continuing enthusiasm for creative exploration and telling stories through moving images.

Career Opportunities

“I've wanted to do this job since I was a little kid,” Tyson-Hole shares. “I had no other idea of any other job to do. I couldn't paint, I couldn't draw, but for some reason I could use a camera.”

He quickly learned to combine his talent for camerawork with another of his early passions: skateboarding. “I was filming skateboarding since like 9 or 10,” he remembers. As he became serious about pursuing a career behind the camera, he continues, “When I was 16, I did work experience on Clash of the Titans. But while I was doing that, I was hustling through with a little [Sony Alpha] a7 [camera], making films.”

Early in his professional career, Tyson-Hole reflects, “I got really fortunate when commercials became content. It was all these really nice commercials, where you were filming athletes and people. I did one for Cartier, which did really well. I was 23 at the time, signed with my first agent, and kind of been doing all that since.”

Shooting Commercials

Working in commercials, he says, “you can flex your muscles a bit in terms of your operating.” He frequently works in the 16mm and 35mm formats, and with his lens selection, he notes, “I tend to use the 19-90 [Primo zoom] from you guys, and then I use the PVintages a lot. Or, if I do have to shoot full frame, H Series I love as well. But I always have a 19-90 on the truck because it's such a nice lens, and you can just get away with more of it now. A few years ago, [a zoom] wasn't fashionable, but thankfully a zoom's kind of come back around. It gives a bit more life to the image.”

Tyson-Hole’s commercial work has afforded him multiple opportunities to work with football (aka soccer) players, both on and off the pitch. “With the football stuff, I love them because you are editing as you're shooting, and usually what we shoot, there's no fat to trim.” When the action calls for it, he says, “I just shoot it like a skate video, put a little top handle on, run around with a 50 mil.” He notes, though, that he only takes this approach “when it's needed, which I think is a bit more maturity to my work. When before the whole piece might be just chaotic, now it's a bit more, ‘let's find some moments and then transition through that skate world that I come from.’”

Intentional Moves

“Prep on commercials are minimal,” the cinematographer says. “In the commercial world, it's all in my own head, and a lot of directors kind of rely on that. I once had [Lionel] Messi on a shoot, and you get four minutes to do three or four shots. So you have to just be incredibly flexible.

“What resonates with me when you have to go quick is actually not the lighting, it's the camera movement,” he continues. “If you can make sure that that has a feeling of something that has intention, that can help take away from the fact that you can't light physically five lighting setups in 10 minutes.”

With little to no preproduction, rehearsals on the day are especially critical, Tyson-Hole shares. “You just rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. You're in at seven in the morning, but you're out at two in the afternoon. You've just got this really short period of time where it's intense and full on.”

Given that intensity, he says, “I used to be very nervous. The blood's going, it’s a bit like playing a game of football, the adrenaline kicks in. But nowadays I just realize it's best to be calm and to try to be that voice of reason. I think in commercials that's my main skill, figuring out how not to overshoot and to bring quality to what you do shoot.”

A Love for Storytelling

Tyson-Hole’s work regularly brings him back to Panavision, particularly the London rental facility. “First time I worked with Panavision,” he recalls, “I remember as a trainee being in the back room, cleaning boxes, being so nervous and being like, all the pictures are on the wall, all these DPs. It's great because in Vicky's office [Victoria Harris, head of commercials for Panavision London], I've got a photo of me in her office. It's great to have a face in Panavision. It's such a proud thing to be.”

The cinematographer balances commercials with narrative projects, and he shares that each satisfies different artistic needs. “I just find I can navigate a bit of a creative journey in commercials, which keeps my enjoyment really with it,” he muses. “And then narratively, I just love telling stories.”