Camera Obscura: Tom Revington on Capturing a Sliver of Time Painted in Light

Tom Revington is a director of photography with a true passion for capturing story through a lens, striving to create emotive imagery to captivate the viewer's imagination. With over six years of experience and more than 200 projects, his DoP portfolio spans across commercials, music videos, features and TV, including brands and institutions such as Meta, NOWNESS, Adidas, Johnnie Walker, Coca-Cola, the BBC and the United Nations. 

LBB> Where/ when/ how did you first come across cinematography? 

Tom> I guess it's making images as a whole. Professionally I am a cinematographer, but from a young age I’ve always loved creating from music to imagery. I picked up an old beat up 35mm camera when I was quite young, my dad helped me load some film into it and since then I’ve always carried a camera around with me. I’ve always been drawn to cameras. 

There is something so magical about capturing a sliver of time painted in light. 

LBB> Was it an obsession straight away or something that has evolved over the years?

Tom> I think the obsession has always been there and it's the meaning that has evolved over the years. I think it started with wanting to hold onto moments and capture them. Which makes you think why we have this compulsion in the first place. Then we start to question what it means to film, what the images mean, how and why they signify what they signify. How we tell and interpret a story. It feels like it evolves the deeper you dig until. 

LBB> What are the most interesting debates or conversations you are having around this obsession?

Tom> I love discussing the ‘process’ with artists. Where the ideas start, the research, the collaboration, the technical to the execution. I find everyone has some form of process. 

And I find it so helpful to talk about this as it encompasses an approach which means considering a perspective you may have not thought about before. 

I think the more we share ideas the better they become, and the ‘process’ is the map to these ideas. 

LBB> How widespread do you think this obsession is with your peers?

Tom> I think filmmaking and photography have become so democratized with technology that almost anyone has the chance to create a film or take photographs. I mean millions of people tell short stories a day on instagram or tiktok for example. 

I find it exciting. Only a few decades ago film was expensive and editing wasn't easy. But now someone can shoot and tell a story with the device in their pocket. 

And as humans we have had an impulse to record and tell stories since the beginning and today our mediums have expanded infinitely. 

LBB> Can you share any examples of work where that obsession really came to the fore and elevated the final production?

LBB> For anyone just getting into your field, what advice would you share to help them get their head around cinematography? 

Tom> Its the same advice that I think many people get. Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot. Practice filmmaking or image making as much as you can. Embrace the mediums available to you. A good story doesn't need expensive gear. A good story could be told on a phone and still be a good story.