The Work That Made Me: Mike Lee Thomas

Raised in The North of England and with a background in motion design, Mike Lee Thomas’ powerful visual motifs and curious exploration of the human condition have seen him nominated at Cannes Young Director Award and achieve the highest ever rated VOTD for his film 'Oh Wonder.' He is represented by Curfew in the US.

The ad/music video from my childhood that stays with me…

Mike> Spike Jonze's intro sequence for Lakai's 'Fully Flared' was unlike anything I'd seen in skateboarding at the time. It evoked such powerful emotions in me because it arrived at that age in my mid-teens when I was defining who I am. At that age, music becomes part of how we define and see ourselves. So, this coupled with seeing skateboarding in a new, cinematic, larger-than-life presentation with so much suspense really informed, what I'd call my 'values' in what I'm looking to experience in both what I consume and make. 

The ad/music video/game/web platform that made me want to get into the industry…

Mike> I didn't grow up consuming film. I studied programming in Flash before taking an interest in graphic design, then motion graphics, which bled into VFX, creative direction, and by accident, directing. My introduction to the industry has been a bunch of happy accidents the whole way, and hopefully it will continue to be throughout my career

It was through skateboarding and graphic design that I discovered André Stringer's (now founder of Domo) company, Shilo. The company was made up of animators, designers, programmers, and VFX artists, and they had a very punk rock attitude while making the slickest commercials, music videos, PSAs, short films, and web experiences. The company didn't operate with a traditional hierarchy. Any day an animator could start directing, and then a sound designer would be editing; they were very public about that. Everything they touched transmitted a genuine care for pushing the work in a new direction with constant experimental collaboration pieces internally. I think Shilo influenced a lot more people than they realised, and I'm sad they're no longer around. Connecting the dots, it was Shilo who let me be at peace with pursuing many different mediums at once while always chasing 'the feeling.'

The creative work that I keep revisiting…

Mike> I spend my time exploring feelings and the world I want to live in when working with ideas in their infancy before I dive into specifics. During this stage, I listen to a playlist compiled of two of my favourite composers I've worked with: Moritz Staub and Shervin @ Mutant Jukebox. It's never about instrumentation, style, or tempo with their approach but it’s completely about what the feeling we're chasing and wanting to transmit to others. I revisit their work constantly throughout the year, not only because the soundscapes they create are immersive, but they’re also artists on the same creative wavelength of wanting to evoke a feeling, first and foremost. 

My first professional project…

Mike> Another happy accident! When I was creating CG product films and writing creative for agencies, I wrote the creative for a new Canon camera that was about to be launched at the very last minute. The agency was stuck looking for directors at such short notice and someone had the bright idea of asking if I'd be keen, given my eye for composition and edit-pacing from the CG world. "It's the same, just with a real camera - not whatever you're using in that Cinema3D thing...". Definitely wasn't the same. I remember immediately googling what a 1st AD was and realising communication is 50%, if not more of the job, whereas with CG, you can explore, play and offer up a lot more options. I was surrounded by an incredible crew, we wrapped early, came in under budget, and I was hooked. It was like my first time at a casino and winning - those last two things have yet to happen together since!

The piece of work that still makes me jealous…

Mike> Johnny Green's Nyemaka's Dream; a masterpiece from the master.

The creative project that changed my career…

Mike> 'Dare to Leap for Leaps' by Bayer changed my career quite drastically, but more so, it changed my confidence. It made me believe that I can make things that gave me the same feeling that 'Fully Flared' did:sSimple subject, large in scale, sonically vast and full of suspense. 

Shervin really set the tone whilst I was writing the treatment with one of his soundscapes which ended up being the actual score. Moritz and I pushed the sound design to the extreme, breaking the rules and allowing it to 'clip' but in a way that would intensify the film. It showed me the importance of having producers who will really fight and problem solve with you to make something happen, especially Therese Scholz who kept the ship sailing throughout and made the whole film possible. That job in itself had everything going against us every step of the way, so for it to be nominated for the Young Director Award was an amazing feeling.

The work that I'm proudest of…

Mike> I created a campaign for my friends Oh Wonder many years ago based around the question "What Does it Mean to Be Human?” It was a project where I got to collaborate with friends from all over the world, before remote shoots were a thing (we're talking iPhones strapped to 5D's using FaceTime and me interviewing the subject over skype).We created an interactive web experience to coincide with the film where viewers could go and share through voice, text, and image what their interpretation was and it would geolocate the answer onto an illustrated map that removed the borders. 

The film went viral, amassing two million views in 12 hours and trending on YouTube at number 11, but the thing that I'm proudest of however is that we made something with zero budget, that meant so much to a lot of people. The comments section and the connections that were formed between people showed me the power of making something that has a heart. It represented what I wanted to feel at that moment in time amongst all the shit happening in 2017. 

The recent project I was involved in that excited me the most…

Mike> Actually, it’s a project completely outside of the industry. I volunteer once a week at a not-for-profit, zero waste café in my hometown in the north of England. The surplus it receives is used to create a unique menu on the daily by a wizard of a chef. On weekends it's pay what you can, allowing everyone the opportunity to eat and experience the magic they whip up with what would otherwise be destined for landfill. The teamwork and support to make something for the community reminds me very much of the film industry and after every shift I feel a sense of belonging. Oddly enough, it feels like our worlds get a lot bigger when we make them a little smaller.