The Company We Keep: Arielle Thomas

Behind Cinema Thom is Arielle Thomas, a director, photographer and creative strategist building a more considered approach to production. Her studio brings together a collective of creatives across fashion, lifestyle and film, taking ideas from first thought to final frame.

Alongside her work behind the camera, Arielle hosts Process, a podcast exploring the people, ideas and in-between moments that shape creative work. We caught up with Arielle to talk about trusting the process, finding clarity in motion, and making more room for the human side of creativity.

01 Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.

My name is Arielle. I run my own creative studio, Cinema Thom, specialising in video. Process is a show rooted in creative entrepreneurship. I interview the world's top creatives and brand builders about their unique creative process.

02 Walk us through what a typical workday actually looks like for you — not the polished version, the real one.

No day is the same. I'm writing this from my hotel room at Sunset Tower in Los Angeles. This time last week I was on set directing a home renovation show.  I start the day with coffee, and I end the day with hot lemon water.  Always listening to audiobooks wherever I am. 

03 What does "process" mean to you? Is it something you trust, or something you're still working out?

Process has two meanings to me. In my business, it's the endless pursuit of optimisation. My personal process I give myself nothing but time. It does not have an end date. The only thing we can depend on is change, and once I came to accept that, the process became a lot easier.  

04 Where do your best ideas tend to arrive and where do they usually get stuck?

The best ideas always come in motion. I get stuck when I am stuck. I make a conscious effort to move my body and shift focus reguarly to keep things at pace.

05 Is there a part of your process you'd never show anyone? What does it look like?

I journal a lot, and I'm pretty unfiltered; I don't want anyone reading that! 

06 Where have you deliberately chosen the harder, more interesting path over the easy one?

I'm avoiding AI at the moment with the podcast. I am trying to lean into the human. We can optimise nearly everything but sometimes things like pauses and listening to a guest while they're deep in thought is important. 

07 What's one belief about you that you've had to unlearn?

After a few traumatic events in the past few years, I've had to unlearn some of the stories I've told myself. I tried to tread lighter, to take up less space and to people-please, but at the end of the day I wasn't making myself happy. I've learned to put myself first and unlearn some things that I would tell myself, which were ultimately keeping me and my mindset very small.