We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tom Robenolt. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tom below.
Tom, thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?
Taking risks is something that everyone will react to and face differently. Personally, I developed my mentality for facing all risks during the past twelve years of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training. Put simply, “life is movement.” When someone twice your size is bearing down on you with all of their weight, crushing the air out of you, and grabbing at whatever arm, leg, finger, or wrist they can reach, the only guarantee you have is that if you sit still, you will lose. If you don’t move, if you don’t keep working, if you don’t do something, anything, then they will. I believe this thinking is applicable to much more in life than a martial art and sport.
If I’m nervous to make a large purchase for my business, or to take on a new type of job, responsibility, or role, I think back again to that simple notion. If I don’t keep moving, there will be no growth and your only guarantee is that you will become stagnant where you are. Every opportunity that I’ve been able to seize was because I took a risk in the past. The risk may not have paid off for days, weeks, months, or years; but it did pay off. I believe that if you put on metaphorical blinders and remain steadfast moving in the direction of your goal that the risk will always pay off.
In my field of Filmmaking, we use very specialized equipment. Different cameras, lenses, lights, rigging gear, software, etc. can take years to really get to know inside and out. With every different tool comes the responsibility, as a professional, to learn not only its strengths and weaknesses, but how best to manipulate it and push it to its limits to get the absolute best results possible. If I were to wait to purchase and learn how best to utilize a new piece of equipment only when it was absolutely necessary for a job, I would never get the job because somebody else who already owns or knows how to use that equipment would be hired in my place.
I believe many people opt to play it safe and wait to make big leaps until there’s an obvious platform to aim for on the other side. Sometimes, I think, you just need to take the risk and jump, because life is movement and if you don’t move, you’ll remain right where you are.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am the owner of Point Five Films, LLC where and the Director of the annual Whistle to the Maples Horror Film Festival.
Filmmaking is my true passion and has been ever since I made my first “movie” about an alien invasion at 8 years old. Point Five Films is where I am able to not only make a living, but make my artistic and creative ideas, concepts, and dreams come to life. It’s where I am able to utilize my knowledge and technical abilities towards of the art of Filmmaking.
My first short film, “Whistle to the Maples”, went through the festival circuit throughout 2022. On that production, I acted as the Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Editor, Sound Designer, and Colorist. This is the project that began to open doors for me in my career. Thanks to the success of Whistle to the Maples, I was brought on as Cinematographer, Editor, and Colorist on the upcoming Documentary, ““George A. Romero’s Resident Evil”.
Later this year, we will also be beginning production on my first feature-length horror film, “Blacktop Summer”, which I have written and will also be acting as the Director, Cinematographer, Editor, and Colorist again. I am very excited to work on this project. A concept trailer that was shot over the summer of 2023 can be seen at our website pointfivefilms.com.
While touring through the festival circuit in 2022 with Whistle to the Maples, I realized there was an opportunity to give back to the Independent Filmmaking community. My short film ran alongside many other great horror shorts that I would have otherwise never seen. These films deserved not just an audience, but a proper venue to show them. I also knew there had to be many, many more out there. Because of this, I started the, “Whistle to the Maples Horror Film Festival” in November 2022.
Each year in early November, we’re proud to be able to work with The Campus Theatre in Lewisburg, PA, one of the last few historical art deco movie theaters in the country, to showcase four hours of fantastic independent horror films. Our main focus for all of our films is the atmosphere; how it makes you feel. We also have a Horror Trailer category and host a Q&A with any of the Filmmakers able to attend at the end of the show. Submissions for this year’s festival are currently open! Any independent filmmaker interested can submit at pointfivefilmfest.com.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three qualities of mine that I believe have gotten me to where I am are not being afraid to put in the work, having blind faith that something will come from that work, and most importantly, remaining true to yourself in your work.
It is very easy to fall into the, “I’ll get to it tomorrow” mindset; especially when it comes to creative ventures that won’t see any form of immediate returns. Filmmaking is simply hard. It is a never ending series of problems that need to be solved with 1000 things to keep track of in your head. You must understand going into a project that it will not be easy and that the only way to get through it is to keep working and keep moving forward.
As I mentioned earlier, taking the risks to trust yourself is, I believe, extremely important. Setting out on a new project requires a well thought-out outline of how things will go and when things will need to be completed. As long as you put in the work to the best of your ability, follow your outline, and roll with and then work through the issues that arise, something is guaranteed to come from that work. It’s not always the outcome you want, but nothing but good things can come from working towards your goals with an honest effort.
It’s very easy to get clouded thoughts or overstimulated with new ideas. Remaining open to new ideas while also remaining steadfast in your original goals and concepts is critical. For me, I develop the feeling of a film in my head before I begin the script. I think it is a skill to be able to block out new ideas or trends that come along and attempt to crowd out or take away from your original ideas. That’s not to say that I ignore any new input, but I have to be very critical to make sure anything new fits what was there from the outset. At the end of the day, as I see it, if you’re not going to make the film you want to make, write the song you want to write, paint the painting you want to paint, etc., then why do it in the first place? Art exists solely for the Artist to express themselves.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
Even after going full time at Point Five Films 5 years ago and starting the Whistle to the Maples Horror Film Festival, my biggest improvement over the past year has been overcoming “imposter syndrome”. Being brought onto the, “George A. Romero’s Resident Evil” documentary enabled me to not only meet many other professionals in the field, but have them value my opinion. It took time to understand I don’t need to ask for an opinion or confirmation of every decision, and that I am ultimately the person other people will to for answers.
Understanding the implications of this, in turn, has helped me work with our regular clients at Point Five Films. If a client has a question as to how we will achieve something for their project, I am much more comfortable giving a definitive answer. This newfound confidence also helps when it comes to being a judge for the Film Festival submissions. I believe that after all of my experiences on and off set, I am able to identify more clearly what the Director, Cinematographer, or Editor were going for in there submitted film; even if they didn’t quite achieve it.
Contact Info:
- Website: pointfivefilms.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/point_five_films
- Facebook: facebook.com/pointfivefilms
- Youtube: @PointFiveFilms
- Other: Film Festival: pointfivefilmfest.com Film Festival: ilmfreeway.com/WhistletotheMaplesHorrorFilmFestival
