Who We Are

F

irst things first: What is “phthalo” and how is it pronounced?

Phthalo Blue is a common and really wonderful color in art. Painters love its richness and tinting strength. It’s synthetic, which provides a nice metaphor for what we’re all about. Producing vibrant and lasting work is a matter of chemistry — of uniting creative elements into something exciting and new.

The “ph” is silent (thal-ō), but it’s more fun trying to pronounce the “ph” and “th” together.

I

work with talented designers, motion graphic artists, cinematographers and sound technicians. But I produce and direct every project, which means your work is never getting handed off to someone who hasn’t taken the time to understand what you’re looking for.

I bring a wealth of experience to this work. Although I studied filmmaking at USC, for many years I was a newspaper and magazine journalist, writing long-form news features, profiles and think pieces for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, Rolling Stone and Sports Illustrated, among many other publications. I also wrote the book Slaphappy.

A decade or so ago, I returned to my first love: to filmmaking and photography, and have since written, produced and directed two feature films, Big Boy and Chloe & Claire at Sixes & Sevens, a web series, as well as several shorts. My documentary Tough Love premiered at the SXSW festival, and Big Boy won the grand prize at the Athens International Film and Video Festival.

Tom Hackett