Meet Kyle Thompson | Editor & VFX Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kyle Thompson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kyle, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
Growing up I was always told I have a different ear. Music helped shape my life throughout my childhood. my mother and uncle introduced me to Neo-Soul and underground Hip Hop at a really young age. When I was around 16 years old, My mother worked at MTV and every morning before she went to work we would watch music Videos. almost 20 years later Now, as a Filmmaker, editor and VFX artist, being inspired by music means allowing music to help guide and influence whatever it is I’m creating. Building a sonic connection to the music, creating a visual representation of not only what I’m hearing but what I’m feeling as well. And using those super powers to try and build a deep connection with my viewers is always the goal.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I remember the first day I picked up a camera. It was an old family Fujifilm, stored away in the family closet. It was Blue, digital, and maybe had about 20 megapixels. What’s even more interesting, though, is why I picked it up in the first place. I never planned on becoming a filmmaker or photographer; it just sort of happened. One day, I was walking home from school when an old friend asked me to take some photos of her on her iPhone. It was a beautiful autumn day in North Carolina—the streets were lined with orange, red, and yellow leaves. The temperature was perfect, and the sunset was beaming through the trees as dusk approached. I casually held up the camera, snapped a couple of photos, and handed the camera back to her. She looked at the pictures and said, “You’re an amazing photographer! Do you take photos often?” I laughed—not because I thought it was funny, but because I didn’t consider myself a photographer. She told me I should look into it, and I remember thinking, “Maybe I’m in college for the wrong thing.” At that time, I didn’t even know you could study photography in college.

Days passed, and I ended up grabbing the camera from my family’s closet. I started taking photos of the flowers my parents had planted around the house. I began experimenting with macro shots—bees on the flowers, leaves, and patterns in nature. I’d upload them to an app called VSCO, which was new at the time, and shared them on my Instagram. The response was amazing. People even started asking me for wallpapers of my photos. That was when I got hooked.

From there, everything changed. I transitioned from photographing flowers to discovering an artist with the same name as me: Kyle J. Thompson, a self-portrait surrealist photographer known for capturing beautiful, often abandoned places. His work influenced mine heavily. I wanted to create something similar, but with a twist—by listening to the music and lyrics I loved and using them as inspiration to capture moments that represented those words through my photos. And I did just that.

Not long after gaining some recognition on Tumblr, Instagram, and Facebook, I joined the military and left it all behind. But the one thing that stuck with me, and that I believe sets me apart, is my love for photography. Even in the military, I carried that passion with me. To this day, I still feel like I can listen to sounds—things we’re hearing but not seeing—and turn them into a visual representation.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
It’s a tough question to answer since I live with my best friend, but if I had to choose a family member or sibling to visit, the first place I’d take them is Malibu. Unfortunately, due to the 2025 fires, that’s no longer the same. I’ve always found so much peace at the beach, especially the drive there. It’s something I didn’t do much as a kid, but now that I’m an adult, I try to do it more often, though I should probably do it even more. I’d also love to show them the usual spots in LA—the Hollywood Walk of Fame, The Grove, Glendale, Rodeo Drive—basically all the fun places LA has to offer as well as San Diego since I’m very familiar with that city as well. I’m not really a foodie, so I’d leave that to my girlfriend, who’s Filipino and knows all the best spots to eat. But my main goal would be to show them the true beauty of California. There’s something about the palm trees, the mountains, and the sunrises and sunsets that keep me here—it’s what really keeps me going.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
In 2022, my father passed away. Growing up, we clashed a lot. I met him when I was around 12, and during our early years, we got along well. But as I got older, I gave him a hard time. I brought home bad grades and didn’t always do what I was supposed to do around the house. Luckily, I wasn’t a terrible kid; I wasn’t out on the streets or doing drugs. Still, I felt disconnected because I always thought I wasn’t enough. It seemed like anything I wanted to do creatively, they were against, and that didn’t feel fair.

As the years passed, I joined the military (2015) . During that time, we had some deep conversations, and I remember him telling me how proud he was of what I had accomplished. That was the first time I’d ever heard those words from him. Moving forward, I also remember one of our last conversations, where we both apologizing for how we treated each other over the years. In that moment, I realized that we were more alike than I thought. I understood that much of what he did was to protect me, in ways I couldn’t see at the time. He just wanted to make sure I didn’t make the same mistakes he did. and molding me into the perfect man that he knew I could always be not for just for just the family but for myself.

My father had a way with words, haha. but one quote that he always told me growing up whenever I got in trouble, or couldn’t figure life out was, “Do what you gotta do, so you can do what you wanna do,” and I carry that with me every day.

Thank you, Mom and Dad for not giving up on me or my dreams. I love you both beyond words.

Website: https://www.threrehoursago.com

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