Filmbase: Hi Tom, how is work at the moment?

Tom Brown: I’ve been doing bits and pieces. I recently went to Nuremberg to help on Paul Greengrass’ The Uprising, but there are very few of the kind of films I normally work on around at the moment.

The calls aren’t as thick and fast as they should be, and that’s standard throughout the industry, it would seem.

Filmbase: What do you think is behind the downturn?

Tom Brown: I think it’s a combination of things. The current war in the Middle East which is affecting oil prices and therefore investment, and a lot of projects that were going to Dubai, the UAE and Egypt have obviously come to a stop. The reduced output from the streaming companies is also a factor.

And sadly, the flicker of AI is beginning to show its head. There are some producers thinking they can just push a button and everything will be done without employing many people. There have already been a few films that are testing the technology and seeing just what can be done by AI.

Filmbase: How does the current situation compare with previous downturns you’ve seen?

Tom Brown: In my opinion it’s the worst ever. Anyone who has been in the industry as long as I have would probably say that.

If you drive around the studios now, they’re empty. There’s very little actual on-site production happening, which is frightening.

Britain has always been a hub for American production, and we rely on that work. There are still things like Harry Potter, Marvel and Star Wars here, but those productions can’t employ everybody who needs to work.

And as I said earlier, the industry never really got back on its feet after COVID. 

Filmbase: In times like this, as a Supervisor, you’ll be getting a lot of cold calls and emails. What makes someone stand out when they approach you for work?

Tom Brown: What we do in the Art Department is convey information. We have to communicate with the people who are actually going to build things.

When I look at drawings being produced, I can see whether someone is trying to communicate with the carpenters. It’s about line weight, instructions and an understanding how things are actually constructed.

I remember talking to one of the 3D guys on Masters of the Universe. He said, “This is the future.” I said, “Well, the only way this is the future is if you can connect a computer to a machine and a set comes out the other side.”

You've still got the human element. You have to talk to the carpenters and learn how they do things. That’s how you build up the knowledge of how sets go together.

Filmbase: You spent your first 20 years working without digital technology. What did that teach you?

Tom Brown: Looking back, people think it was an archaic way of working, but Construction Managers today long for those days.

The people I learned from understood architecture, proportions, timber, steel and materials. Drawings were constantly being checked with the carpenters, metalworkers and plasterers.

A drawing has to make sense to the person building from it, not just to the person who drew it.

If you understand the standard sizes of timber and other materials, you save money by drawing things correctly. The only way you really learn that is through actually working with people and doing the drawings by hand.

When I started, there was no internet. We went to the V&A, pulled books out and did our research.

My first feature was Octopussy. Peter Lamont had a library — literally a room full of books — which his Art Directors and Draftspeople could use every day. We were doing a lot of Indian architecture on that film, and I learned an enormous amount from it.

Filmbase: So are you against digital tools?

Tom Brown: No, not at all. There’s definitely a place for them. I just believe people should have a grounding in pencil drawing first.

The great thing about digital 3D is that you can understand spaces. When I was a junior on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Steven Spielberg couldn’t really read a drawing, so we made physical models of absolutely everything. Which he loved.

These days, you can do that digitally. I’m a big fan of SketchUp because it gives you the basics and lets you understand the spaces.

But the digital model should be a tool. You shouldn't be designing everything around what the computer can do.

Filmbase: Where do you think digital really works?

Tom Brown: If you’re doing a contemporary police drama and you’re basically building boxes and rooms, it’s great.

CNC is another excellent example. We can produce fretwork and detailed pieces much more accurately than we could using traditional methods.

So I’m not the harbinger of doom for digital. I just don’t think it should replace the fundamental skills.

I’d much rather have someone who knows how to draw a caryatid or an Ionic column properly and can tell the people building it exactly what they need to know.

Learn how things are constructed. Learn materials. Learn proportions. Learn how to communicate.

Then use digital technology to help you. Adapt the digital software to you, not the other way around.

Filmbase: You’re working on a training programme yourself?

Tom Brown: Yes. Thinking about the future, I’ve been putting together a curriculum covering the things I think people should learn before they go onto the computer.

I’ve always felt that there isn’t enough opportunity for people in the north of the UK to learn these skills, so I’m I’m looking at Leeds as a training base, because it’s accessible from across the north and Scotland.

Filmbase: What advice would you give to people trying to progress into senior roles?

Tom Brown: Take your time. Learn the whole thing from top to bottom. Don’t rush onto the next grade. Learn as much as you possibly can in the role you’re in. Spend a long time on the board. Spend a few years being an assistant. Do longer jobs where you can actually see how everything goes together.

You’ll know when the time is right because someone will phone you and say, “We want you to supervise this.”

I was lucky enough to have worked with the great Robert Watts, who was Steven Spielberg’s Producer on the early Indiana Jones and Star Wars films. He used to say that your apprenticeship is for life. That is so true. You never really learn it all.

Filmbase: Is there a set pathway into Production Design or Supervising?

Tom Brown: No. People always ask me, “How do you get in?” There isn’t a plan where you do this, this and this and then become a Production Designer.

If you want to do it and you’ve got the determination, nothing will stop you.

Show enthusiasm. Work hard. Come in before everybody else and finish after everybody else. Make yourself useful and people will remember you.

That’s how I got work with [Production Designer] Assheton Gorton. I’d worked hard on Legend, and he subsequently called me to do commercials with him.

Filmbase: Briefly, what does a Supervising Art Director do on a large production?

Tom Brown: You’re coordinating lots of people, looking after budgets, making sure drawings are correct and issued on time, and keeping everything moving.

A big part of the job is saying no. You have to say to the Production Designer, “We can’t do that. We’ll find another way, but we can’t spend that money.”

You’re stuck between Production and the Art Department. When the accountants say, “We’re going to run over here — where’s this money coming from?”, you’re the person in the middle.

Filmbase: What’s your approach to setting rates?

Tom Brown: One of the most frustrating things lately is that producers often don't acknowledge the BECTU rate card.

When I put a crew together, I work out how many Art Directors, Assistant Art Directors and so on we need, then put the rates into the budget.

But sometimes producers simply say they won't acknowledge the rate card. You have to have some agreed rates, otherwise you can't put a proper budget together.

I think a ratified rate card would make things much easier. It would give everybody consistency and make sure people doing the same job are treated fairly.

Filmbase: Finally, what concerns you most about AI and the future of Concept Art?

Tom Brown: AI is an area I’m worried about. On a recent film, I was shocked to find that they hadn't employed a single Concept Artist. They had walls full of AI-generated material.

These images looked great to the untrained eye, but they were totally wrong from an Art Department point of view. And they were promising the Director more than could actually be delivered.

Producers see it as very cheap. They're getting beautiful paintings and thinking they can simply transfer them to the screen. 

I appreciate Concept Artists, particularly when you're trying to sell an idea. But the important thing is that what you see on the page needs to communicate what you're actually going to get on the set.

In the old days, it might have been a pencil sketch and everyone understood it that was done by the designer. That’s the skill we need to preserve.

This is an edited version of our webinar chat with Tom Brown on 11 September 2026.

Our next webinar is always listed at the top of our homepage. As a Filmbase you can join the webinars for free. We normally charge £10 for non-members to watch.