Tom Brereton Downs Bath, United Kingdom

Tom BD is a possibilitist. He loves to help creative people and organisations feel great, look great and do great things. He thinks realism is overrated and optimism underrated. He combines his 30 years experience (read "innumerable mistakes") in video, tv, media, arts and IT with the creative energy and spirit of a millennial YouTuber. He started out, in what might today be called a digital media agency, but back then involved working with video tapes the size of breeze blocks and mobile phones that were slightly bigger! He left a promising advertising career at Abbott Mead Vickers BDDO to establish, the immodestly titled, Genius, an ‘ideas' consultancy in the heart of Covent Garden, creating campaigns for the likes of Time Out and Femidom(anyone remember that?!), producing theatre shows in London warehouses and designing computer systems for the likes of the Department For Education (he has a powerful inner geek)! Keen for something new he spent three years hanging out in Parisien cafes, writing (un-produced) screenplays, reading Shakespeare in French (yes, he can do pretentious), whilst geekery paid the bills (installing one the France's first Windows networks in the offices of an airline loss adjuster!).

This was followed by several years at MTV, doing television graphics by day and running The Machine Room (a small theatre in Kentish Town) by night - producing no less than three Time Out Critics’ Choice in one season. 

On moving to Bath he established Invention Studios - a small micro-budget multi-disciplinary arts venue whilst working as a freelance multimedia designer for theatre production. Video production became a real passion that led to teaching filmmaking in schools, universities and even to the homeless. He has since directed and produced 3 feature films (the Day That Broke, Thy Name is Woman and his forthcoming thriller BANG!) and numerous short films, promotional videos and, perhaps his favourite, a spoof documentary, Theatre is Dead, featuring Penelope Keith, Richard E Grant, Dan Stevens and Rebecca Hall. 

He established Screenology in 2015 after a stint as interim chief executive of dBs Music (a music production college).  Screenology has grown from 14 students in its first year to a programme with up to 140 undergraduates.  In 2024 Screenology will be launching some exciting new MA programmes.  

His book Make Films Happen (www.screenology.com/makefilmshappen) encourages filmmakers to learn through experimenting, testing and mistake-making (a wholly underestimated virtue!)… over the pandemic this has evolved into a methodology that is used to coach creatives, artists and social entrepreneurs with online courses and its own YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/c/makehappen). Tom is regularly invited to speak at universities, colleges and organisations around the Southwest about his disruptive approach to creative success and flourishing.