This is my portfolio and professional journey, starting with my YouTube Channel in High School.
I’m Mason Tompkins.
I booked my first client from my Daily Vlog, on my 18th Birthday.
They loved the cinematic feel and juxtaposition of christian theology… with a ginger beer. The simplicity of it spoke to them, and was exactly what they wanted for their own brand.
It was surreal when they flew me to an event 3 days before graduation to film for them.
In 2016, I started college at The Los Angeles Film School.
After 6 months, a professor revealed that even with a degree, we would start as a PA on set, the same as anyone. So I decided to find my way into my dream first job, and drop out 8.5 months in to start…
My 1st Job at VaynerMedia
At VaynerMedia, I was a “PrEditor Resident” (Producer/Editor on contract) on the VaynerTalent Team, creating GaryVee-Style Personal Branding Social Media Content for high net worth individuals.
Tom Bilyeu was my primary client, along with Nyakio Grieco, Cy Wakeman, and a few special projects with Faisal Sublaban and NASCAR.
Then, I became a Freelancer.
Freelance work holds a special place for me. It’s the best way for anyone working 9-5, to grow their income, skill set, and career leverage.
I still do freelance work today.
My Biggest Client offered a me a Job.
At K-Swiss, I was hired to produce an in-house vlog series called Inside K-Swiss. I produced, filmed, hosted, edited, published, and reported to the Brand President on the series.
At K-Swiss, we made ads with
31x ROAS…
in house.
These ad taught me a lot about marketing commodities.
2021 :: COVID ::
2021 :: COVID ::
The entire industry changed.
I was a “videographer” with a few animation skills… and all production was shut down in LA. After not being needed in the office, and helping to redesign our ads without need for filming… I was laid off along with most of the marketing team.
We weren’t the only ones. All of LA changed, jobs became scarce, and OC provided another opportunity.
Head of Motion
At Blue Light Media as the Head of Motion, I helped execute campaigns for Nutribullet, Nebia, Fitbake, and other brands using a mix of Cinematography, CGI, VFX, and 2D animation to bring their ads to life.
Lead Editor
At Decked Media, a Creator’s Agency specializing in Monetization and Content Syndication for long form creators.
I focused on creating efficient processes for editing videos in our client’s preferred style, and then creating training videos for our team of international editors to copy that syle.
The biggest thing I learned during this period, was the acronym C.A.R.E. from Adorian Deck, CEO of Decked Media. Here’s that C.A.R.E. means, with a few of my own thoughts.
If you’re a creator looking to monetize, they are an amazing company: deckedmedia.com
-
It needs to be simple and clear to your viewer exactly what they are getting from this video. Set expectations, meet them quickly, repeat.
-
You have to do something to get the viewer’s attention. Sounds help, but not everyone has sound on. Subtitles help, but if they’re boring I will scroll before reading. Animated subtitles help, but animations in bad taste will turn the audience away… but doe something to grab their attention.
-
Once you have their attention, give them a payoff early. Now, re-hook them. Give them a new reason to keep watching, so they don’t have to scroll for the next dopamine hit. How often to re-hook, depends on the platform.
-
Your video must elicit an emotion from your audience. Without emotion, there is no trigger, or reason, for the audience to engage with the post in a like, comment, or share… which all signal to the algorithm that this post deserves higher ranking.
Creative Director
At Decked Media, I was promoted to Creative Director, overseeing our team of editors and designing SOPs for everyone to edit more efficiently.
With my first leadership role, after working with SO many thought leaders in the leadership development space, here’s some of my personal leadership philosophy.
-
Feedback is simple. Leave notes for necessary changes. Ask questions for debatable ideas. Give thanks and praise for stellar work (rewards… work).
-
We all get stuck in 200 view jail. The trick is to know how to read retention graphs, and create new videos that optimize longer viewership, and get people to engage.
-
Polish is important. Craft and care matter. Even when subtitling a video, make the font beautiful to look at, and people will feel that effort in the final product.
I became a Creator
After years of working with executives, brands, and creators… I started building my own audience on Instagram. 370,000+ people have chosen to follow my account for “Explain like I’m 5…” breakdowns of mental models, heuristics, and cognitive biases.
Current Role
Current Role
Director of Social for Impact Theory.
At VaynerMedia, Tom was my main client in Los Angeles.
Eight years later, I am the Director of Social Media for Tom and Lisa’s personal brands, Impact Theory Comics, Games, and other entertainment properties.
Now, you can consult with me.
I know what it takes to grow a TikTok account from 0 -> 145,000 followers.
Instagram from 3,000 -> 380,000 followers.
Countless posts with 1M+ views for myself AND for clients over the years.
You’re next. Get in touch.