Eric Thomas has worked in narrative film on one level or another in the Seattle area since 1983. Starting out as a sound recordist and boom operator, Eric, like all young auteurs, wanted to Direct. Eric did work in production management and directed a couple shorts, but around 1989 he had an epiphany after watching a professional grip and electric crew working together with camera and did a total pivot to working in the Grip and Electric departments focusing primarily on the Electric. Eric wanted to light. And he was getting work on Studio features.
In the mid 90s Eric and his wife decided to take a break from the uncertainty of show business in order to start a family until 2000 where he picked up a camera and started playing again in filmmaking.
At this time he started building Weekend Lites Grip and Electric with the goal of supporting the Seattle area independent film community with gear, expertise and a willingness to train anyone who wanted to learn the craft.
Through all this Eric still enjoyed writing and directing. In 2013 he wrote and directed Fearless as a way to show his young daughter that being an actor was much more work than being famous. Then came the Covid virus which forced him to lay low and wait out the plague. In that time he found that just to be creative with his wife Lorraine and daughter Lori they started putting together what he called Covid-19 Theater as a way to stay busy and play with his gear. They produced 3 short subject films during the summer of 2020 culminating with the comedy The Covid Ghost.
In 2022 Eric decided to retire from working onset as a gaffer and is now focused on writing