Since completing his MA under David Bordwell at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2000, Paul Thompson has primarily focused on his career as a video tech in Toronto's busy film industry. Starting out of the gate on films such as Hedwig and the Angry Inch (dir. John Cameron Mitchell) and Bride of Chucky (dir. Ronny Yu), Paul established himself as one of the leading Video Assist operators in Canada. In addition to providing playback servcie to directors such as David Ayer, Jonathan Frakes, and Chris Columbus, Paul's lasting achievement might be in his role as Guillermo Del Toro's key playback tech, working on all of Del Toro's live action films since Pacific Rim, including providing on-set editing for the entirety of the films The Shape of Water (2017), Nightmare Alley (2021), and most recently Frankestein (2025).
In his spare time, Paul has directed several short films and music videos, including "Quarantine" (2004), and "Let's Be Friends" for Toronto underground hip-hop artist Infinite. Paul’s pilot script for the zombie television series “Grave New World,” co-written with Luke Sneyd, won first place in the Page International Screenwriting Awards contest in 2006, as well as prizes from the Slamdance Teleplay Contest and the Cloud Creek People's Pilot Competition.
In his spare time, Paul has directed several short films and music videos, including "Quarantine" (2004), and "Let's Be Friends" for Toronto underground hip-hop artist Infinite. Paul’s pilot script for the zombie television series “Grave New World,” co-written with Luke Sneyd, won first place in the Page International Screenwriting Awards contest in 2006, as well as prizes from the Slamdance Teleplay Contest and the Cloud Creek People's Pilot Competition.