The Monday Media Diet with Philip Stockton

On Red Dead Redemption, industrial processes, and court tennis.

Philip Stockton (PS) is an old friend of WITI from our Barbarian Group days. He’s a talented director and creative, currently based in Newport, RI. We’re happy to have him with us. Have a great week. -Colin (CJN)

Tell us about yourself.

I am 41, I live in Newport RI, and as of 3 months ago I am a new father, or attempting to be one… I was never in the military, but I’d imagine its like being on watch, you sleep but you don’t really sleep.

Professionally, I am a video director and brand consultant. I love filming complex industrial processes, cutting out video frame by frame, and being a creative director. For fun I play the piano and a sport called court tennis. 

Describe your media diet. 

My text media diet is relatively chaotic and headline driven.

Standard media: go to’s are Reddit r/news, NYTimes, The Guardian, Artnet News, and The Athletic.

Wild cards: I still follow the Alphabet City Next Door, even though I don’t live in NYC anymore, runway.tv (AI generated videos on loop)

What’s the last great book you read?

Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness. It’s shocking how intelligent Octopuses are… But they don’t live very long or cooperate well in captivity (who would?!), so they are really hard to study.

What are you reading now?

Origin Of The Species (late to the game of this one). I’ve also been reading Count Of Monte Cristo for the last 8 years, maybe I don’t want it to end.

What’s your reading strategy when you pick up a print copy of your favorite publication?

Flying and airports are my best time for reading any print publication. A lot of times I will look up the airline model before my flight, and figure out what level entertainment system I am working with. For regional or shorter flights I will happily buy a copy of Thrasher Magazine or Wired.. Otherwise I will just watch Jurassic Park for the 400th time.

Who should everyone be reading that they’re not?

I think super short and impactful for any kind of competition is reading Art Of War by Sun Tzu. For any designer I think reading Edward Tuftes series on Data Visualization is a must. The MIT technology review newsletters are great, or really anything to keep up with the pace of AI Image Generation is important.

What is the best non-famous app you love on your phone? 

Sun Surveyor. I got this one from watching Cinematographers on video scouts. The App tells you the position of the sun at any given time from anywhere in the world. Eratosthenes  (the guy who calculated the Earth’s circumference 2000 years ago) would be proud. If you have two minutes there is a wonderful Carl Sagan clip about it.

Plane or train?

This is tough… I think nowadays it’s trains. I travel heavily on the NE Corridor (BBY, or KIN to NYP) and if the trains are running on time it’s really easy. However, I did see the movie Trading Places recently, and we are literally riding in the same Amtrak trains when that was filmed in 1983. Unless you are a minted frequent flyer with every pre-check system and lounge setup, I love flying but it’s hard.

What is one place everyone should visit? 

I think everyone should spend some time underwater in the ocean, especially where the visibility is good and there might be a reef nearby.

Tell us the story of a rabbit hole you fell deep into. 

A few years back I read Blood Meridian, while I played Red Dead Redemption. I got lost for a few weeks in sort of a cowboy nightmare. More recently I’ve been hitting tennis balls solo, trying to learn a proper railroad serve in court tennis. (PS)

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Thanks for reading,

Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Philip (PS)

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