Sebastian Thorne

Fifteen questions, off-duty.

Role on the line

Animation and walkthroughs. Fly-throughs, timelapse passes, presentation reels for planning committee and marketing alike.

Where I grew up

Stockholm, Södermalm side. A flat that looked out at Skinnarviksberget rock, which is where I learned that geology is its own architect.

Training

Architecture at KTH Stockholm, then a year at UAL doing motion graphics. The first taught me the building; the second taught me the camera.

Years on the line

Five. Two at a Soho film previs house, three on architectural CGI.

The blade I bring

Camera rhythm. Architecture filmed badly looks like a property listing. Filmed well, it tells you what to feel before you know the address.

Architect I would ride out for

Sigurd Lewerentz. Brick laid by an honest hand, light cut by a quieter one.

Camera moves that read true on screen

Slow dollies, no zooms, eye-level for residential, slightly low for civic, never above three metres unless we are selling a roof terrace.

Software I cannot lose

Houdini for the heavy passes, After Effects for the polish.

Earliest architectural memory

Skating across a frozen Riddarfjärden at seven and looking back at the Stadshuset spire from the ice.

The brief I am proudest of

A Battersea masterplan fly-through used at three resident consultations. Nobody asked for a second screening.

On the headphones while working

The Knife, Fever Ray, occasionally ABBA when the render is at 90 percent and the will is at 10.

London view I never tire of

The Thames Path at Rotherhithe, looking back at Canary Wharf. Cold light, warm windows.

Coffee or tea

Filter coffee, two fingers black, all day.

Off the line

Wild swimming in the Serpentine in October. Nobody else there. Bliss.

The motto on my desk

"Cut a second from every move you can. Then watch what is left."