T. Christopher Coles

Born February 10, 1994, Tykhari Coles (aka T. Christopher Coles) is an editor, cinematographer, and aspiring casting director from Newport News, Virginia. Tykhari has been involved in the field of Mass Communications and Journalism ever since attending high school. However, he has been a cinephile all of his life. While attending Heritage High School in his hometown, he was made aware of the Behind the Lens summer film making program based in Norfolk, VA. Under the mentorship of accomplished film makers and producers like Monty Ross, he learned a fraction of what it takes to make short films. During the school year, he was enrolled in the TV production program for Newport News Public School students. During his junior and senior year, he excelled in the program and worked for the NNPS TV station during after school hours as a crew chief. In 2012, he graduated from high school and the TV production program and went on to attend Norfolk State University. In 2013, he received a paid internship with the university's news organization, the Spartan Echo, as the Assistant Multimedia Editor, until receiving the title of head Multimedia Editor. He held this position until the end of the Fall 2015 semester. In Spring 2016, Tykhari graduated with honors from Norfolk State University with a Bachelors in Mass Communications & Journalism. After working two years for a local movie theater, he decided it was time to get back to his love of film making. He became a freelance photographer and videographer, while seeking opportunities in the form of short film competitions. The first competition was in association with ShortsTV and the NAACP's 108th Annual Convention. Under Logan Coles' production company SeaChange Films, his team shot & produced the documentary titled Going Nowhere Fast: From Education To Incarceration. A month later, he joined Arkeisha Roberts and her crew of actors & film makers to enter the 48 Hour Film Project competition, with a comedic short film titled Salon Crashers; he served as the editor of the film. Both films garnered fans and praise, but didn't achieve massive success as far as winning the respective competitions. In Virginia, that seemed to be the closest thing to working in the industry. Instead, the most thriving part of the industry in Virginia belonged to News networks. Through a mentor, Tykhari received a position at the Norfolk-based news network, WTKR / WGNT News Channel 3 in 2017. Despite beginning as a weekend editor who occasionally shot stories during the week, his position was shifted to photojournalist on a permanent basis. As a photojournalist, the duties involved receiving an assigned news story every day, collecting all equipment needed for said story, driving to various locations if needed, and helping his assigned reporter tell their angle of the story. The position also included being live on location for particular stories and responding to breaking news. He served in this position for nearly 2 years. Tykhari resides in Newport News, looking forward to traveling to any and all productions in the near future.