Ep 17: Matthew Scott – How to light a scene, share your failures and work toward mastery.

Odyssey & Muse

Matthew Scott is an Australian cinematographer living in Tasmania. He is constantly exploring and pushing for the mastery of his craft. He also enjoys cooking, retro games, playing piano and going on adventures with his lover. “Share shit. Be a voice.” In this episode we dive deep. We talk about how Matt quit high school, got a job, and focused on his love of photography. How he later quit his job and decided to pursue a career as a cinematographer. We dig into his all or nothing attitude, his process for lighting a scene, working with crew members, improving his craft, his desire to share his work through his blog mattscottvisuals.com; including his successes and failures, and the pressures and pleasures of living his dream as a director of photography. “Set ridiculous challenges for yourself.” If you want to hear more shows like this, rate us on iTunes and let us know. - - - - - 5 Key Takeaways 1. A great formula for lighting a scene: Block, Light, Rehearse, Tweak, Shoot. 2. Play games with yourself to improve your craft. Try to guess exposures on set. Guess what shot will come next while watching a movie. Set ridiculous challenges for yourself; restrictions like sticking to one focal length or f/stop. 3. When you’re starting out, don’t worry about being completely original. Take what you learn from others and try to make it your own. 4. After getting a decent camera, and learning it inside out, spend your money on lighting. Start with two soft sources and two hard sources. 5. Share shit and be a voice. Post your camera test of your cat. Share whatever you’re working on or interested in. It’s a great way to connect with others and it can lead to opportunities down the road. - - - - - Show Notes (Ep 17) Born in India and blessed by the Dalai Lama [01:54] Melbourne Where Matt found his love for creativity [05:09] When did it seem like cinematography could be a viable career [11:41] When did Matt get his first video camera and post program [14:35] Sony Z1 Adobe Premiere Pro EDIUS Was there a point when he decided to start making films [17:48] Network 10 Canon EOS 5D Mark II Glidecam HD-2000 Hand-Held Stabilizer Tasmania Cinematography workshops and internet for inspiration vs comparison [22:00] How long has Matt been blogging [30:47] mattscottvisuals.com MTS Films on Vimeo Tips for lighting a scene [31:30] Tips and tricks for lighting without a meter [43:42] How much has blogging and analyzing movies played a role in your growth [50:03] Matt’s dissection of Prisoners Matt’s dissection of Inglorious Bastards Where should a new cinematographer invest their time and money [58:02] RED Cameras Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera How Matt creates his lighting diagrams [01:06:31] Matt Workman Learning Davinci Resolve [01:09:45] Davinci Resolve How knowing color grading can help on set [01:14:33] Things that Matt does to improve that others do not [01:17:05] Matt’s routine for preparing for a new shoot [01:20:17] The biggest decision that has propelled Matt as a cinematographer [01:23:24] How much you consume vs produce [01:29:30] Biggest influences [01:32:30] 411 Video Magazine Stillmotion Canada Frédéric Chopin Roger Deakins Coen Brothers Up-and-coming projects [01:38:30] MTS Colour [01:41:01] Some favorites [01:44:29] The Invitation Z For Zachariah A Serious Man The Hunter Final advice for photographers and cinematographers [01:49:33]