We were lucky to catch up with Matthew Gerrish recently and have shared our conversation below.
Matthew, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
Watching movies intently remains the best way to learn (other than being on set). When I was in middle school though I became obsessed with a game called The Movies. It was a PC game that let players create and run a movie studio. I focused more on the filmmaking feature though eventually making a forty minute Indiana Jones tribute. In high school, YouTube appeared, and I saw normal people with just a camera and few lights making short films. I got a camera, and joined them. At that point, I learned everything from YouTube tutorials and Google searches. I always tried to do something I’d never done before to improve my skills.
Those were the early days though. After high school, I went to film school. I did my first year at University of Tampa, and the last three years at Emerson College. In retrospect, I wish I had made more use of the camera equipment rental center. I thought using my own camera was enough, but I could have learned so much more playing around with different cameras, lights, and other types of equipment. I also wish I had gotten on set more. That was my biggest mistake. To be fair to myself, being a transfer student that lived off campus made it difficult to know how to get on sets, but at the end of the day it was on me to seek them out.
After college I went to acting school at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in NYC. Taking an acting class is what made me a significantly better director and writer. It made communicating with actors so much easier as well as boosted my confidence to actually direct them. Writing-wise, I took an amazing class with Robert Ellermann in script analysis. We broke down every word of the plays we read in search of the true actions and emotions of the characters.
I’m still learning now. It’s cliche, but there’s always something to improve upon. Maybe the most important thing I’ve learned is don’t be afraid to look stupid. Looking stupid is almost required to learn anything. It is hard in film school, because everyone is worried about that, and some handle it in nasty ways. Don’t be like them. Remember your worth, and keep doing the best you can.
Matthew, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I suppose school got me into the industry. In acting school, eventually people found out I studied film prior. This led to starting a small production company with some friends called WAY Productions. We made severally projects for other acting students. Generally, I worked as a producer, assistant director, and editor.
The production company was short lived though. Many in it moved out of NYC. I still worked as an assistant director for several projects unaffiliated with WAY. One in particular, Dächer meiner Stadt (Rooftops of My City), I met cinematographer Shu Hirayama. We worked well together, and ended up making several short films. The first of which was For the Benefit of Mr. Winston.
For the Benefit of Mr. Winston was the first project I worked on with my production company Flying Yankee Films. It’s about a songwriter procrastinating to write his next album who gets help from a mysterious character. I wrote, co-directed, starred, and produced it. It got into the Rhode Island International Film Festival,
Big Apple Film Festival, Cheslea Film Festival, and several others.
After that, Shu and I made The Edge of Town. This one I wrote, directed, edited, and produced. It’s just now starting to get into festivals like HollyShorts, the Queens World Film Festival, and the Chelsea Film Festival.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I love seeing audiences react to what I’ve made. It’s especially rewarding when they react in the ways I hoped. At one of my first film festivals, a horror short I made caused someone in the audience to jump into another seat.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Haha, so kind of unrelated to my acting and film pursuits, I occasionally post on TikTok. I have a small following, but it’s the biggest following I’ve ever had (6000 plus followers). During the pandemic, I started making a web series called Bam-Boozled where I learn to make cocktails and pair them with albums or movies. In one episode I learned to make an old fashion with a bottle of Maker’s Mark. I’d never opened a bottle of Maker’s Mark before, and didn’t know what to do with the wax on it. Through a lot of stupid attempts (one with a knife), I ended up finding the tab. That clip got me one million views on TikTok. Most of which were angry Maker’s Mark fans, but it built me a small fanbase. Basically, anger an entire fanbase and you too could get one million views.
Contact Info:
- Website: matthew-gerrish.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthew.gerrish/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-gerrish-83683a96/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPykc8EfAe5-UwYu4oVB9TQ
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@matthew.gerrish
Image Credits
Christopher Michael Ward (guy I’m talking to with the long hair) Harley Cabrera (girl on the couch)