Matt Lawson

Matt Lawson

1st Assistant Director

Profile

Location: London
An energetic First AD with substantial experience in television commercials, promos, drama, drama-documentaries and features for more than fifteen years, I started my career in planning large-scale live events and features before making the move into commercials
I believe the most invaluable asset in executing this job is a good imagination. I have learned that no matter the intricate planning, the safety precautions, the schedule assessment, the careful equivalence of all variables, the professional contingencies based on the law and experience, a First’s best weapon is his or her imagination… To see and create a solution beyond the problem that appears to be unsolvable…
And the second most useful asset is a sense of humour – essential when working difficult hours everywhere from Kazakstan, Mexico, Iceland Georgia, Ireland and Spain to Portugal, Italy, Sicily, Sweden, Morocco and France… On everything from car stunts, vehicle-to-vehicle tracking, pyrotechnics, speedboats, drones, VFX, green screen, Motion Control rigs, hidden camera, high-speed slo-mo, commercial food sets and Motion Capture sequencing… With the myriad joys of children, puppeteers, dangerous animals, professional footballers, choreographers celebrities and animatronics. Usually not all at once… Usually…
My mantra is to lead from the front – be strong, fun, optimistic, approachable and creative – while always looking to maximise every opportunity that may benefit the creative aims of the production.

Useful links

Experience

Showreel

http://www.youtube.com/embed/t-KzSTJaVaQ
http://www.youtube.com/embed/i2KNFWW-PV4