The Essential List: Matt Muir
Matt Muir is a partner and director at Revelator, a creative production company. He's Texas-born film and commercial director who originally disappointed his banker father by becoming a skater kid, starting a drop D metal band, and making movies on the family video camera. Further family disappointments followed when Matt became a member of the Dynamite Museum Art Collective (Cadillac Ranch, Ozymandias), but the final nail in the coffin was Matt's MFA in Film Production from the University of Texas.
Matt has gone on to direct award-winning advertising work for clients like Capital One, Dodge, and Google, as well as music videos for Spoon and Devendra Banhart. He has also written and directed narrative shorts and a feature film. His debut feature-film, Thank You A Lot, premiered at the SXSW Film Festival, where it was acquired and distributed by Gravitas Ventures. Matt’s father now brags to whomever will listen that video production is a viable career path.
Lifestyle
o Place of birth: Canadian, Texas
o Hometown: Austin, Texas
o Staycation: Carpenter Hotel
o Vacation: Last one was Bacalar Lagoon, near Belize border in Mexico
o Place of work: Revelator
o Place of workout: Lift ATX
o Side project: Fly Fishing
o Bonus travel essential: a good cardigan sweater. These flights keep getting colder.
o Mode of transport: 1986 Chevy C-10
Culture
o Artist: Thandiwe Muriu
Image credit: Thandiwe Muriu
o Musician: So many. Recently made work for both Hayden Pedigo and Devendra Banhart, so they’ve been in heavy rotation.
o Commercials/music video director: Cut my teeth on Spike Jonze, but the Fincher Analyst has collected David Fincher’s 1980’s work, so I’m currently obsessed with watching those.
o Film director: Martin McDonah
o Photographer: Charlotte Abramow
o Film: This is painful, but ok. Last Picture Show
o Series: ZeroZeroZero
o Commercial: Cadbury Drumming Gorilla
o Music video: Jonathan Glazer’s Karma Police
o Book: Currently reading Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts
o Podcast: Scriptnotes, Music Exists, I Was There Too
o Newspaper (off or online): NYT & The Guardian
Food and Drink
o Breakfast: Smoothie
o Restaurant: Comedor
o Cheap bite: Pho Craft
o Working lunch: De Nada Cantina
o Favourite dish: My wife’s Pork Larb
o Signature dish: Not much of a cook, but I attempt to replicate Kinda Tropical’s Coconut Shrimp
o Snack: Hummus with a bell pepper
o Guilty pleasure: Frito chips with bean dip with a Mexican Coke
o Bar: Holiday
o Booze: Tequila
o Not booze: Hop Water
o Bonus beverage: Mezcal Negroni
Kit
o Phone: iPhone - love the camera, hate the power port
o Computer: iMac Pro
o TV: Samsung
o Headphones: AirPods, I can’t wear headphone/eyeglasses all day
o Camera: Currently using the Lomokino Hand-Crank 35mm Film Camera
o Soundsystem: Audio Technica turntable w/ AudioEngine A5+ Bamboo Speakers w/ Bluetooth
o Pen / pencil: Uni Vision Pen
o Where you document an idea: moleskin, I am a cliche
o Casual clothing: chinos and t-shirt
o Smart clothing: chinos and button-up
o Footwear: leather huarache sandals
o Watch: nope
o Collection: filmmaker biographies and/or memoirs
o App: Merlin Bird ID
o Website: Letterboxd
o Favourite social media feed: Michael Keaton is Instagram’s dad
o Analogue work tool: a foldable aluminum engineer’s clipboard is the perfect on-set tool
o Bonus kit essential: Mission Workshop Transit Bag
