Matthew Underwood
We’ve got our longtime friend and phenomenal filmmaker, Matthew Underwood (with us for this week’s Dreamos Round Table, and we’re completely stoked. Matthew honed his filmmaking craft in the eclectic Nashville music scene, curating work with a strong narrative focus. He has since collaborated with brands such as Facebook, AT&T, Rolling Stone, and Evan Williams Bourbon.
Alongside music videos and commercials, Matthew has continued to develop both narrative and documentary projects. His work has taken him to over a dozen countries and across the entire United States. This global experience has informed his craft, leading him to intentionally pursue stories that introduce him to new people and cultures, both near and far
Matthew believes deeply in the power of stories and their ability to enlighten, to inspire, and to create empathy. We know you’ll be encouraged and inspired as you hear more from his heart, story, and pursuit.
What dream are you currently turning into reality?
The dream of being a career filmmaker / director. In this season, I’ve been trying to really hone my craft and progress myself as a director, working mostly in the commercial industry. I directed a feature length documentary in 2019, called “Counterfeit”, and I’m currently developing a screenplay and “Show Bible” for a miniseries I hope to bring to life a little further down the road.
I like being able to work in the short-form industry in the meantime, as it’s an amazing training ground for developing all of the skills required to direct feature-length content.
When did you first realize you discovered your dream?
I was in my early 20’s and was juggling between being a musician and videographer. I had a roommate who was a commercial and music video producer, and he got me on set for a few small projects. Even though my involvement was running errands and getting coffee, the few moments I had on the set were really impactful. It showed me a new world that was close at hand, and it felt attainable. From that time on, I really started seeking a way to carve a path into that world.
How does your faith go hand in hand with pursuing your dream?
My faith is essentially the lens of my worldview. It informs how I see the world, the industry I’m in, and ultimately directs the path of my career. It informs how I interact with people, the stories I tell, and the themes I evoke in my films. My faith is always developing as life sends new challenges and teaches me new lessons, and I’ve learned to embrace the process.
Faith really goes hand-in-hand with how my dreams (and the ever-winding path of their pursuit) continually evolve. I’m often unlearning unhealthy spirituality I inherited, just as I’m often discovering unhealthy expectations or idealization I’ve held in regards to what my career / dreams / life path should look like. I know that’s a lot to chew on, but I’m still constantly sifting through it all, gleaming more and more perspective as the journey unfolds. Through it all, I’m really grateful to be learning each lesson as they’ve easily been the most profound shifts in my worldview - Both in my faith and the pursuit of my dreams.
What encouragement would you give someone who’s going after their dream?
Grit - That’s the word. Growing up, I seemed to believe intuitively that it wasn’t going to be all that hard to achieve my dreams. I knew it would be tough, because I always heard that, but at the same time, I always saw the idealized version of my life in front of me. I’m not even sure how much of that was conscious versus just a problematic, privileged, implicit worldview. Over time I’ve learned just how much hard work and determination it would take to really pursue my big dream.
On some level, I think I expected it to be a one-sided fight: I’ll try hard, and I’ll make it happen. But, life punched back in unexpected ways, and it hurt. But, I found if you stick with it, you’ll develop grit and resilience, which enables you to keep getting up and going back at it.
The other thing I’d pass along is to really work to identify the expectations you are putting on both yourself and your path. Unrealistic expectations can become poison, and comparison can be equally as toxic. Your path is your own. Everything else - All the expectations you carry that are shaped by other people’s paths - is background noise. You’ve got to tune out the noise and focus on what you can control: This moment, here and now, and what you can do to push your dream forward - Inch by inch.
The old metaphor of the tortoise and the hare is very real. In today’s society, we love to lift up the anomalies - The ones who rise to the top quickly - But they are few and far between. I’ve learned to be comfortable embracing the tortoise life, because more often than not, it’s those who live out that mindset that are the ones we remember in the long run.