Uprising: Matthew Underwood on Unsheltering His Life and Kobe Bryant’s Determination

Growing up in a very religious family at the heart of America’s Bible Belt, Nashville native Matthew Underwood escaped his sheltered childhood through films, books and music. Widening his world vision with this art, and by writing his own stories and music, he also went travelling in his teens and twenties, discovering the complexities of the real world and finding his own place in it.

“On one hand, I’ve been defined by that desire to discover and experience life outside of the bubble I was raised in. But on the other hand, some of those formative values have stuck, like the inclination to find deeper meaning in my life and work, and also the way I was taught to care for people and treat them with respect and love,” he tells LBB’s Ben Conway. 

Now a director at New York-based production company SEED, he says that he sees both sides of the coin in his filmmaking too; in the way he approaches projects and in the types of stories he’s drawn to.

[Above: Still from 'Follow Your Own Road' - Chevrolet, dir. Matthew Underwood]

After dropping out of college to play music professionally and work as a filmmaker, he leaned on mentors and collaborators to help learn the craft in a hands-on way. Getting his start with two friends in wedding videography, he credits much of his early development to his friend Jeffrey, who owns a wedding film company to this day.

“It’s amazing how learning to shoot, edit and navigate the dynamics of a wedding day can prepare you to handle the stresses and nuances of agency and branded work,” he says. “And from there, I was able to transition into a small creative agency, which is where I really put in my 10,000 hours.”

There, he wore many hats; writing, directing, shooting, editing and colour correcting, before meeting a music video producer who hired him to PA on a few shoots where, he says, “I finally saw a glimpse of real filmmaking.”

“Nashville was a great place to cut my teeth, as there is a fair amount of industry opportunities, from music to healthcare to sports,” he adds. “So I was able to dabble in lots of genres and build a pretty diverse skill set and portfolio, which really fostered my creativity, especially outside of the standard commercial format… I was constantly finding ways to tell unique stories, whether through branded content, music videos or short documentaries.”

It’s this work on documentaries that he believes really shaped how he sees the world; being privy to people’s unique slices of life, taking a profound look into the diverse beauty of real life stories, moments and interactions. “Those glimpses are so rich with detail and nuance that can only come from real life,” he explains. “And in turn, those people and their idiosyncrasies really inform my approach to narrative work and the way I direct performances. Having filmed so many of those projects, both domestically and abroad, it’s given me a fantastic tapestry of diverse experiences and inspiration to constantly draw from.”

[Above: Subaru - 'Roads Remembered']

A catalyst in his career was the project ‘Roads Remembered’, a unique and personal film for Subaru that he executed to his vision on a shoestring budget. Written as a love letter to the area where Matthew’s parents retired to and where he grew up visiting as a child, the film reinforced his philosophy of creating work that satisfies both his own creative needs and the demands of the industry. “As an uprising director, if you’re not proving yourself through things like passion projects, it’s next to impossible to get the boards you want,” he says. The film also went on to open doors for him, including a campaign for Mitsubishi and another for Chevrolet, titled ‘Follow Your Own Road’.

“With that project, I wanted to explore a father-son dynamic that felt very real and authentic to my own experience growing up in the American South. Specifically, it was a chance to dive into a deeper issue that resonates with a lot of guys in my generation, where there was a real struggle to experience emotional vulnerability and connection with their fathers.”

He continues, “I have so many friends who’ve shared in that story of having a father they would consider to be loving and kind, but never experiencing him as truly open and emotionally available. It’s not something that generation of men are known for.  So I was curious to explore what it might look like to have a strong, reserved father character decide to engage with his son and attempt to open up about his feelings towards his son and the life transition before each of them.”  

To ensure the conversation in the film was realistically imperfect and messy, and that the project strategically bolstered his portfolio, Matthew collaborated closely with Bradley Johnson, managing director and EP at SEED Media Arts. This resulted in a “delicate dance” of developing something distinct to his directorial voice, while expressing sentiments of the commercial avenues he’s pursuing.

[Above: Chevrolet - 'Follow Your Own Road']

“The story is always the engine,” he says. “It has to feel authentic and personal, because that’s what enables me to truly bring something unique to the project. Passion projects are the perfect opportunity to design a story that really encapsulates that authenticity and personal connection, which is why I’m always keen to develop new ones. They are where you can really explore and grow as a filmmaker.”

A recent learning experience that helped him grow – perhaps unexpectedly – was having to direct a dog. Describing being at the mercy of the canine protagonist’s performance as “terrifying”, he says it’s instances like this that make him love commercial filmmaking. “The myriad of experiences and situations you encounter with each project lead to such diverse expertise.”

Besides working with animals, there are two omnipresent challenges that Matthew faces regularly – rejection and discerning his own path. 

As he sees it, rejection – whether from a festival or when losing a treatment – is unavoidable as a director. And that can be a painful truth when you’re opening yourself up and being vulnerable to create authentic, honest work. To survive this process, he says it’s critical to develop thick skin and a strong mindset, and uses a helpful sporting metaphor to stay motivated.

[Above: Still from 'Roads Remembered' - Subaru, dir. Matthew Underwood]

“Growing up idolising Kobe Bryant, I watched him compete day after day.  Winning and losing was just an inevitable part of the game. But it was his constant dedication to the craft, along with his love for the game, that he channelled into an unwavering drive, regardless of the outcome.”  

Speaking on his second biggest challenge, finding his own path as a director, he explains that every filmmaker has their own story, which means the journey can often feel confusing or meandering. “You can’t really model your path after the people you look up to, at least in specifics,” he says, “because things are constantly unfolding in ways that are unique and unpredictable. So you’re constantly faced with dilemmas and forks in the road, and navigating those in your own way is just the nature of the beast.”

His own ongoing tale isn’t free of the expected bumps in the road either, he explains, sharing how covid interrupted his progress just as he had found his footing as a filmmaker. After spending years finding his voice, developing his tool set and starting to earn a living through his work, it was unfortunate timing for the marketing budgets and available work to take a hit. “But I know a lot of people in our industry are feeling these effects,” he says. “So I try to remind myself that I have my health, my amazing and supportive wife, and my community of film friends to lean on. It also helps to have a supportive company like SEED behind me that is working strategically and still pushing for greatness, even when things might be slow.”

As the industry has rebounded, he’s also noted that lots of boards nowadays are still “extremely product-driven”. While he embraces the reality of commercial storytelling, he hopes for a resurgence in ads that prioritise human connection, like the ones that first inspired him to enter the business. “When done well,” he says, “they can actually make a difference in our society and connect with people in a powerful way, while still successfully positioning a brand and its products.”

[Above: Still from 'Follow Your Own Road' - Chevrolet, dir. Matthew Underwood]

He continues, “What gets me excited is the evolution of the way that stories are being told. There are countless directors these days, and everyone’s shit looks great – and there are so many avenues for stories to find their niche in the market. It’s very inspiring how open most people have become with how they accomplished a technique or production challenge. Those stories and lessons ignite something in me to really push myself on everything I’m doing. I feel blessed that I can survive in a market like New York and LA, and be a quick DM away from a coffee with someone I respect or look up to.” 

These inspirational figures come in many different shapes, but one indomitable influence throughout his life - albeit not one he goes for coffee with - has been director David Fincher. Like Matthew, he honed his skills in the commercial industry before shifting to his narrative work (‘Fight Club’, ‘Seven’, ‘The Killer’) and has regularly dived into episodic, executive producing and other short form content. 

“I find that diversity to be exciting and inspiring, and of course his passion for the craft is legendary,” says Matthew. “Most of my visual and storytelling sentiments have been shaped in the narrative space, and I typically find myself channelling those films in my work.”

After four years in LA, Matthew has spent the last few in Brooklyn with his wife, their dog and a cat - two rescues. Both animal lovers, they take their dog everywhere and have fostered cats for nearly a decade, making their home a “revolving door of weird and quirky cat personalities”. The local humans in New York’s ‘massive yet accessible’ industry is also a bonus - for Matthew’s social and professional lives.

[Above: Still from 'Roads Remembered' - Subaru, dir. Matthew Underwood]

“From friends to collaborators to clients, I feel like I am free of the shelter I faced in my younger years and am taking every opportunity to connect with new people,” he says. “Creatively, you’re surrounded by non-stop inspiration in the most mundane moments of your day here, which is beautiful assuming you can slow down long enough from the hustle and bustle to really take it in.”

Finding his own meditative release through craft coffee, slow fashion and street photography, he’s long been following a piece of advice serendipitously gained from a network TV assistant director he met on a plane. Now taking full advantage of his surroundings, he recalls the guidance: ‘If you want to be a director, then go direct whatever you can get your hands on’. “I took his advice and just dove in headfirst,” he says.

Describing himself as a “deep thinker”, Matthew says he’s driven by the desire to connect with others on a deeper level and explore ideas in his stories. When done well, he says, this storytelling is “a vehicle for empathy and emotion”; a founding principle of his creative approach.

“I want to forge a connection with fellow collaborators, whether that’s a creative director or a cinematographer or an actor,” he says. “There’s so much depth and meaning found in the journey that is creating a project with a team of people, especially if the basis of that connection is positive and joyful.  That is something I aim to bring to every project.”