Matt Harris / shooting director / director of photography
London and Essex based award winning Director of Photography and producer/director specialising in high end documentary and branded content.
With over thirty years experience image making from photography to film working around the globe for blue chip companies along with production houses and TV companies in the UK, US and Europe.
Matt started out as an underwater photographer living in the Marshall Islands and was asked to shoot his first bit of underwater footage for a Brazilian TV Channel back in 1997.
"I've shot branded content and corporate promos and high quality documentary and have dipped my toe into narrative and music video in recent years.
I recently finished my first feature length doc - Rom Boys :40 Years of Rad which I wrote, produced, directed, shot, edited and did all the VFX for which was picked up by 1091 Pictures and which is currently a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 5 stars on Amazon and Apple.
It also won the best feature documentary at the 2020 Paris Surf and Skate Film Festival. It was also a semi-finalist for best cinematography in the documentary category at the NY Cinematographers awards and a selection at the San Francisco Frozen FIlm festival.
I also filmed and directed the TV Doc - "The Lancaster at 80" for Big Little Fish TV and broadcast on Channel 4 in October 2020."
Here are a few of the viewer and critic comments posted on Amazon , Apple and various film websites about Rom Boys..
Matt is also an experienced drone pilot and camera operator having qualified for commercial approval back in 2014. As of 2021 this has now been updated to the CAA - Operational Authorisation - UKPDRA-01 from the CAA thru 2024 . Matt also has an 'i' Visa for work in the US.
He is also proficient in post, with expert level skills in Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Davinci Resolve and Photoshop.
"I edited Rom Boys to see how I could handle a feature length production, Film Threat Magazine described the end result as: "Top notch editing"."
Additional qualifications
- RYA Yachtmaster Offshore
- BNUC-S Qualified drone pilot
- PADI Master SCUBA Diver Trainer
- IANTD Technical Diver Supervisor
- IANTD Deep Air and Nitrox stage diving supervision
- MA from Ravensbourne in Interactive Digital Media
Some additional random facts
- I've been Creative Director of a digital agency I founded SINCE 2002 (pixelwork.com)
- I've worked as a treasure hunter in the Bahamas diving on Spanish galleons (or the remains of them)
- I've swum from Alcatraz Island (in under 30 minutes)
- I won the 2020 Paris Surf & Skate Film Festival for best skate feature length documentary
- I've been held at gunpoint in Cuba and Italy (un-related)
- I've surfed in Central America, skydived in Vegas and been robbed in New York
- I found a WWII plane for the US National Park Service
- I've worked as re-breather test diver for Dräger off the remote islands of Madagascar
- I was a member of the dive team who conducted the first technical dives at Bikini Atoll
- I've skippered a yacht around Cape Fear in a Force 9 gale
- I completed Ironman Austria in 2012, where it hit 42C on the Marathon, in under 13 hours (12:56 but who's counting?).
- I've run the London Marathon twice (and a 50 mile ultramarathon once...NEVER again!)
- I've spearfished in a great white shark hunting ground off the San Benitos Islands (and had no idea at the time!)
- I've owned more wetsuits than business suits
- I'm a Fellow of the NY Explorers Club and Royal Geographical Society
- I have one separated shoulder from downhill mountain biking and one nagging fractured shoulder on the other side from skateboarding.