Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew DeLisi.
Hi Matthew, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I grew up in a home that encouraged creativity and the arts. So, when it was time to go off to college, Belmont in Nashville really stuck out to me. I originally went there for music-related interests but quickly found myself behind the camera. I wasn’t expecting it, but it seemed to click inside me and with other people around me. I kept pursuing that route and ended up at a few internships around town with production companies.
One job leads to another, and I found myself as a full-time director working on music videos and commercials. By 2019 I was beginning to feel burned out since I didn’t look back once I graduated (in 2015). I discovered 3D, and CGI work online and started out with tutorials to get my feet wet. I then started pitching some CG scenes into my directed work just so I could start building a reel for VFX.
Finally, the pandemic hit, and I was booked solid with 3D and VFX work. It was pretty crazy. Fast forward to 2021, when I officially made my company BRAINCHILD VFX an LLC. Now, I spend my days behind a computer making animated trailers, VFX for commercials and music videos, and even live visuals for artists like Paramore, Lil Nas X, Lizzo, and more.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not a smooth road. It’s hard enough to bring something you’ve created in your head to life in the real world. But getting soul-destroying client notes along the way really builds…character. I struggled a lot in the music video world with budgets. I got into the industry post-MTV craze, so labels were slashing budgets left and right. I had a lot of big ideas but not the money to make them happen properly.
This resulted in me being heavily involved in all departments. I have a specific memory of trying to get this set piece built with the art director, and I was in their basement with a router going to town trying to hit the deadline. But, many good people along the way donated their time for me and helped me so much, and I owe so much of it to them.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I think I’m known for just doing my own thing. I really don’t like to follow or keep up with trends. I’m not saying my ideas are culture-shifting or anything like that, haha, but I do try and stick to my guns and create stuff that I know I will love regardless of making it fit in.
I love directing because I’m allowed to dream. I can make something up and then figure out how to bring it to life through the process. Someone once told me that I don’t like the outcome; I just like the process, and I think that’s true. I love adventure and discovery and making things. It is more fun than the final product, for sure. That’s also why I got into CGI work. I wasn’t limited to my location or physics or anything, I can just make what was in my brain come to life.
I also love getting myself into situations that push me. Probably my favorite project is a stop-motion piece that I pitched a few years back. I told the client I could do it, but I never dabbled in stop motion before. We had a deadline, and the clock was ticking. I sat in my office all day every day trying to get it to look right. One day, it just clicked, and it was the most rewarding thing. I HAD to come through, and that pressure makes me feel alive.
What are your plans for the future?
Still trying to figure that out. I want to grow my company BRAINCHILD, but I want to figure out what exactly I’m going to grow it into.
As I mentioned, I enjoy wearing a lot of hats. But it’s tricky to build a company that wears multiple hats. So, I’d like to hone in on that. All in all, I hope to stick to something that makes me feel excited to wake up and do it every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brainchildvfx.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brainchild.vfx/
Image Credits
Ryan Green (@30mileswest), Paramore, David O’Donohue (@david_od), and Noah Tidmore (@nhtidmore)
