Meet Matthew Sinofsky: Aspiring Media Producer and Gorilla Creative Film Scholarship Recipient

Matthew Sinofsky is one of the latest recipients of the Gorilla Creative Film Scholarships. He is a junior at Belmont University, currently pursuing a Media Production major with a Journalism minor. I was able to spend some time with him on Zoom during his busy schedule to chat more about his background, inspiration, and goals for his future career.

He first learned about video production in middle school, putting together a video for an anti-bullying campaign. He says, “it opened up a whole new world of storytelling” for him. In middle school, he participated in the school news productions. In high school, his thirst for knowledge continued to grow, and he became inspired by his film teacher, Mr. Casinghino, who also happened to write the actual textbook the class used. Mr. Casinghino had a wealth of knowledge to teach him, and Matthew dove in head first, learning how to use a camera to tell a story - fiction or non-fiction. He found success early, placing in various video competitions, which gave him the momentum to continue pursuing opportunities in video production.

Matthew’s parents are both lawyers; they had envisioned a different direction in college for him (Business). But as they witnessed not only his passion for video production but his skillset for it continue to grow, they became convinced that it is a legitimate career path. His dad booked him for an internal PSA video project at the law office. At 17 years old, he directed professional lawyers more than twice his age to participate in a lighthearted company video. He loved running the show! It was pivotal in giving him the confidence to continue pursuing this path.

He also has a passion for the armed services. His grandfather served in the Air Force. He believes his time in ROTC is giving him the leadership experience he needs to be able to better direct and lead a film crew. In fact, his dream is to work in the Public Affairs department of the US Army - the media branch of the armed service, where he can marry his calling to serve in the military along with his passion for media journalism.

Now approaching his final year in college, he has not lost any momentum in gaining the skills needed to work in the field. Being in Nashville, he’s surrounded by aspiring musicians and plugs himself into the local scene by offering to make music videos or to take portrait and event photos at concerts. He works for the film production crew at Belmont Athletics, honing his skills on the camera. He has also taken a recent interest in post production, taking classes in Adobe Premiere and After Effects.

Whether it’s producing, writing, directing, camera operating, editing, or creating motion graphics - he aims to have a wide breadth of skills that will carry him through any kind of project that life throws his way! He pictures himself in a role where he can lead and direct a crew. He just wants “to be creative and make ideas come to life.”

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The team at Gorilla Creative is glad to be a small part of his lifelong journey. Aside from the scholarship funds he has received to support him, we will be conducting a personal AMA where he can spend time talking with the team at Gorilla Creative to learn more about producing from working professionals. We love seeing the next generation becoming inspired to work in the same field we do. Congratulations, Matthew!

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