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Professional Profile - Matt Ruskin
MATT RUSKIN
His father was Irish, his mother Russian-Jewish. He was a lackluster student at Maine Township High School East in Park Ridge Illinois (no athletic star, never above a C average). After dropping out of Ripon College in Wisconsin, where he did some acting and later summer stock, he signed a Hollywood contract with Columbia and later Universal. His roles in movies and TV ("Ironside" (1967), "The Virginian" (1962)) remained secondary and, discouraged, he turned to a career in professional carpentry. He came back big four years later, however, as Bob Falfa in American Graffiti (1973). Four years after that he hit colossal with the role of Han Solo in Star Wars (1977). Another four years and Ford was Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).
Four years later and he received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his role as John Book in Witness (1985). All he managed four years after that was his third starring success as Indiana Jones; in fact, many of his earlier successful roles led to sequels as did his more recent portrayal of Jack Ryan in Patriot Games (1992). Another Golden Globe nomination came his way for the part of Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive (1993). He is clearly a well-established Hollywood superstar. He also maintains an 800-acre ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
CREDITS:
- Director: The Hip Hop Project (2006)
- Cinematographer: The Hip Hop Project (2006)
- Editor: The Hip Hop Project (2006)
- Miscellaneous Crew: Requiem for a Dream (2000) (production assistant)
MATT'S FAVORITE HOLLYWOOD SCREENING ROOM VIDEOS:
Street Race
Video Number Two
;
And this is number 3
WHAT DOES MATT LOOK FOR IN A VIDEO?
Matt likes the types of videos that immediately catch his attention. The kind that you can't stop watching. Sort of like a car accident, but entertaining. Promotional videos have to grab the viewers attention in the first five seconds or you have lost them. And with the growth of online video, the attention span continues to get shorter and shorter.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD MATT GIVE TO SOMEONE LOOKING FOR A CAREER IN VIDEO TRAILER PRODUCTION?
The way to get good in this business is to practice, practice, practice. In the old days, it wasn't easy to create videos. But now with video cameras and web-cams being cheap and easy to use, there are plenty of opportunities to create all kinds of videos. Matt's advice is to grab your camera and start putting together content. This is the only way you will learn what works and what doesn't. The editting process is actually more important than the video capture. So get some experience with video editing software. That is where the real videos are either made or broken.
MATT'S FAVORITES:
FAVORITE MOVIES:
- Empire of the Sun
- Chinatown
- Gross Pointe Blank
- The Dirty Dozen
FAVORITE TELEVISION SHOWS:
- Lost
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Hill Street Blues
- Incredible Hulk
FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEOS:
- Thriller - Micahel Jackson
- Any U2 video
- Cher - but not the gay ones
- Original Phil Collins
ASK MATT:
Send Matt a question below. While he won't be able to respond to each one, he does read them all. Include your email address, and we will also post some of the best questions and answers on this page in the future.
MATT'S RESPONSES:
Q. How do you recommend filming kids or animals?
A. Very carefully and not any more than you absolutely have to.
