Check Out Hagen Mattingly’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hagen Mattingly.

Hagen, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m currently 28 years old, and I’ve known for the majority of my life that I wanted to make films. It started with an addiction to drawing when I was a kid. Everywhere I went, I would be drawing something. Usually, it was characters from my favorite movies. Once I had done it enough to draw said characters by memory, I kind of just started creating my own. I quickly realized what I was drawing were moments from made-up stories in my head. One day, I decided I wanted to fill in the gaps. So throughout Elementary school, I wrote a bunch of “books” about these knock-off characters of Sharkboy and Lavagirl. They had more pictures than words and weren’t very good, but I was too young to know or care.

Meanwhile, these creative urges bled into me begging my parents to let my brothers and I make our own silly videos with their camcorder. I didn’t see an overlap with the hobbies at the time, it was just something else I felt like doing. Once my parents caved, making videos became my favorite thing to do for fun.

I had no ambition with these videos at first. However, I happened to grow up in the heyday of YouTube. I had access to a platform to share my videos, where I could also watch videos from other people that inspired me. YouTubers like Freddie Wong showed me that the gap between Hollywood productions and my silly homemade videos weren’t as big as I thought. So I took a deep dive into the rabbit hole of After Effects, and learned my way around various editing software. Before I knew it, my videos went from being an adorable nuisance to my parents to making them say “Holy cow. How did you do that?!”

This made for a unique High School experience. By this point, I had a little confidence in my hobbies, so I sought out a High School that offered a Video Production class. This class allowed me to thrive. I would spend every day in there filming sketches for the school’s morning announcements, and then go home and spend all night editing them instead of doing my homework. Some students did sports, others did theatre or band, I did Video Broadcasting.

The real catalyst for my filmmaking journey was an annual county-wide Film Festival that was part of my class’s curriculum. Every year, we were given two weeks to make a five minute short film based on a few prompts. This is what pushed me from making videos, to making films. That difference might be subjective, but the point is I was now making content I intended to be taken seriously. Once I got to experience watching a film I made with an audience, and witnessing that audience react exactly how I wanted them to, I was hooked. I wanted to make films, and you weren’t going to change my mind about it.

After High School, I spent a couple years questioning everything as I pursued an unrelated degree. All of the research I did about Film School told me it was worthless, so I figured I should major in Communications. I tried to stay active with filmmaking in my spare time but, the weight of the future made it difficult to stay inspired. In hindsight, I would have been happier if I just went to film school. But after a couple of years of delivering pizzas, I managed to land a gig as a Production Assistant, through some distant friends and relations. It was advertisement photoshoot for a Coca-Cola. The gig was only two days but everyone else there acted like this was their full-time job. A lot of them said they worked on commercials too. So I asked around about how to get more work like this. I exchanged numbers with all the other PA’s, not thinking I’d actually hear from them again. But I did! Not even a week later, one of them called me and said “Hey, you want to work tomorrow?” I had class, but he needed an answer immediately. So I bit my tongue, and said yes. Suddenly, all of these other PA gigs just started falling into my lap. I ended up skipping class to go work on set so much, I dropped out of college my sophomore year so I could do it full-time. Within a couple years, I joined Local 479 and moved up into the Grip department on commercials, TV shows and movies.

Now, eight years since I left college, I would say I haven’t looked back, but that would be a lie! I wish I could say this industry has stayed as busy as it was when I joined. I wish I could say I’ve made it as a director now, but I haven’t. Not yet, at least. I still make my living as a Grip, and I’m very grateful to. My years on set have shown me that directing isn’t a job anyone gets promoted to, you’ve just got to make films without asking for permission. So, that’s what I kept doing. Quietly. I was careful not to make that ambition known to most people I met on set. But I’ve been able to build relationships with certain, very talented people I knew I could trust. Now, I’m proud to say I have two short films currently screening at Film Festivals all over the world. “Night Shift at Ned’s” a horror-comedy about customer service, and “Forces From Beyond,” a period piece about Irish witchcraft.

I may not be where I wished I was ten years after finishing High School, but I’ve found empowerment in letting go of expectations for success, and getting lost in the fun of creating like I did when I was a child. Filmmaking is such an unforgiving craft, but it rewards those who never give up. Now, after a decade of uncertainty, I’m at least happy to say that the small wins are accumulating.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I sure wish it was an easy path! Remember how I said I was careful not to reveal my ambition to everyone I met on set? Well, that’s because I was simply too terrified to. On my first gig as a PA, some other crew members asked what I wanted to do. When I said direct, I could see them fighting an eye roll. So once I started working on set full-time, I kept that part about myself a secret. I knew how young I looked, and I knew that telling people I wanted to direct wasn’t going to get me more work. So I just never spoke about it.

This led to an excruciating battle with imposter syndrome. Sure, I had a neat job to brag about, but I was convinced that being my honest self was going to cost me that job. I contemplated letting go of directing entirely and just staying the course of the career I’d established. I tried to just blend in with all the other Grips I knew. But after awhile, I realized that’s not who I am. I might be adequate at setting flags and leveling dolly track now, but I just simply enjoy making my own films too much to let my career in the industry stop here.

Of course, I don’t mean to say I regret taking the path I did. It’s allowed me to learn more about filmmaking than I ever imagined. It just took me some time to come to terms with the ugly truths of the film industry. It’s a craft that piggy backs on the thankless jobs of countless people. And when you spend a lot of time working one of these jobs, it can really push you to your limits. Days that go 12 hours and on, back-breaking double work, and doing it all at the whim of someone in a chair that doesn’t know your name. It was pretty strange having the bane of my existence often be someone in the job I always wanted. Not every set is a toxic mess but if you aren’t careful, the bad days will sour your attitude on the good ones. Needless to say, this gave me a healthy perspective of the collaborative process of filmmaking. It showed me things like what a director is really asking of the crew when they spontaneously decide to point the camera in the other direction. Now I know a director’s vision is only as good as the talent of their cast and crew, and the level of respect they treat them with.

Just as I was getting use to grasping all this, the SAG and WGA strikes of 2023 happened. They devastated the film industry in the U.S. and pushed the majority of the work in Atlanta, overseas. Suddenly, the set job I thought was my safety net, was hardly paying my bills. As a freelancer I’d dealt with dry spells before, but not like this. This was a wake up call. All of the extra time I suddenly had allowed me to contemplate my relationship with this industry. It was a dark time for everyone that worked in film. It still is. So, amidst all the uncertainty and financial hardships, I made a decision. If I’m going to live my life at the mercy of this sporadic industry, then I’m going to get what I want out of it.

So I took the script for a short film I had written, called “Night Shift at Ned’s,” and went about making it happen. This was no short film I could have secretly made on a weekend with a few buddies. It was ambitious, and I knew I wasn’t going to get it made without assistance. So I took a leap into doing what I was always afraid to: I asked people I met on set for help. To my surprise, I was met with an outpouring of support. In hindsight it’s probably because they’d known me long enough to know I had a realistic idea of what I was doing. But still, I expected judgement and instead I received sincere offers for help. Now, all of the people I was terrified of being my honest self around keep asking me when the next screening of the film is. It’s surreal in all the best ways.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Horror is my favorite genre of movie to both watch and make.

My film “Night Shift at Ned’s” is about a seasoned waitress that gets a new job at an overnight diner, and learns new meaning to the phrase “customers from Hell.” It ponders the issue of knowing when to risk losing a job by reacting the way you wish you could. This is my first film where I take a crack at balancing horror with comedy, as a lot of my favorite horror films do. I’m very proud of this film because it was one that everyone rightfully warned me was ambitious. Sure, it takes place in one location, but it’s a restaurant where a fight scene with a demonic trucker happens! So there was lots of stunts, monster makeup, things that wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t step out of my comfort zone and ask talented professionals for help. After all, filmmaking is a team effort. My stunt coordinator, Robert Reynell, and my head of Creature Makeup and SFX, Brooke Gillespie, were some of many gifted people who volunteered their time to make this film happen. I cannot stress enough how grateful I am for them.

My other film currently in festivals is called “Forces From Beyond.” In 16th century Ireland, the discovery of a mysterious crystal gets Noma Doyle accused of witchcraft. But when her accusers try to hang her, the crystal interferes with unknown power, and allows Noma to seek revenge. This film has a slightly darker tone than “Night Shift at Ned’s,” but still has some physical comedy mixed in. It was made as an entry to Buried Alive Film Festival’s 13 Day Sinema challenge. Yes, we had to make this film in 13 days. And I chose to do a period piece because that makes perfect sense, right? Obviously, this film was a huge leap of faith too. Ironically, I think I’m even more proud of this film than “Night Shift at Ned’s,” purely because the time window never allowed me a chance to doubt myself or the film. It only happened because I was lucky enough for most of the cast and crew of Ned’s to want to work with me again.

As far as what sets me apart from others, I guess I don’t know! That’s not something I really think about. I just know what I like and what I want to do. I’m lucky to have gotten any chances I’ve had to try so far. Everyone else is invited to join me for the ride or sit back and wait for me to crash.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
YouTube taught me everything I didn’t learn from my own experience. I’m certain that the majority of my generation has YouTube to thank for teaching them most things. It’s pretty amazing how that platform kickstarted an age where anyone can learn how to do anything they want.

As far as my influences go, I just watch an unhealthy amount of horror films. Some of my favorite directors are Sam Raimi, John Carpenter, Mario Bava, and Lucio Fulci. Horror isn’t the only genre I watch though. I love me some dark fantasy and some westerns. I always try my best to never mindlessly watch something and learn what I can from every movie, whether I like them or not.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @hagen044

Image Credits
Posters created by Luther Riel. You can find them on Instagram at @_shfthr