Matt Anderson has been working with Benztown for close to two years now and I am really excited and proud to share some of his thoughts about imaging, his experiences and learnings.
Please check out how Matt is growing Benztown as Director of Custom Imaging and how overcoming obstacles made him a better Imaging producer. Keep Hustling! Enter Matt!
AS: Which production system do you use and why?
MA: I started on Adobe Audition, I was DJ’ing house parties in College and wanted to produce some cool drops, that’s where it all started. Now I use Pro Tools. The switch in systems was tough, but I know it has made me a better producer. Plus being the industry standard, the ability to ask questions of my co-workers and the internet makes it easy to advance quickly.
AS: What are your favorite plugins?
MA: Shoutout to SoundToys! EchoBoy, MicroShift, and Filter Freak I use in almost every piece I produce. I’ll throw EchoBoy on the last beat of a music bed for a nice trail off. MicroShift for a nice change in VO effect. FilterFreak to thin out the swell of a music bed.
AS: How do you schedule your work?
MA: I am a morning person, I work best when I just sit down and get to it. Sometimes it almost feels like a blackout. I’ll have pages of imaging to finish, look up and six hours have passed. If I feel uninspired or I’m dragging that day, knocking back a strong coffee usually does the trick.
AS: What do you love about being able to deliver imaging for so many different stations and formats?
MA: I am a fan of all sorts of music, my first concert was Iron Maiden, now I’m a CHR producer and I dabble in literally everything in between. So it’s fun to be able to switch between formats, it’s never boring that’s for sure!
AS: What’s different about your imaging style since you joined Benztown?
MA: Since I’ve joined Benztown I have really focused on making my imaging more musical. Pro Tools grid mode has made that super easy, and also lining up my VO with the tempo of the music beds. Like a rapper, I try and hone in on the flow with the VO and bed lined up as one.
AS: What is the best ProTools or production trick anybody should know?
MA: Tempo out your sessions! Start with your music bed, find the BPM and set everything along those lines. It will sound better and it will make it easier to work. Your echos will follow that tempo, and everything will exist as one musical piece.
AS: How do you get inspired and what do you use as a source of creativity?
MA: The team that I am on at Benztown is amazing. Hearing what other people are doing on their respective libraries and imaging assignments inspires me every day. I’ll hear something that will give me goosebumps and I will immediately want to do it.
Before Benztown I was dying to be involved in an imaging community, I was blowing people up on Soundcloud just trying to connect. My biggest inspirations are the people and the music.
AS: Who were your radio production idols, who influenced your work as a producer recently?
MA: I have to start out with Rob Anthony, area SVP of Programming at iHeartMedia in Providence, RI. I was an intern for him in Springfield, MA at Mix 93.1 on the Zito and Karen morning show. One of my fondest memories is going down a water slide at Six Flags New England in my high school wrestling singlet for them. He gave me my first full-time radio job in Providence, RI as a Production/Programming Assistant at Coast 93.3. I will forever be in debt to him for that (also for letting me crash on his couch a few times!). That’s where I met Doug Palmieri. He saw that I was itching to do imaging. He truly took me in as a friend and worked with me day and night teaching me how to produce. He worked in Boston, MA for many years as a Creative Services Director at Greater Media. He was truly my Sensei. Everyone needs a Doug, a true mentor inside and outside of work.
I also gotta give props to our very own Scott “Justin Case” Mayton. Scott pushed me off the Pro Tools ledge so to speak. Every question and frustration, he’s listened to and guided me through. The speed and quality of his work is unbelievable. One day I hope to grow up and be as good as him.
AS: What has been some key career advice you’ve received?
MA: I lost a lot of confidence when I switched to Pro Tools. I was so frustrated I called Doug one night just to vent. He told me that these are all just tools. The theories, knowledge and experience that I have had in my career are not lost because of a switch in systems. I thought that was a really interesting point. It’s like my dad always says, everything I’m doing now is shaping me for tomorrow. Everything wasn’t lost, I wasn’t starting from scratch, I was just building on what I already knew. I continue to build on that foundation every day.
AS: Why do you love cars?
MA: Oh man, where do I start. I sit in front of a computer all day, so for me, it’s so different from my work life that its a nice change. I’m weird, but I truly find it relaxing to go outside and clean my car after a long day. I get a high off modifying my car. I always have. I had two 6th Gen Honda Civics in high school – one I crashed, the other one got stolen. I think with [moveis like] Fast and Furious, and Need For Speed on PS2, the car thing was a staple of my childhood. Now I have a 2017 [VW Golf] GTI with some work done, pushing 300hp in a Hatch is no joke! I love it, I think I will always own a GTI. I’m currently trying to get my girlfriend to buy a Tiquan as I want to have a VW fleet. Just like imaging, the car scene is a community. It’s a great way to meet people, and just talk about common interests.
Check out Matt’s work on Soundcloud, here.
Benztown is represented in Canada by Momentum Media Networks, a subsidiary of Momentum Media Marketing, the parent company of Broadcast Dialogue.
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