Matt Brawley (’95)
Matt Brawley (’95) has spent the last 20 years directing, shooting and editing productions for Houston’s PBS affiliate, KUHT-TV 8, at Houston Public Media (HPM) on the UH campus. Throughout his career, he has received 12 Lone Star Emmys with an additional 34 Emmy nominations and the Houston Press Club’s TV Photojournalist of the Year award in both 2004 and 2016. Recently, he achieved his longtime goal of winning craft achievement Emmys for three very different aspects of his job — director, photographer, and editor — a rare feat in a business full of specialists. He lives in Houston with his family.
What originally brought you to UH — what was the defining factor in your decision to enroll?
I was a National Merit Scholar coming out of high school, and there were several schools around the country who aggressively recruited National Merit Scholars by offering full academic scholarships, including UH. My Dad was still active duty in the Army at that point and we were awaiting his next transfer, so I just decided to make geography a non-factor. I had actually never set foot in Texas before that campus visit.
The two most influential folks in swaying me toward UH were Jodie Koszegi of the Honors College, and Professor Ted Stanton, who ran the journalism program back then. They were both outstanding representatives of the University, and thanks to them I made a great choice in coming to UH as a member of the Honors College.
How has choosing UH ultimately shaped your life and career?
More than anything, my college experience brought me out of my shell and gave me the confidence I needed to succeed in my chosen career. I lived on campus, and I can honestly say those were the some of the best years of my life. The RTV classes were important in allowing me to learn some of the basics of TV, and without that foundation it would have been impossible to get out into the media job market and handle an actual paying job.
What inspired you to pursue a career in media production?
I’ve always loved story-telling in its various forms — movies, TV, books — and getting into TV seemed like the perfect way to combine my interests in photography and writing. I wanted to find a creative career path, so when I enrolled at UH, I tried creative writing courses and TV courses. It was clear to me pretty quickly that I belonged in TV, so I switched my major and the rest, as they say, is history.
What is your approach to storytelling when the “story” may not be immediately evident? For example, a formal interview or the HPM Spelling Bee vs. a scripted drama.
When I’m directing an unscripted show, I try to constantly ask myself, “If I’m a viewer, what do I want to see right now?” Perhaps the interviewer on the show is asking the guest a question — do I want to see the interviewer on-camera, or is it more interesting at that moment to see the guest reacting to the question as it’s being posed? During the Spelling Bee, do you want to see the pronouncer giving the word? Or the kid listening to the word as it comes out? Or maybe even the parents of that kid looking nervous in the adjacent studio? If you want to see all three, in what order? And how do you time the cuts as you go from one camera to the other?
As the director you’ve got all your options laid out in front of you on a giant monitor — it’s your job to be looking at all of those options and making a moment-to-moment decision about what the viewer would get the most out of seeing. Answering that question is a subjective thing, to be sure, but I’ve always trusted my instincts and I think it has served me well. The regional Emmy Awards are judged by other directors, and I’ve been nominated for Outstanding Directing nine times, and won twice — that gives me the confidence I need to follow my instincts to be an effective director.
You’ve won several awards for “Manor of Speaking,” a talkback show about the hit series “Downtown Abbey.” Are you a “Downton Abbey” fan yourself?
I actually had never seen “Downton Abbey” until I was given the pilot episode four months before “Manor of Speaking” was going to air, but I have to say — it sucked me in right away. In my book, one of the best pilots I’ve ever seen (“LOST,” “Six Feet Under,” and “The Walking Dead” also come to mind) at immediately drawing you into their world and making you care about the characters right away. Once I brought seasons 1 and 2 home on DVD and watched them with my wife, we both became hooked. It’s kind of embarrassing to admit that, but truthfully it helped the “Manor of Speaking” design process immensely to enjoy the show that we were latching on to. I loved creating the manor house set, and I know my love of Carson the butler must have influenced my desire to create an on-set butler for our show. Luke Wrobel’s performance made the character of Mr. Rodgers the most memorable part of “Manor of Speaking.”
Do you watch TV 8, or is it a little too much after being immersed in public media at work?
I keep up with our local show Arts InSight to see what my friends and colleagues are doing each week. Some great work is being done by the their production staff each and every week, and seeing the work done by my fellow photographer/editors Fujio Watanabe (’89) and Joe Brueggeman (’85) inspires me when it’s my turn to go out and shoot and edit a story. I also enjoyed “Mercy Street,” and “Indian Summers” so I guess I’m a Masterpiece guy at this point. Plus my kids are all about “Wild Kratts” and “Ready, Jet, Go!” So yes, TV 8 is on at the Brawley household.
Campus has expanded considerably since you were a student – what is your impression of UH’s future and President Renu Khator’s vision?
It is truly amazing to see the transformation that has happened on campus since I graduated in 1995. I’ve continued to work on campus since then, so have seen it happen gradually — but you can tell that things really kicked into high gear when President Khator arrived. I think it’s great. I went to a football game at TDECU Stadium last year for the first time in a decade, and could not believe the atmosphere. It really filled me with Cougar Pride. I can’t wait to bring my 6-year-old son this year and get him rooting for the Coogs.
Did you have a favorite professor or class at UH, or any other favorite UH memories?
I remember having an incredible amount of fun in my TV2 Studio Class with Professor Moya Luckett. We did some really ambitious studio productions — we staged a kung fu fight in the middle of one of our shows — and seeing them come together reasonably well was a tremendous feeling that motivated me to continue on that career path. I wanted to face the challenge presented by TV production, and I wanted to feel the sense of satisfaction that came from a successful show.
My other favorite UH memories involve my friends from the 3rd floor of Law Hall, and the great times we had. We were really into campus intramural sports, and created our own “VNA Sports Club” to participate in every sport we could. We prided ourselves in taking on the fraternities, and a lot of times we beat them. I was even inducted into the Intramural Roll of Honor when I graduated!
What do you like best about living in Houston?
It is the kind of place where I want to raise my kids — diverse, active, vibrant, and completely lacking in snow storms. I love the restaurants, I love the arts community, I love the sports, and I love the neighborhoods. I’ve met so many amazing people in Houston over the years who have had such a positive influence on my life. The heat of the summer is just the price you pay for all of that other great stuff.
What are your hobbies and what do you enjoy about them?
I love sports, and from the time I was seven or eight I’ve been into sports memorabilia. I’ve had to really pare it down in recent years — “What do you mean the den is becoming the kid’s room?!” — but I still like to collect things with a sense of history to them. I suppose my love of photography and graphic design plays into that, too. Vintage baseball cards are fascinating snapshots of the year they were created, and are fun to look at from that perspective.
What advice would you share with current or prospective UH students, or aspiring media-makers?
Don’t narrow down your options at this point in your learning process. Learn as many different skills as you can so that you’re ready to take on whatever job may become available — knowing the jobs and skills of other production team members will always make you better at what you do. I never set out to be a shooter, editor, or director, but when I graduated from UH production crew jobs were the job postings I found, so I went with it. I had absorbed as much as I could during my years at UH and during my KUHT internship, so I had that foundation of knowledge that was needed to take that unexpected career path. I never looked back, and I’ve never regretted it.
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