Production company Rodeo Show has signed director Matt Uhry for his first U.S. commercial representation. The move comes on the heels of a collaboration between Rodeo Show and Uhry on a Fancy Feast campaign that launched this month.
Affectionately referred to as “The Animal Guy,” Uhry’s animal directorial experience stems from extensive study under animal trainers and behaviorists, as well as deep experience observing and training behaviors. “It’s about more than liking animals, it’s creating the right conditions in the first place and then adjusting inputs to keep making the shot better,” said Uhry. “If there’s time for training that opens up a whole world of possibility, but much can be achieved with simply the right approach on set and a bit of patience.”
Decades of work range from mammals to bird and reptile shooting for brands including Netflix (and a Clio Award-winning tree frog), PetsMart, La Quinta, Meow Mix, Visit California, ASPCA and many more. His animal repertoire includes the aforementioned tree frog named Gerard, cats, leopards, grizzly bears, good dogs of all breeds, horses, dolphins, elephants, whales and bees.
Additional commercial exploits span branded content documentary work and VFX for clients such as Ketel One, Lenovo, Sony and Intel. Bringing a diverse skillset as a director/DP and photographer, Uhry has seen his nimble approach to production serve as an imperative offering for pandemic production. Since restrictions have come into place, he has shot numerous projects, embracing the limitations as a creative challenge across both remote and in-person shoots.
Ryan Wadzinski, Rodeo Show exec producer, said, “Matt has a unique ability to capture the authentic emotions of human and animal connection. On top of being such a standout ‘Animal Guy,’ his diverse background as a director and witty demeanor really allows him to bring a fresh approach to every project he works on.”
Uhry shared, “The Rodeo Show team has very quickly become family for me and their attention to detail and level of support along every step of the production process really allows me to focus on the creative process.”
Born and raised in Northern California, Uhry found his cinematic footing thanks to an aunt’s Super 8mm camera, discovered on a family trip when he was nine years old. A decade later, he graduated to a Bolex under the tutelage of experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage at University of Colorado Boulder, where he studied for his BFA. A formative trip in his early twenties set the stage for his career, from living in Paris to hitchhiking through Africa, the Middle East and Asia. He cut his teeth as a DP on numerous short films and music videos, before segueing to shooting and directing his own commercials. He most recently worked in China, the U.K., Chile, Bolivia, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Vietnam, UAE, Argentina, Portugal, India, Brazil, Cuba, France, Namibia, Thailand, Japan, and many more regions.
