Matt Danzico
HomeStudiosVideoTalksAbout
Matt Danzico is a journalist, filmmaker, and executive producer.
He is known for his innovative contributions to news and documentary storytelling as a former reporter and head of video innovation at BBC News in London as well as the founder and creator of NBC Left Field Studios, NBC’s documentary lab in New York.
Danzico Studios is Matt’s own innovation and visual storytelling outfit. It’s a new design and production shop as well as a youth media consultancy, which opened in 2020.
With offices in Barcelona and New York, Danzico Studios has produced work for BBC Studios, Google, and a number of NGOs. Today, the group is currently crafting its first feature film as well as a host of shorter documentaries for television.
More.
latest
Infodemic Tennessee
In this fiery half-hour documentary for BBC, we journey to the heart of Tennessee and America’s Covid culture wars. As the death toll soared, the doctor in charge of vaccine rollout for the state was fired and the debate over wearing masks in schools turned violent. With support from BBC staff, Danzico Studios explores how the pandemic is changing US politics, from the facts Americans choose to believe to where they want to live.
This innovative current affairs film aired on BBC World, the world’s largest TV channel, as well as BBC News Channel in the UK. A cutdown of the larger documentary was posted online, where it led the BBC’s website as the most-watched piece of programming that day. The full documentary is now available via BBC iPlayer. The film was subsequently adapted by the BBC into a radio documentary for BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service as well as a vertical, social media-friendly documentary.
Matt wrote, presented, filmed and edited the documentary. Annie Phrommayon produced and Shrai Popat served as second camera.
The Crypto Effect
In this ongoing photo-projection NFT series, we explore the ways cryptocurrency charts and data seduce the minds of investors twenty-four hours a day.
“Am I the only one who still sees these charts when I shut my eyes?” Matt asks in a recent article about the effects endlessly trading altcoins and his growing interest in decentralized finance.
The name The Crypto Effect was derived from a decades-old Harvard University study, which found that people whom played the video game Tetris for prolonged periods during the day had a high likelihood of dreaming about falling blocks and shapes at night. Today, the psychological phenomenon is referred to as the Tetris Effect.
The new series was released publicly in August 2021 and can be spotted here. Matt was subsequently asked to write a feature about the turbulent origins of the series.
The photo project later appeared in press, ranging from AFP in France to La Razón in Spain.
Thud
Part dark fantasy and part history series, Thud was a deep dive into how to structure programs that leverage the excitement of entertainment but deliver on education and information.
For this project, data was pulled on the demographics of a large UK entertainment broadcaster. This prototype series was then developed using stats on the types of educational YouTube videos being watched amongst that demo as well as what style streaming programs were being watched by that audience. And the two genres were woven together.
Following the production chaos of 2020, we’ll be looking to jumpstart Thud with a new home once the industry settles.
Pandemic Projections
Restricted to the Mediterranean city of Barcelona during early 2021 because of the ongoing pandemic, Danzico Studios launched a small series of photos that used a projector on the moody streets of Barca to recall moments from history that might help inform the COVID-19 pandemic. Problems faced during the ill-named Spanish Flu of 1918 were eerily similar to what we’re experiencing today, from debates around mask-wearing to politicians using off-color names for the crisis to cast focus away from themselves.
Though far smaller in scope, this project followed on the heels of Thud and was founded under a similar credo—to use punchy visuals to recall the past and deliver important messages about the present.
Months later, this project would also go on to greatly inform the thinking behind The Crypto Effect series.
Fan Paper
Fan Paper is a simple, eco-friendly seat cover we developed early during the pandemic that was shipped out to cinemas to help keep their audiences safe while enjoying films. The idea behind it was conceived at a time, early during the crisis, when avoiding surfaces was of the utmost concern.
Made from recycled Kraft paper and FDA-approved, water-based ink, Fan Paper is Danzico Studios’ first industrial design. Still in production for theaters and outlets, Fan Paper proved to be an incredible experiment in problem solving using quick design and scaling.
More.
Links
Press
Nieman Lab
NPR On the Media
Hollywood Reporter
PBS Media Shift
PRI The World
CBC
Talks
Intl Journalism Festival
Ted-Ed
SXSW
Story Collider
Immovator
News:Rewired