They came for Visual Effects, but stayed for coffee shop politics. On this episode Mo chats with fellow creative, and friend, Matt Lathrom. Agencies thin out while indie film gets louder, scrappier, and—somehow—more fun. Lathrom, a multi-hyphenate VFX artist and producer whose credits include HBO, Netflix, and a growing list of indie features aiming at Sundance. Together they get candid about the gap between plan and reality, the strange relief of admitting you’re done for the day, and the gravity of trust when deadlines tighten.

Mo & Matt pull apart what makes creative collaboration work: leaders who ask questions instead of prescribing, teams that reward taste over tweaks, and the difference between micromanagement and meaningful direction. Matt shares where he finds the most freedom on set and in post, why some shows invite you to invent while others reduce you to a cursor, and how letting go can unlock better work. They also look upstream, at the industry’s bigger shifts—studio consolidation, the indie boom’s artistic payoff but thinner paychecks, and the evergreen tug-of-war between art and business that dates back to Wenders, Lucas, and Spielberg.

This is part 1

TIMESTAMPS, BABY

0:00 – Matt

2:36 – Sundance

6:48 – Meltdowns

9:06 – Time vs Reality

15:10 – Perfectionism

18:10 – Client vs Personal

26:20 – Dry Spells

32:20 – Community

36:40 – Recession

52:12 – AI (The Horror. The Brilliance! The Audacity)

Instagram: @this.is.a.metaphor & @joyscout.mo

“Don’t get Deterred, get Inspired”

Cover Design by: Joyscout Studio // For commissioned art & design inquiries: Joyscout Studio

Email Mo: mo@joyscoutstudio.com