(TOP) LEFT: THE ALIBI, a feature film directed by Matt Checkowski and Kurt Mattila, for SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT/ENDGAME ENTERTAINMENT, to be released spring 2006. RIGHT: This short film, created for NIKETOWN, introduces tne new NIKE TUNED V product line. Checkowski and Mattila designed and directed this spot using only desktop technology on a shoestring budget. LEFT: Checkowski and Mattila were hired to conceptualize, design, and shoot the MINORITY REPORT dream sequences that span more than 30 minutes of the film. RIGHT: THE USA NETWORK “CHARACTERS WELCOME”
(July 2005) provides a unique glimpse at the personalities of USA’S original programming. Representing a distinct shift away from a graphic-based network identity, the new look captures a vibrant palette through unusual framings and clean photography. Checkowski and Mattila were hired by IMAGINARY FORCES to bring together storytelling with a graphic sensibility.
PHOTO: MARK FELLMAN
Matt Checkowski was a student of Meredith Davis at North Carolina
State University. Davis recounts how, at a student design conference,
the speaker was delayed, so Checkowski took the stage
for a one-hour impromptu presentation on working in the film
industry—this only nine months after graduation. “It was clear
that he knew his stuff, even in those early days of his first job,” says
Davis. “He is outgoing, poised, and very smart—he can sell a concept,
which in a collaborative project like film is very important.”
It was his selling skills along with his design prowess that netted
him his latest gig. Checkowski and his frequent collaborator
Kurt Mattila are codirecting the feature film The Alibi, which
will be released in spring of 2006. The script’s original ending had
problems, so the first-time directors lent it some much-needed
vision. “We restoryboarded the entire end of the movie and
designed a pocket-sized flipbook of it,” Checkowski says. “If you
flipped it fast enough, you could see the movie.”
Checkowski spent five years at L.A.’s Imaginary Forces racking
up a phenomenal list of work, including a revolutionary environmental
design for IBM, dozens of broadcast and film titles, and
the memorable precrime interfaces in Minority Report. He’s currently
working on a complete rebranding of Monday Night Football
for ESPN. And, since he’s getting paid to make movies, he can
still afford to take on the little identity projects that he loves. “I’m
trying to think if I’ve ever done the same thing twice.” He seriously
ponders this for a moment. “I don’t think I have.”
He returns to North Carolina State often, most recently for a
three-day charette with juniors and seniors, which he says is the
most fun: “They think they’re going to be making films or something
and I show up and make them do type exercises, black on
white paper.” He may have gone Hollywood, but Checkowski still
calls himself a designer.
Alissa Walker
WEB-EXCLUSIVE CONTENT!
