Fueling The Film Industry With Partnership

Collaboration isn’t just a component of the filmmaking industry — it’s the backbone of it. Matt Komo is the filmmaker behind some of the world’s largest brands, artists and personalities shifting culture.

Throughout his career, he has quickly earned the respect of veteran creatives worldwide. Komo’s successes include collaborations with GoPro, Justin Bieber, The Chainsmokers, Zedd, Tiesto, Google, Porsche, Adobe, DJI and Michael Kors, just to name a few.

His secret sauce?

Successful partnerships.

Komo originally got his start working at GoPro, where he helped build the brand’s visual identity by leveraging its social media platforms. Komo was quickly recognized for his unique, stylistic choices. His fingerprints as a creative were evident in every project he worked on.

Further utilizing his skills behind the camera, his cinematography extends to both the Chainsmokers’ “Closer” lyric music video (three-plus billion views) and Justin Bieber’s “Our World” documentary.

His own film, “A Forgotten Life,” premiered at the prestigious Director’s Guild of America in 2021. Since then, it received “Best Picture, Best Documentary, and Best Editing” at the Los Angeles Film Awards and is a Cannes World Film Festival winner.

Although his career started with a focus on cinematography, he how explains his skill set has evolved into multiple disciplines. Komo is constantly directing, writing, shooting, editing, producing and scoring the music for the projects he is involved with. “You need to understand how every part of the process works to clearly articulate your vision and lead a team,” he notes.

Komo’s wisdom extends far beyond film into his long-lasting business partnerships. I recently had a chance to sit down with Komo. During our conversation, he opened up about his top-three principles for mastering the art of creative collaborations that’s helped define his rise to the top of his industry.

Start With The End In Mind; Align On A Shared Vision And Objectives

People seek out Komo to help them tell their most intimate stories through film, whether it’s a documentary, music video or product advertisement. His top tip? Begin with a clear objective by aligning on a shared vision.

Says Komo, “The art of effective storytelling is understanding that every second counts.” For most, deciding on a creative direction is overwhelming, because there can be so many different paths to take. Komo’s magic is to align everyone involved with a clear vision and objective.

Clarifies Komo, “The most difficult, but critical part of the process is distilling the essence of the story down into a single sentence. Doing this gives everyone involved a framework to align creative decisions. This is important, because every piece of sound and film needs to move the story forward. If it doesn’t, it gets cut from the final product. It’s a ruthless process.”

Seek Authenticity And Build Trust

Telling stories with film is an enormous responsibility that requires Komo to precisely communicate who his clients are to the world. This is why Komo’s second tip is to seek authenticity. Authenticity and integrity are essential for building trust – both with the clients you represent, as well as with the people who will be watching the film.

First, authenticity is vital to telling a genuine story. “The process of accurately articulating a person’s journey involves outward exploration and inward introspection for both of us.”

Continues Komo, “For the message to have profound meaning, we both need to look into the depths of our heads and hearts. The story can only go as far as the extent to which we’ve met ourselves.”

But authenticity goes beyond the personal connections he forges with clients.

“There isn’t anything more sincere than stating the fundamental truth of the individual and their life experience,” expresses Komo. “By conveying the most honest representation of who the person is, the more the message resonates with the audience.” Komo’s commitment to authenticity is precisely what allows individuals to trust him to tell their most intimate stories.

Prioritize Quality Over Quantity

The third lesson Komo cites is prioritizing quality work over quantity. There’s a lot of temptation to push for higher throughput, but Komo has learned that saying “no” to projects is more important than saying “yes.” Selectively picking and choosing his collaborations allow for the time and space needed to make the projects the most successful they can be.

Relates Komo, “It helps when you navigate spaces that you’re naturally enthusiastic about. When you are passionate about something, it shows. When a project is pushed forward in a strictly transactional way, it tends to feel more arduous than expressive. Things can turn sideways when you try to manufacture something that isn’t real.”

The power of saying “no” allows Komo to put all his focus, energy and dedication into projects that matter most to him. Higher quality-intensive projects create a space for originality, precision and reflection. For Komo, this means “the end product appears effortless, it’s magic.” The way he paces and seamlessly weaves together the story is what elevates his work to an art form.

Concludes Komo, “The beauty of working this way is that your achievements and reputation compound. The success you get from giving your all to create a truly exceptional piece of work opens the door for your next opportunity. By doing this, over time, you create an undeniable stack of proof that you are what you say you are.”

The Bottom Line

High-quality collaborations create incredible results.

But most impressive of all?

Alongside the lessons he shares, Komo’s success demonstrates that one’s personal integrity and approach have the power to attract partners of equal caliber. This kind of gravity puts several positive forces in motion. One of them is the momentum to create high-impact projects with meaning and significance.

The other achievement of these creative collaborations is that, by default, everyone is winning together. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of a legacy like that? The results speak for themselves.