The scrappy, indie production of Hunting Matthew Nichols

Hunting Matthew Nichols is an indie horror film that’s shot as a mockumentary/found-footage movie about a documentary filmmaker investigating her brother's disappearance 20 years earlier on Vancouver Island. Writer/producer Sean Harris Oliver and DP Justin Sebastian shot the horror film in 12 days, then independently released it into theaters. Key Podcast Highlights: -How cinematographer Justin Sebastian used Sony FX9 cameras on autofocus, shot archival footage scenes on period-correct cameras, and then physically digitized the tapes for documentary authenticity. -Keeping the camera crew small and the lighting natural, so that the film’s characters could realistically pull off the documentary. -Detailed scriptwriting by Sean Harris Oliver, such as specifying who holds the camera in each scene. Sean scripted the film with cleaner, more deliberate camerawork that degrades into chaotic, survival-mode footage as events progress. -How the team pushed hard for theatrical release against distributor pressure to go straight to streaming. They self-funded distribution and budgeted for marketing from the very beginning. Find where to watch Hunting Matthew Nichols in theaters and play the interactive game on the website: Find Sean Harris-Oliver: Instagram: @SeanHarrisOliver Find Justin Sebastian: Instagram: @JustinSebastianDP Listen to our episode with producer Ted Hope, who discusses similar approaches indie filmmakers can take to understand and control the entire filmmaking process from budget to shoot to distribution: Show Rundown: 02:45 Close Focus 13:04-01:02:59 Sean Harris Oliver and Justin Sebastian interview 01:03:19 Short ends 01:12:42 Wrap up/Credits The Cinematography Podcast website: YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

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The scrappy, indie production of Hunting Matthew Nichols is an episode from The Cinematography Podcast by The Cinematography Podcast.

This episode is 1:11:12 long.

This episode was published on Apr 24, 2026.

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