Matthew Baker

Matt’s basically a legend in the world of film and TV props—seriously, the guy’s been at it for over two decades. We’re talking 24 years of hands-on experience, building everything from jaw-dropping set pieces to those tiny, blink-and-you-miss-it hand props, plus a bunch of wild stuff for VFX. He kicked things off the old-school way, actually getting his chops at Ryecotewood College, which, let’s be honest, is kind of the Hogwarts for prop nerds. Speaking of which, his first gigs were on massive productions like Event Horizon (that’s some sci-fi cult royalty right there) and, no big deal, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. But Matt didn’t just stop at the classics. He’s spent years bouncing between blockbuster sets and TV studios, making the impossible look real. Doesn’t matter if it’s a spaceship console that lights up in just the right way or a magical artifact that needs to survive a dozen takes—he’s built it. Directors and VFX teams love the guy because he gets how stuff needs to look on camera, which is way trickier than it sounds. Sometimes you’ve got to make something look ancient and mysterious, other times it’s all about high-tech sleekness, and Matt just nails it, every time. Basically, if you’ve watched a major film in the last couple decades, chances are you’ve seen something Matt made, even if you didn’t realize it. The dude’s fingerprints are all over movie magic—no exaggeration.