“The Last Musician” follows Ethan, who lives in an emotionally regulated society. He is tasked with escorting an aging Oliver to a senior center. However, Oliver’s secret exposes the cracks in their society, forcing Ethan to question everything. I was able to sit down and interview Matthew Crick, the short film’s director. I was able to ask him about his journey to directing, the film itself, and his future in the industry.
Cricks Early Career
Many people on the campus of William Paterson University may know Professor Crick as a writer, producer, director, and professor. However, some people might know, especially those who haven’t taken his class, that he worked for ABC’s 20/20 in 1993, where he formally got his start. “I was actually a graduate student at Brooklyn College, and there was an internship opportunity at ABC, and I knew somebody in the grad program at Brooklyn who worked… She was like a PA at ABC 20/20 at the time,” said Crick, “Her name was Dorit, and she was really nice. She could tell I was really excited to work in the industry and all of that, you know.”
Crick spoke about his time as an intern, where he recalled being older than everyone else there, yet he recalled being the most proactive in his work. “I noticed that other interns would not answer the phone when it rang, because they knew, like an executive producer or producer needed something, and they were like, ‘I just don’t wanna deal with that.’ And so they weren’t doing kind of the basic things, which don’t require a college degree… They weren’t like hustling. They weren’t asking what could be done.” Crick went on to explain, “…it was incredible to me, because they were actually in time, they had the opportunity and the benefit of more time right down the road, and so they could kind of learn a lot more, a lot faster if they wanted to, and they weren’t. And so I’m like, ‘Okay, this is my opportunity here.’”
Crick’s work ethic led to him being hired as a production secretary immediately out of grad school at ABC 20/20 in an entry-level position. He eventually worked as an associate producer on a series about women in the military called “Nine Weeks in Hell,” where an unexpected accident involving the original producer forced him to step in and take over the shoot. The studio asked him to continue, and he accepted, seeing it as a key opportunity. Reflecting on this shift, Crick said, “So through that experience, I realized that I would rather be out doing my own stuff, making my own projects, doing documentaries in particular at that time, than working for a large corporation.”
His early documentary work, including Fort Totten: The Face of Freedom in 2003 and later projects tied to “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” helped shape his approach as a filmmaker. Crick explained that these experiences taught him the importance of chain of title, including releases, permissions, and rights clearances, especially for distribution and streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon. He also emphasized how working with nonprofessional talent strengthened his directing skills, particularly in communication, psychology, and managing difficult personalities, while also learning when collaboration would not work.
Early Work On “The Last Musician”
“The Last Musician” was written by Ryan Gomes. Crick spoke of how he met Gomes, “So three years ago, I got accepted to the MFA program in film directing at FDU, and that’s where I met Ryan. Ryan graduated and sent me a treatment for ‘The Last Musician’, and it was just a really, really good story… And he was really comfortable with me kind of insinuating my ideas into the film and into the script, rather, and was okay when I changed the ending. That was the biggest thing.” According to Crick, the original ending featured the two main characters sitting and reflecting on the experience. Crick talked about a writer’s involvement in the modern film industry.
“…it’s not uncommon for a writer to write it and then be taken out of the process entirely… I don’t work like that. I’m more collaborative… Yeah, it’s kind of standard that if a director decided or a producer decided to do something to a script, and this is why there are some films that don’t have the actual name of the writer, it’s a fake name on the film, and because they don’t wanna be associated with it.”
While producing his short film, Crick also had a job as a professor at William Paterson University, balancing directing, producing, teaching, and student responsibilities. He described that balance as something that improves with experience, “…like with any job, once you do it for a long time, you learn the efficient ways to do things and how to organize your professional life better, and all of that kind of stuff. And, you know, I’m lucky because I have that kind of elasticity in my schedule and my personal life. You know, I don’t have a bunch of kids. We’ve got one cat. So, you know, the work-life balance is a challenge sometimes, but my wife’s an artist as well, so she understands the fluidity of that kind of project, and also that it is a project, and eventually it will be done, and that kind of thing.”
Crick worked with Red Barn Films, which he founded, and Silver Chalice Productions on the film, explaining how short films are funded through in-kind support, crowdfunding, and personal investment from producers. He noted that crowdfunding is often romanticized, but the success rate for projects meeting their goals is relatively low, and people should support projects because they believe in them, not just because of trends.
During production, one of the most stressful moments came when Crick had to cut two scenes on the spot and restructure the narrative, which he ultimately managed successfully. He also emphasized lessons learned from festival screenings, particularly the importance of strong sound design and avoiding overly predictable storytelling, stating that he prefers films that feel more reflective of real life rather than neatly resolved narratives.
The Film
The film takes place in 2049, in a world accustomed to a surveillance state, a concept that has some resemblance to “The Giver”. The main character is Ethan. In Ethan’s world, they all take emotion-regulating medications. Crick talked about how he feels like the film reflects reality and whether he sees this world as a fictional dystopia or as a hypothetical future that we could see.
“I think as far as the surveillance part, I think we’re living that now. I think the kind of familial pressure and environment that Ethan was in is very common, so I don’t think that’s unusual. As far as the emotion-regulating medication, I think people are using that kind of thing, so it’s not like that’s absent from our culture. But it is certainly not at the levels of sort of governmental, like, everybody’s gotta take this, kind of thing. So I don’t think that’s happening.”
Crick went on to explain how the tone and mood resonate with our present day, “I think the part about the surveillance that’s different now is that in the film, it’s very obvious there are cameras everywhere. In real life, I think AI is probably what’s driving a lot of the surveillance that’s happening now, and I’m not really, like, an alarmist about it, but I do think it’s something that we need to get control of, and there need to be guardrails of some kind.”
The film was shot with intention, including dinner scenes staged almost like a diorama. Crick and his crew were meticulous with framing, lenses, and visual contrast between the two worlds. He explained, “There’s Oliver’s world, where the camera’s moving around a lot, and it’s warmer in tone and all of that. And then there’s Ethan’s world, which is cool tones, more bluish, more greenish, very, very static, and it’s shot with a very wide lens. It’s like a 12 millimeter lens, so it’s extremely wide… So, instead, it’s just a very wide lens. It’s a very good lens that doesn’t sort of bow like that. And the sounds of the salad forks and the knives, and all of that stuff is emphasized to sort of just make it uncomfortable to watch. It should not be a comfortable thing for people to watch this.”
Sound also plays a major role in contrast. Ethan’s world is quieter and restrained, while Oliver’s house features more prominent music, including Clair de Lune. Crick explained the score collaboration with Finnish composer Lassi, who sent atmospheric pieces after finding him through IMDb.
Erich Rausch played Oliver. Crick chose him partly because Rausch could perform Clair de Lune during the audition, making him an immediate fit for the role. Crick also noted a key emotional moment where the film transitions from piano sound into a concert hall version during Oliver’s performance, a shift closely shaped by sound designer Darren Davidson.
The Future
Under upcoming projects on his IMDb, Crick has a film titled “Behind the Mask: The Tortured Life of Nyisles the Islanders Mascot” in the works. He is working on this project with Rob Di Fiore, who was a former Islanders mascot. Crick spoke about why he decided to ultimately choose to do a documentary on Fiore, “I was interested in meeting Rob and finding out if the depth to which his, his life and story might be interesting to people to see mapped against the Islanders, this period of time in the Islanders history where they weren’t doing well, and the fans were angry, and they rebranded the Islanders mascot… and everybody was angry about it, and they were in a terrible coliseum. So all of this horrible sort of frustration and terrible things going on around this poor guy in the Islanders mascot mask. That might be an interesting dramatic tension.”
This film is a notable shift when considering Crick’s broader filmography. Crick spoke about moving between genres, saying, “I think that it is part of my personality and my interests, too. I think that, probably with this documentary, there is going to be a mix of comedic elements and serious moments. ‘Cause this guy’s life outside of being the mascot, he’s an addict, and he’s recovering, but he was an addict, addicted for a very, very long time. And so he was addicted when he was struggling as this mascot and in other jobs, and… But he’s got a great story.”
“The Last Musician” is now available to stream on Relay. Spanning 28 minutes, the dystopian short film is definitely worth watching.
