Matthew Chilbert

The goal of this project was to make learning the US states and capitals fun and memorable. This video has over 8 million views on Youtube and it is used as a teaching tool in elementary classrooms across the country.

Director: Matthew Chilbert, Producer: Musical Stew

LunchBots is a bi-monthly web series that was developed for BirdBrain Technologies. It was designed to help teachers bring robotics into their classrooms by providing tips and tools for building craft robots.

Director: Matthew Chilbert

This concept was picked up by Epic Records and Black Dog Films for production in 2009 and aired on MTV2 in 2010. I was hired by Black Dog Films to create a video that would capture the feeling of being a child on a roadtrip. 

Director: Matthew Chilbert, Producer: Luke Neslage

This commercial was created for the Lawrence Hall of Science to promote their featured exhibit. 

Director: Matthew Chilbert, Producer: The Lawrence Hall of Science

Carl is one of my animatronic characters. Carl's primary function was to explain the science behind the Lawrence Hall of Science exhibits. 

This character was designed to be extremely durable as it was going to operate unfacilitated on a museum floor for up to 9 hours a day. Carl was also designed to appear as if he were made from simple craft materials.

I really like Eddy Arnold and I wanted to make a video for him. Made this one totally for fun.

Shot on a 16mm Arri SR.

Director: Matthew Chilbert, Animator: Andrew Drinnan

A short song and music video created to practice combining live action with puppetry.

Director: Matthew Chilbert

I worked as a light artist for the highly successful "Sprint Ahead" campaign. I was an on set light artist for this Valentine's Day commercial. Off set, I was part of a team that developed new light writing techniques.

Director: Rand Mason

Between 2013 and 2017, I was the Learning Media Specialist for UC Berkeley's TechHive Teen Internship Program. Through the TechHive program, young people would get first-hand experience with new technology as they create educational experiences for kids and families at the Lawrence Hall of Science. Here are a few videos that showcase the work we had done.

Director: Matthew Chilbert

This music video was created for kids who have trouble sleeping at night. We wanted to create a video that conveys an important message to kids, while at the same time creating something parents will actually WANT to watch.

Director: Matthew Chilbert, Producer: Musical Stew

A TV spot for Lawrence Hall of Science's exhibit featuring gigantic, animatronic insects.

Director: Matthew Chilbert

Between 2007 and 2012 I taught media and technology in Oakland public schools. During this time, I worked as a reading coach, an after-school instructor, a curriculum designer, and a computer lab teacher. I frequently used video and animation as learning tools. Here are a few of the videos I created with the kids.

These short films created to showcase a simple form of puppetry created by Henry Pinpin and myself. The goal was to use the simplest shapes, colors and materials available to create an immersive world. 

Shot on 16mm Arri S, Arri SR and Bolex cameras.

Director: Matthew Chilbert, Puppeteer: Henry Pinpin, Narrator: Adrianne Nigg

A video for the song "Open Grave" from Summer Darling's Health Of Others (2007).  The band wanted gritty, low-fi imagery that was reminiscent of the videos created in the early 80's. This short film was shot in a single evening using a 16mm Bolex.

Director: Matthew Chilbert

A short film created in 2001. Shot on a 16mm Bolex.

Director: Matthew Chilbert

Happy Hollow in San Jose, CA runs one of the few remaining dedicated puppet theaters in the US. Between 2012 and 2017, I was lucky enough to work as a puppeteer, production designer and writer for the puppet performances. Additionally, I worked with the Happy Hollow marketing team to create short promo videos for upcoming events.

A speck video created for Steve Martin’s “Wally on the Run” from The Crow (2009)

Directors: Matthew Chilbert, Andrew Drinnan

One challenge of using learning videos in a classroom is that it locks the student to the pace of that video. What if a student missed a detail of the video? What if some students work quicker than other students? What if you have non-english speaking students?

I designed a system to address these questions and more. These videos are visually clear and audio free. They are have been broken into shorter looping videos and organized into galleries through which learners can explore at their own pace. I’ve created dozens of learning modules for BirdBrain Technologies using this system. Take a look at some of those modules here:

Learn to build a robot: https://www.birdbraintechnologies.com/hummingbirdbit/build/little-bot/1-1

Learn to program a robot: https://www.birdbraintechnologies.com/hummingbirdbit/makecode/program/5-1