A movie would never get made without crew members like Matthew Fliehler. You could say as the lamp operator, Matthew is definitely plugged in!

Q: Tell us what a lamp operator is?
Matthew Fliehler: I work in the electrical department under Todd Smiley and the gaffer. Basically, we are the guys who lay down the power and power up the set. We also operate all the lights. Basically, anything with an electrical plug, we are in charge of. Whether it's plugging in monitors or making sure the camera dolly is all charged up. We do that and then we push around huge lights to light the set.

Q: So you are the people who make everything go?
Matthew: Pretty much. They call us the light side and we call the grips the dark side. We are the ones who put up the light and the grips take it away.

Q: How long have you been doing this?
Matthew: I've been doing it for about six years.

Q: And how did you get into it?
Matthew: Well, I went to college at the University of Iowa and I studied film production there. After graduation, I heard that Robert was making movies here [in Austin, Texas]. So I basically moved down here because I heard there was some work. I didn't really want to do the Los Angeles thing. It's worked out pretty well. I have worked on all of Robert's movies.

Q: What did you study in college?
Matthew: Well, I guess the official degree I have is Communications, but it was geared toward film production. We were out shooting little 16 mm films and things on video. This was only five years ago and we were still editing on the flatbed reels, which they don't even touch anymore when they edit films.

Q: Now it's all computer?
Matthew: Yeah, it's all computer now.

Q: If a kid wanted to get into this side of the business, what would you recommend?
Matthew: Well, I say that a college is a good way to go. You don't necessarily have to go to college to do what I do, but you get the experiences there with working with people that are pretty crucial when you work on a film set. That is part of the whole deal—you have to learn how to work well with people. You basically have to pay your dues; you might have to work and do some free projects for a while until you know what you are doing. And then someone [might] take interest and say, "Hey, this kid could work out. Let's bring him along, let's hire him."

Q: But you would say college would be the first place that you could start networking?
Matthew: Exactly. You basically meet a network of people that are all kind of doing the same thing in film school. It has its drawbacks. I kind of realize now that I am working in films; I do a lot of stuff now that we never even approached in film school, you know? For one, they never had the big equipment that I use now. But you really can't go wrong with going to college. You learn a lot of different aspects of production and then you kind of have to figure out which way you want to go. I like to be on set and be right there in the action. And some people, they can't handle that stress, so maybe they are better sitting in the editing room or they are in a sound room recording stuff.

Q: Who is your favorite superhero?
Matthew: Probably Spider-Man. Basically, he was kind of an outsider, a science geek. And then he got superpowers. He always lived by the credo of "with great power comes great responsibility," which is a pretty good thing to realize when you have power. And I kind of like the idea that he has these great powers and he could do a lot of bad things but decided not to.