This is a recent portfolio showing a variety of projects with a description of the brief, the process and the results.

1. My career began at BBC television, as one of the original design team for ‘Breakfast Time’; the first matthew nicholas baxter
live show in the world to use electronic graphics on a daily basis. I became the youngest senior 35 Templemere
designer in the BBC, and led the design team on ‘Newsnight’, recipient of the first ever RTS award Weybridge
for graphic design. Surrey
KT13 9PA
I then formed a moving-image design consultancy with two colleagues, working on television
branding projects, commercials, promos, graphics sequences, titles, sets and graphic styling for
corporate and broadcast clients. I was a consultant to broadcasters in Hong Kong, and across 01932843078
Europe, based in Paris for 2 years. 07855 065716
matthewnbaxter@gmail.com
I left Baxter Hobbins Sides to direct promos. I won a gold Promax award for my work on Vh-1. I
also worked on projects for the BBC, Discovery Channel, Carlton and the Football League.
I joined BSkyB as a Creative Director for Sky News, including ‘Active’ a world first in interactive
television. I led the team that created the presentation styling and content graphics, including the
set and ‘newswall’ presenter stage. Sky News won the RTS award for news channel of the year in
2002 and 2003. We received awards for titles and virtual reality projects and Sky News Active has
been awarded for design, presentation and promotion. As well as designing and directing promos,
titles and sponsorship sequences myself, I also ran a team of 25 designers and promo makers,
including the live team, operational 24 hours a day.
I have also spent time both freelancing and working as Creative Director at BDP, where I divided my
time between promos and corporate productions.
Now based at DVA as Creative Director, I am working on video, internet and web-based multimedia
tools for corporate and educational clients, as well as interactive presentational and promotional
pieces, promos and branding projects. I am responsible for the quality of all the creative output of
DVA: Video, Web and Interactive. This work increasingly involves taking established brands into
new media.

2. My work includes conceiving, writing and directing video productions for corporate, training and
educational clients, as well as designing, directing and producing video and motion graphic inserts
and interface design for interactive, web and multimedia projects.
I have also worked with my team on the interpretation of corporate branding into motion, web and
screen-based applications (sound and vision), and directing post-production special effects
sequences for broadcast television.
notable projects
PepsiCo ‘Inspire Russia’ video and microsite
Alcatel–Lucent ‘E-Island: Next Generation Network’ promotional film
GoSkills ‘Respect the Difference, Value the Mix’ Diversity training DVD
National Geographic Channel ‘Europe’s Secret Earthquakes’ special effects
Discovery Channel ‘True Heroes’ special effects
Biography Channel Christmas promo campaign
STO interactive presentation tool
A Quote ‘Robot’ commercials
RM ‘Whole class teaching’ campaign
Berkeley partnership website and screen-based branding
PepsiCo ‘C&B&me’ training resource
awa rds
IVCA Clarion commendation for ‘Respect the Difference, Value the Mix’
PepsiCo International award for talent sustainment for ‘Inspire Russia’
RM Marketing Innovation award for ‘Whole class teaching’

3. Directing and producing commercials, promos and interactive projects.
notable projects
Waterstones broadcast and internet commercials
The Employers' Forum on Disability ‘Isn’t that what we all want’ Disability Act familiarisation DVD
awa rds
IVCA commendation for ‘Isn’t that what we all want’
Responsible for all promos and screen-based design work, including interactive, off-air, and online.
I also managed News Creative services.
notable projects
Creative head of the Sky News re-brand and the launch of Sky News Active
head for the development
Devised ‘Active Lives’ campaign to promote the interactive application
Wrote and Directed ‘Sky News First’ promo campaign.
Creative head for the general election real and virtual set design.
Director of ‘dancing caricature’ ‘motion capture’ election promos.
awa rds
Soho Shorts award for ‘The Election’ and ‘The Budget’ promos.
New York Festivals awards ‘Sky News Active’ interactive design., idents and promos.
Promax Silver award ‘Technofile’ titles and stings.
Promax World Class award for virtual reality.
RTS News Channel of the Year 2002 & 2003 Sky News.

4. Working on station identity, promos and image campaign projects. I was Senior Designer on ‘Newsnight’, where I led the team responsible for all graphic design
output. I was also a studio director for pre-records.
notable projects
Wrote, designed and directed Discovery Channel ‘image campaign’. awa rds
Art Directed, co-wrote and directed Vh-1 ‘Lyrics’ image campaign; a series of ‘one minute RTS award for graphic design.
movies’ designed to redefine Vh-1.
awa rds
Promax Gold award ‘Lyrics’ Image campaign on Vh-1
Baxter Hobbins Sides Limited was a group of designers and directors specialising in motion-
graphics, including station identity work, promos, titles sequences, commercials, special effects
and content graphics.
notable projects
Creative director for the launch of the TV5 channel in France.
Creative consultant for the launch of ‘Le Journal’ on La Cinq in France
Creative Director for the launch of UK Living.
Co-designer and director for the launch of Challenge TV.
Design and direction on The Sci-Fi Channel European launch
awa rds
3 Monitor awards. 4 CGI awards. 2 BDA awards. Promax silver and World Awards.

5. R espect the D i f ference, Va lue the M i x.
An interactive DVD and training guide for employers,
staff and trainers, examining diversity issues within
the workplace and demonstrating the legal, moral
and business case for employers.
For GoSkills, the sector skills council for passenger
transport.
An IVCA Clarion winner.
A diverse group of actors, incorporating real
disabilities, ethnic backgrounds, sexual preferences and
faiths play characters in scenes covering sexuality,
gender, disability, age, race and religion.
The menu is based on a series of ‘red herrings’, so the
character chosen doesn’t represent the obvious
category.
I researched, wrote, cast, designed and directed the
piece for GoSkills. I also commissioned the specially
omposed musical score.
Rebecca Harvey, Capability and Capacity Programme
Manager at Government Skills said: “The DVD
challenged my own stereotypes in an interesting and
enjoyable way. The scenarios made the case for
diversity in a sometimes amusing, but always moving,
way. Well done GoSkills!”

6. T hat ’s not me
A promotional drama/documentary film for
‘Connexions’ youth employment and careers centres.
For CfBT.
The ‘Connexions’ centres do fantastic work bringing
young people who, for one reason or another, have lost
their way back into employment, training or education.
This short film begins with a drama showing the
personal story of a teenage girl who falls into and then
recovers from a bad situation with the help of
‘Connexions’, and goes on to show real case-workers
and clients telling their stories.
The drama, developed by DVA from real case-studies
supplied by CfBT was shot on location in Basingstoke
and London. We used split screen techniques to allow
the character to tell her story whilst walking the same
streets as herself from earlier years - before, and during
the time things were going wrong.
The film has been used to raise awareness, and funding,
for CfBT ‘Connexions’ Centres across the UK, and as an
introduction to the work of the CfBT further afield.

7. PepsiCo Compensation and Benefits
introduction understanding roles in C&B building your career in C&B action plan
C &B & me understanding roles in C&B > Analyst
A network-based staff retention and development
resource, designed for used by individual employees
and line-managers within the international HR
division of PepsiCo.
For PepsiCo International Text area. This area can be used
for key points or as a ‘call to action’
telling users to utilise the quick links
Winner of a PepsiCo International award for talent
below to access further exercises
sustainment and information after the video.
videos exercises presentations overview of roles in C&B
PepsiCo pride themselves on their successful in-house Analysts C&B Roles and Me Analysts - Acccountability and Profile
development of senior managers from junior intake, so
view other roles
when an internal review showed that the Compensation
and Benefits unit had a poor record in that regard, a
program was launched to promote personal and PepsiCo Compensation and Benefits
professional development. An online resource was
conceived that would use video, interactive information
matrices and downloadable presentations and introduction understanding roles in C&B building your career in C&B action plan
assessments designed to let individuals and their building your career > leadership
line-managers work together to plan rewarding
sustainable career paths within C and B.
I was creative director, and directed the videos for the
resource. The look, style and tempo of the piece were
important to create the right relationship between the
company, the resource and the user. It needed to be
branded without being too ‘corporate’ and Text area. This area can be used
authoritative without being dull or distant. Most of all, for key points or as a ‘call to action’
telling users to utilise the quick links
it had to be engaging for the user. below to access further exercises
and information after the video.
videos exercises presentations PepsiCo career growth model
Leadership Gathering Feedback C&B and Leadership Capability

8. T he L eadersh ip Model
An interactive microsite, featuring an information
matrix and ‘drag and drop’ game for PepsiCo
International.
For PepsiCo International.
This piece was commissioned as a tool for self and
supervisor assessment of manager potential. Although
it was important that the activities were fun to do, there
was always an underlying serious function to this
interactive programme, which had to gather important
information for the company and the individual.
We designed, developed and created an interactive
information matrix in ‘flash’ that allows the user to
follow potential career paths and get information about
what they will need to achieve their goal in each case. It
tests knowledge and understanding at the end of the
process.
The visual theme ‘rising stars’ is complemented by a
sound-based ‘pointer’ system that helps guide the user.
The piece, originally intended only for use in the UK, is
now in use across PepsiCo internationally.

9. I nspi re: Russia
A video-led microsite, to encourage PepsiCo
executives to re-locate to Russia.
For PepsiCo International
Winner of the PepsiCo International communications
award
PepsiCo needed a major internal communications
campaign to highlight the career opportunities in
emerging markets like Russia. I was asked to develop
and create informative and engaging materials,
designed to explain and inspire.
I felt that the most appropriate way to address this was
to use video as the information carrier, and PepsiCo’s
intranet as the delivery medium.
Shot on location over 4 days in Moscow, the film showed
the working and social environments for PepsiCo
people in Moscow. Employees tell their personal
stories regarding the move, the challenges and the
opportunities.
The presentational style: Even-handed and honest, and
yet overwhelmingly positive in attitude and delivered to
broadcast television standards, make the resource a
truly effective voice for the Human Resources team at
PepsiCo. In fact the site has proved so popular that
access has had to be temporarily limited, until PepsiCo
has the capacity to meet all the enquiries the site is
generating.

10. Eu rope’s S ecret Ea r thqua kes
CGi sequences, synthetic reconstructions, graphics
and post-production special effects
For Cicada Films.
Massive geological fault lines lie beneath some of the
most populous regions of northern Europe. Eventually
the inevitable will happen and the resultant
earthquakes, stretching from Austria to Ireland will
bring destruction on an unprecedented scale.
DVA were commissioned to produce CGi
reconstructions of similar events in the distant past and
visualisations of the effect the earthquakes would have
on the infrastructure of today’s cities and industry.
The programme was broadcast on The National
Geographic Channel in Europe and the US, and
producer Christian Holland was convinced that the
graphic sequences were a crucial factor in the show’s
success.

11. T r ue Heroes
CGi visualisation and post-production special effects
For Darlow Smithson Productions & The Discovery
Channel
'True Heroes' is drama documentary series about acts of
astonishing personal bravery and heroism, but with a
twist.
These are all real events, and in each case actions are
preceded by split second decision-making. The wrong
decision means disaster! ‘True Heroes’ series examines
the thought process the hero must go through, using
dramatic reconstructions for the real events, and
illustrating all the calamitous alternative outcomes with
CGI and post production special effects.
Between 2 and 4 minutes of animation and special
effects were produced per show across 14 episodes,
ranging from a catamaran capsize and a grizzly bear
attack, through to a photo real car crash, effects
included x-ray, thermal, noxious gas and vapour effects.
I acted as art director for the project, which was
produced and delivered in HD.

12. T he R ide
A training video with reference book introducing
customer care to bus drivers.
For GoSkills, the sector skills council for passenger
transport.
Good communication and the right attitude are vital in
customer service. To a great extent everything else
follows on from these key factors. “The Ride” was
conceived, written, produced and directed to focus on
this fact, showing through a drama based on the real
experiences of drivers and passengers, the benefits of
getting it right.
Featuring an extended family in which the father is a bus
driver, the viewer can compare how Trevor (the bus
driver) deals with issues at work, with how he deals with
them at home – through related issues. Trevor comes to
realise that the difference is largely in how he dealt with
the individuals – not the issue itself.
Shot over 3 days with a cast of 14, ‘The Ride’ was
post-produced in-house. The script was devised to
work in conjunction with the curriculum modules for
NVQ qualifications. The message is clearly, concisely
delivered in a way that has relevance to the intended
audience.

13. I nteractive bro chu re a nd
i n formation resou rce
A multi-menu DVD combining live action and CGi for
architects and contractors.
For Sto.
Sto, the market-leading supplier of high quality renders
and external wall insulation systems, wanted an
interactive DVD to present the brand and it’s products
at conferences and exhibitions.
The Sto brand already had a sophisticated feel, so it was
important to reflect this in the design, animation and
music.
The DVD opens with a 3D animated sequence in which
3D text and panels of case study imagery -
representing art and technology, cornerstones of the
Sto philosophy - interact in a white vitual environment.
Clean lines and classic imagery reflect the brand, and
the final frame of the animation is the interface for the
main DVD menu.
Case studies were filmed over 18 months on
construction sites across the UK, capturing the
construction process and visual changes.
The result was a stylish menu of assets, the opening
video could be used as a corporate introduction or
exhibition opener, whilst the internal assets showcase
products, services and the prestigious client list.

14. Isle of Ma n: Next G eneration Network
An interactive DVD presentation featuring a
travelogue video, 3D graphics and downloadable
information modules.
For Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel Lucent was looking for a sleek presentation
describing their major project for Manx Telecom on the
Isle of Man, replacing and expanding their
telecommunications network on a globally pioneering
level.
The solution was a direct, documentary-style
travelogue cutting out technical jargon but taking
authority from interviews with Managing Directors and
Chief Technology Officers at O2 and their subsidiary,
Manx Telecom, for Alcatel Lucent’s target CEO
audience.
I wrote and directed the video, and designed and
directed the graphics sequences.
The response was enthusiastic and Jan Piet Wielenga, in
Alcatel Lucent’s Marketing Team, said: “The graphics
are fantastic and the piece as a whole takes our
presentation up to a new level.”

15. T he B erkeley Pa r tnersh ip
A website for a management consultancy featuring
specially commissioned portrait and reportage
photography.
For The Berkeley Partnership
The people at The Berkeley Partnership see themselves
as a group of like-minded professionals - the best in the
business. They are not interested in growing a massive
corporate structure, they care about the work and their
clients. They grow relationships rather than
dependencies and fix problems rather than smother
them with expensive people and resources.
The presentation of ‘the Berkeley way’ is key to this
website, going as far as ingraining it into the navigation.
There is no corporate voice or sign-posting, you are
guided and informed by individuals, whilst the
philosophy and the endorsements of are written in the
third person, by an engaged observer.
To show concept up visually, I commissioned two
photographic projects: Clean, clear colour portraiture
to accompany the personal voices, and grittier black
and white ‘reportage’ for the observational pieces.
The content managed site was designed to allow
constant organic development without the need for
technical intervention.

16. Easiteach, whole class teach i ng
An integrated sales campaign featuring postcards,
email, a microsite and competition.
For RM Ltd
An RM Marketing Innovation award winner
RM wanted to create a buzz amongst primary school
teaching staff about their interactive whiteboards and
associated technology; to broaden the awareness of the
products and generate traffic to the main website.
Primary school teachers are an audience who tend not
to respond well to hard-sell tactics or overly technical
communications, and yet are charged with much of the
IT acquisition and maintenance, as well as being
expected to deliver inspiring lessons using interactive
whole class teaching equipment.
We developed a staffroom-full of characters, in the
form of illustrations and dialogue. They were funny, but
they were also recognisable and the audience
responded well to the no-nonsense, humourous
approach.
RM were thrilled with the resulting upturn in interest
and recognised, “the exceptional creativity and
integrated strategy of the campaign”.

17. R ober t A Quote
CGi television commercials and branding work for an
insurance brokers.
For A Quote Insurance.
I scripted and directed this project, which began with
the development of the character of Robert A. Quote, a
mechanical everyman who experiences the same trials
organising his insurance cover as everyone.
This meant producing a complex CGI model to allow the
character to perform and react as much like a sitcom
character as possible.
Three scenarios were developed into working scripts
and storyboards, each a familiar scene – but with a
twist. The first 30 second commercial, and the 10
second piece were set on the driveway of Robert’s
suburban home as he polishes his car. The second was
a dream sequence and the third a car journey. My team
developed a world for Robert styled to be deliberately
‘retro’ to accommodate the existing A Quote branding.
The end result is, I am happy to admit, more ‘Terry and
June’ than ‘Star Wars’.

18. Sky News ‘ Da nci ng Ca r icatu re’
election promos
Promos for Sky News’ general election coverage
using motion-capture and photo-montage techniques
For Sky News
Winner of a ‘Soho Shorts’ award
To move Sky News to a distinct position for its’ elec-
tion coverage I chose to play up personalities rather
than create yet another animated metaphor for the
democratic process. Tabloid newspapers had already
taken this direction to create interest and I felt it
suited the lighter, edgier Sky News approach.
Motion capture married with a very stylised character
design style creates a strange and memorable effect
that gave the promos impact, and is challenging to
direct

19. T he H idden Ch i ld ren
Promos and titles for a Sky News production
For Sky News
Anne Frank was not the only child who spent time
hidden from the Nazis during the second world war.
This documentary investigates other similar cases from
France to Poland.
This live-action piece was shot in the storeroom of Park
Royal Studios during the lunch break of another shoot.
The post-production was done in the telecine suite
using a Perspex ruler in the gate to create the ghostly
images.

20. Isuzu ‘ Su n’ weather repor t
Opening and closing sponsorship sequence for the
European resorts report on Sky News.
For Isuzu UK and Sky News
The piece makes use of the middle letters in an Isuzu
sign on the roadside to make the word ‘sun’ with the
help of a local relaxing at a roadside taverna. The
piece was shot using motion-control with a minimum of
post-production – only the gecko is synthetic.

21. Sky News on screen bra nd i ng
idents and bumpers
For Sky News
RTS News Channel of the Year 2002 and 2003

22. Sky News on screen bra nd i ng
4:00
‘Newswall’ and content graphics
For Sky News
RTS News Channel of the Year 2002 and 2003
4:00
4:00
EYEWITNESS
JEAN PAUL CHEVAL IN PARIS
CONCORDE BREAKING NEWS
FLIES British Airways
news conference

23. Sky News Active
on screen bra nd i ng
idents, bumpers and promos
For Sky News
New York Festival Awards for interactive design,
idents and promos.

24. Sha repeople.com ‘ Distractions’
sponsorsh ip sequences
A set of opening and closing sponsorship sequence
for the Financial information reports on Sky News.
For Sharepeople.com and Sky News
A suite of tableau scenes showing small domestic
distractions and their aftermaths. The idea was to
project the clients proposal that trading in shares can
be exciting as well as potentially profitable.

25. Suba r u sponsorsh ip sequences
A set of opening and closing sponsorship sequence
for Sportsline on Sky News.
For Subaru Europe and Sky News
A series of domestic scenes in which the concluding
shot shows the family man acting out his rallying dreams
- with a rally helmet and deranged expression.
The sequences were conceived to shot on location on
35mm, and were designed to play on the unconven-
tional image and sporting heritage of the Subaru brand.

26. Suba r u sponsorsh ip sequences
A set of opening and closing sponsorship sequence
for Sportsline on Sky News.
For Subaru Europe and Sky News
A series of domestic scenes in which the concluding
shot shows the family man acting out his rallying dreams
- with a rally helmet and deranged expression.
The sequences were conceived to shot on location on
35mm, and were designed to play on the unconven-
tional image and sporting heritage of the Subaru brand.

27. V h-1 ‘ Ly r ics’ campa ig n
Apresentation campaign using familiar film and
television styles and dialogue composed from song
lyrics.
For MTV/Vh-1.
A Gold Promax award winner
I directed, co-wrote and designed these sequences (we
also made ‘Rom-com’ and police interrogation pieces)
principally created to re-position Vh-1 as more quirky
and less of a stuffy AOR channel - a critisism raised in
research.
Shot on film with minimal sets, I felt we were still able to
achieve the right ‘look’ for a reasonable price.