For this episode of Finding My User Manual, I sat down with Matthew Vandeputte, a London-based filmmaker, founder of MVP Studios, and one of the most respected time-lapse photographers in the industry. His work spans Formula One, the NFL, Red Bull, and everything in between.

But what struck me most about our conversation wasn’t just the impressive client list; it was Matthew’s honesty about the pressures of creative work, the guilt that comes with not always being “on,” and why finding your own rhythm matters more than keeping up with everyone else.

Here’s what he shared.

How It All Started

Matthew Vandeputte discovered time-lapse in film school around 2010. He found a video on Vimeo called ‘The Island’ by a Scandinavian photographer, and his brain started firing. What is this? The camera’s moving. It’s on a slider. Can I do that?

He hacked the firmware on his Canon, set up a little tripod outside, and captured his first cloud movement. That was almost 15 years ago, and he hasn’t stopped since.

Do Things At Your Own Rhythm

When asked what would be on page one of his user manual, Matthew Vandeputte’s answer was clear: do things at your own rhythm. Don’t feel pushed or pressured by external factors like social media, content feeds, or trends. Find what you’re passionate about and work on it at your own pace.

After 14 or 15 years in the industry, he’s only now feeling like he’s getting there. Creativity comes in ebbs and flows. Sometimes everything aligns, and you’re hyper-productive, and other times, it’s just not happening. The struggle is feeling guilty about not always being at the level you know you can be.

The Holiday Challenge

Matthew recently tested this on a three-week trip to Mauritius. He went “bare bones”: one film camera, two types of film, one digital camera, one lens, and a 360 camera. The challenge? Can I go on holiday and not feel pressure or stressed about making stuff?

It took until week three before he finally felt it. Just going out with the film camera, finding nice frames, taking his time. No pressure. That’s when he knew he’d found his rhythm again.

Not Everyone’s Rhythm Looks The Same

Matthew sees younger creators pushing out more content and sometimes feels the pressure to keep up. But he’s learned to recognise that what you see on socials is often fake, or polished to appear bigger than it actually is. People are at different stages, with different circumstances, and have different things to lose.

He’s sharing less of the trials and experiments now and instead holds himself to a certain standard. His feed has become more of a portfolio than a dumping ground for everything he makes.

TikTok vs Instagram

We talked about how differently we use platforms. Matthew sees TikTok as a playground and Instagram as the polished feed. On TikTok, he wants fun, easy, consumable content, whereas on Instagram, he’s looking for inspiration: people honing their craft, behind-the-scenes, making ofs, and the end results.

He’s even switched from YouTube to TikTok for learning. Instead of sitting through long intros and filler, he searches TikTok and watches four 60-second videos that get straight to the point. For someone who’s spent 15 years creating long-form educational content on YouTube, that’s a significant shift.

The Industry Is Shifting

When Matthew started in time-lapse photography, it was a niche. A compilation video of a city could make the news. His first showreel went viral because it was new and exciting, but that doesn’t happen anymore. Every phone has a time-lapse mode now, and the barrier to entry has disappeared.

Now that there’s generative AI, you can create a day-to-night time-lapse from just two photos, and you can generate construction footage without ever filming a building site. Matthew finds a lot of it pointless, but he’s watching closely. For people who’ve built entire careers in certain fields, seeing their roles disappear is real.

The Future of Authenticity

We both believe there will be a split. On one side, hyper-real AI content, and on the other, honest, authentic, human-made work, and hopefully, there’s going to be a bigger appreciation for the real stuff. We’re already seeing it with the return to vinyl, the desire for connection, the craving for something that wasn’t generated by an algorithm.

Followers Don’t Equal Success

Matthew Vandeputte has around 128,000 followers on Instagram, and when people find out, they assume he’s mega successful, but as he puts it, “you can’t see success and follower count as metrics that overlap at all”.

He sees creators with big numbers who struggle to make it a career, and people who appear successful but have a full-time job behind the scenes. Just because someone has a number or is verified doesn’t mean they’re relaxed and comfortable in their career; the numbers don’t always convert to anything real.

Sharing Everything

Matthew used to share literally everything, then he began holding back, thinking he should protect some stuff. The issue was that someone else then made that content, and it blew up, so he went back to sharing everything.

He started with a free guide, which became a paid ebook, and that became a course with over 120 videos that he keeps updating and adding value to. He loves the making and teaching elements, but hates the selling side of things.

Freelance Isn’t Less Hours

Matthew’s advice for anyone considering a creative career is “find something you’re passionate about, and you can keep doing it forever. It doesn’t have to become a career. You can keep it as a hobby, something you love.” There are elements of his work he’d still do even if it wasn’t his job.

But if you do go freelance, be ready. We all did it for less hours and more flexibility, but when you love what you do, it becomes 24/7.

That’s the reality. And it’s worth knowing before you start.

Listen to the full episode:

Connect with Matthew Vandeputte:

Instagram: @matjoez and @matthewvandeputte

YouTube: @MatthewVandeputte

TikTok:@matthewvandeputte

Free Timelapse e-books and Creator Toolkits: www.matjoez.com