NEW ORLEANS, La. – In the credits of “God’s Not Dead,” now playing in theaters, is the name of a 2010 Warsaw Community High School graduate. On the set of “God’s Not Dead” in Baton Rouge, La., Mathew Sawyer worked as a grip, setting up lights and running electrical wires. The first film he worked on professionally, Sawyer said the two-week shoot took place in October 2012. “It actually was awesome, seeing as it was my first film,” Sawyer said in a telephone interview Friday afternoon from New Orleans, La. After graduating from WCHS in 2010, Sawyer went to Florida to study film at Full Sail University. “Full Sail is more dedicated to getting you on set and working with the crew. I learned a lot of grip and technical aspects,” Sawyer said. He graduated Full Sail in May 2012 with plans to move to California. When his California plans with friends fell through, he moved back home for two months. He and other friends then decided to move to New Orleans. “It’s considered the number one place for filming now,” he stated. Sawyer got his first post-college gig on “American Idol” in September 2012 as a production assistant. His job that month was to keep track of contestants. In October, “American Idol” returned to Louisiana, with host Ryan Seacrest, and Sawyer got to work as the camera assistant. The whole experience on “Idol” equaled out to about four or five days. “God’s Not Dead” was the second project Sawyer landed. “It was a lot of work, fast-paced. We worked 12-hour days, but it was a great experience and I got to learn what a professional environment was like,” he said. Sawyer has not seen “God’s Not Dead” yet, but he plans to see the Harold Cronk-directed film next week. Sawyer also worked on another project by Cronk, “Silver Bells,” which was released in 2013. Sawyer traveled to Grand Rapids, Mich., to be the production assistant on that. So far, it’s the only project he’s worked on outside of Louisiana. After “God’s Not Dead,” Sawyer’s next major project was working as a production assistant for six months on CMT’s “Swamp Pawn,” a reality show. His job was to make sure the production ran as smoothly as possible. “It was different than anything I’ve done because I was on location. ‘American Idol’ was on location, but that was in a convention center,” Sawyer said. “‘Swamp Pawn’ was at different people’s houses and different locations. Every show is different. You have different elements you have to keep track of.” Another reality show Sawyer worked on was “Long Island Medium.” He was the only production assistant, and he found the job harder because people wanted to stand around and watch the show being made. He said he was the only production assistant because it was a travel show and they wanted to keep personnel at a minimum. For the Sci-Fi Channel, Sawyer served as a challenge assistant on the show “Opposite Worlds.” He had to help come up with and build the different challenges on the show. “I’m happy with the work I’m getting. I have higher goals than what I’m getting,” he said. His main goal is to get to California or New York and become a producer. He wants to direct and write, too. Most of the work he’s getting in Louisiana is on the crew, but for now that’s great, he said. “I couldn’t ask for much more. It’s a lot of experience,” he said.
