ANOTHER Blog Nobody Asked For
Maddy Reynolds on site in the Alaskan backcountry filming for Heli Uncharted.
Who’s this?
Hi. I'm Maddy.
I'm a filmmaker, cinematographer, and editor based in Boulder, CO, and this is my attempt at documenting what it looks and feels like to build a career in outdoor and adventure filmmaking with limited filter, and probably too much honesty for my own good.
For the past few years I have been in a never ending battle that sets me up for failure before I even begin my day. I've been in such a rush to grow up, get better, learn more, and "make it" that I'm in a losing battle. One where I always come up short. It seems the light at the end of the tunnel keeps getting farther away and I'm so focused on that one intangible speck of light that I don't realize how far I've already come.
So, I'm starting a blog in the big year of 2026.
Here's what this is not:
A highlight reel. You've got my Instagram and demo reel for that. This is the other stuff. The 105-degree desert hikes with a 60-pound pack. The time I lost two hard drives in one week. The moments where I’m standing on a mountain somewhere in BC wondering how I convinced anyone to pay me to be there. The 18th time I dislocated my shoulder and my knee.
I'm currently running my own production company, Mad Max Media, while simultaneously working as the sole in-house content producer for an adventure travel company. I shoot, I edit, I direct, I produce, I make the call sheet, I have too much coffee, I re-edit the same thing for the 16th time. It's a lot. It's also the best job I've ever had and I'm aware enough to know that even on the hard days.
My credits include work with Teton Gravity Research, Red Bull Rampage, CMH Heliskiing, YETI, Specialized, REI, Backcountry, and a handful of other brands and projects that still make me do a double take when I read them back. I don't say that to flex. I say it because three years ago I genuinely did not think any of this was possible, and I want the version of me who reads this back in ten years to remember what it felt like to be right here, right now, figuring it out in real time.
So… What is this?
A journal. A record of the wins, the failures, the lessons I had to learn the hard way, and the ones I'll probably have to learn twice. Expect honesty. Expect humor, mostly at my own expense. Expect some language that would make my father uncomfortable. Expect the kind of behind-the-scenes that doesn't make it into the portfolio. Maybe even a gear review or two as I endlessly dial in my set up.
If you're a young filmmaker trying to figure out how to get from where you are to where you want to be, welcome, pull up a chair, I'm right there with you. If you're here because you Googled something and ended up on this page — also welcome, I hope it's at least mildly entertaining. If you’re my mom, thanks for reading as always.
Let's get into it.
