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Matthew Kyle Levine
170 Plays3 years ago
Matthew Kyle Levine is a filmmaker and cinematographer based in New York City. His short films have won awards and played at numerous film festivals throughout North America, including the Williamsburg Independent Film Festival and the Canada Shorts Film Festival, most notably for his short film “Miss Freelance.”
https://vimeo.com/matthewkylelevine
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Transcript
Introduction to Eleanor Wells' Filmmaking Journey
00:00:04
Speaker
Hello, my name is Eleanor Wells and I'm a filmmaker based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was a guest on Something Rather than Nothing last fall, and I'm excited to share with all of you that I'm currently in development on my next short film. This one is called Time in a Bottle. It's set in the 1970s about a young female photographer who gets involved in a toxic relationship.
00:00:23
Speaker
It's about finding sense in the senseless, and I hope it can be an important conversation piece about the very real issues that women often face. It stars local theater director and actress Kimberly Laberge, who is also a guest on this podcast.
00:00:36
Speaker
but we need your help. Movie making is not cheap and I'm asking for your support. We launched a GoFundMe and have already raised a small portion of our budget, but we need your help getting the rest of the way. Every little bit truly makes a difference. You can also follow my company at Cinderella Motion Pictures on Facebook and Instagram, where we'll post updates about the shortest they arise. Thank you so much and please keep supporting the arts.
Ken Zalante's Podcast and Artistic Journey
00:01:05
Speaker
You are listening to something rather than nothing. Creator and host, Ken Zalante. Editor and producer, Peter Bauer.
00:01:20
Speaker
We'll just rock it. Well first of all, any questions about the show? I know with Liz, she's seen some of the stuff and what it's about. Any questions about the show for you?
00:01:36
Speaker
no no I mean yeah I saw and heard that episode and I guess I'm just you know I don't want to make it an interview about you but I am curious as to like how long you've been doing it for and you know what the mission is with it is it like mostly artists that you're interviewing or is it all sorts of people well actually well thanks for the question it might be useful for me to answer because like part of like this is like
00:01:56
Speaker
After an amount of time, I realized I haven't stepped back a tiny bit. But no, let me say, this is your episode 146. I started about three years ago. There's been a few before me. Yeah, I had not identified
00:02:19
Speaker
myself as an artist in any form of fashion prior to five years ago and I started painting, I started the podcast and I've done writing before too but it's really been a vehicle for me to develop in an area that
00:02:42
Speaker
is like I'm super sensitive to so I I'm trained in labor I'm a labor union guy that's my main like identity and thing um but I was also a philosopher so I taught philosophy for a bit and I studied a master's in philosophy
00:03:02
Speaker
And in like 1994, I had a professor named Cheryl Foster, and she had this course, What is Art? And I took this course, and I was like, I really didn't, like many of us, I really didn't think like, ah, that's cool, like, what is art? And kind of like, you know, foofy, like, you know, sounds cool. And the problem was, it was ridiculously cool.
00:03:27
Speaker
because we studied theory, theory of aesthetics, what's the art, is there a perfect art, is the sunset God's painting, all this wonderful type of stuff. Interesting. She was pretty idiosyncratic in her presentation, so she had us study Saturday Night Fever,
00:03:52
Speaker
and Silence of the Lambs were our two films. Those are two super different movies, but they're kind of, I guess, around the same time, right? Saturday Night Fever was at like late 80s or something? Saturday Night Fever is like late 70s, so maybe about 15 years spread. But the thing was Saturday Night Fever is being the study of kitsch, right? But at the time, being like the most
00:04:19
Speaker
the most profound apotheosis popular cultural statement. It was like this disco tragedy, you know, trying for the highest art. And then when the culture disappears underneath it, it's this what the hell is that thing, you know? Right. Yeah. And there's like this little blip in time where this was cool and they kind of shifted. Yeah. But it was profound in what it was doing.
00:04:43
Speaker
And then with Silence of the Lambs, that was super popular at the time, you know, kind of like first horror movie, I guess, that would have won, you know, an Academy Award and all the other aspects. Didn't have to bridge that gap between like a realistic tragedy and then like a more B-movie horror almost, but it had this blend where it was just very serious. So all of a sudden, like a horror movie could be considered an Oscar contender. It's interesting.
00:05:06
Speaker
Right, right. Particularly, you know, a Hopkins and, you know, kind of. Yeah. Yeah. So anyways, so that class was like really cool. And that question, what is art? I did that when I was young. I'm 49 now. So I was in my 20s and like philosophy questions that you think about as a philosopher, as a person, it just like lingers. And so then I started asking people who do art and my
00:05:36
Speaker
learning has just accelerated. And it puts me in contact with folks like you, painters, burlesque dancers, opera, writers, poets, sculptors. So those who create, I also have had a couple of guests who are kind of like first female
00:06:03
Speaker
uh like within sports i have like the first manager for the yankees who was uh no way first female manager first she's in this like lower levels for the yankees so first female baseball manager so it's like i would say like a wide array variety but like female first as well i've also had 14 indigenous uh women guests on the show
00:06:29
Speaker
Yeah, so I think there's... I just see what I end up developing and... It's interesting, yeah, because artists always want a means to get their work out there. So to have a podcast that sort of facilitates that is I think it would be very attractive to anybody who makes anything. So you can kind of navigate your way and meet all different sorts of people and then those people can connect and I think it's a great thing for sure.
00:06:56
Speaker
I think it while I'm an organized, I'm a union organizer by trade too. So what I found fascinating was developing what some of my skills, like all of a sudden I'm like, I think I'm doing arts organizing now too. You know what I mean? Like, cause there's the areas that I had and I was like, you know, this person, that person does this over here. And like in my head, I'm like, it's all connected. Right, right. Yeah, for sure.
00:07:21
Speaker
Um, let me ask you, let me ask you a question, Matt.
Matthew Levine on Emotional Storytelling in Filmmaking
00:07:25
Speaker
And it's a blunt, it's a blunt question. Um, you know, I watched, I watched, I watched your movies, daddy's wallet, miss freelance, Henry house to herself. And you've done other film, uh, yeah, my, my impression, my impression of these, uh,
00:07:48
Speaker
I'm just saying, I watched him recently, beautifully shot, an entry into very vulnerable psychological moments with the characters, deep feelings of
00:08:04
Speaker
a shame of confusion presented in, and as I mentioned to you, Matt, a beautiful sound array, and these are short films. My blunt question is this, and I'm gonna tell you, it's tied to a friend of yours and recent guest, Liz Kiger. I watched Orfeo, and I'm watching beautiful film.
00:08:32
Speaker
And we know that there's Hollywood and we know that there's film all around. How do these folks encounter these films? What is it like operating and working in independent short film where you're producing these discrete, incredible pieces? What is that film world like, Matt? I'm very fascinated by it.
00:09:02
Speaker
Yeah, it's interesting because mostly I work in the indie film territory, you know, so I don't do too many big, you know, union Hollywood things or anything like that. I mean, lately now I've been getting a few requests to do like feature films, which are always because it's a feature. There's just a bigger budget, but it's still indie.
00:09:19
Speaker
But working in this field is definitely interesting because you're working with people's raw emotions and people's dreams. So that, you know, when they make a movie and it's like their goal and dream to make their vision come true, you're working with like a very sensitive piece of material normally. And I think that's more fascinating than like making something that's just trying to be sold because you're kind of dealing with this person's emotions and thoughts and feelings and you might not even know them, but you kind of get to know them through the art.
00:09:48
Speaker
And with producing my own personal short films, there's no profit motive at all for those. Normally, my way of making profit is by getting hired by other people to make their dreams come true, so to speak. And then I just use the money that I make from that to fund my own stuff to sort of
00:10:05
Speaker
you know, figure out my own thoughts and emotions and feelings and channel that through filmmaking. And that's sort of the goal there. And I kind of like that there's no, uh, ulterior motive. The goal is just to sort of figure yourself out by getting a group of people together and making something that means something to you. Yeah. And, and, and, and, and, and thank you, thank you for that. And thank you for the films where we're talking with Matthew Levine, uh,
00:10:32
Speaker
Uh, now, uh, I would say, you know, uh, director, but I know you do a whole, whole host of things and maybe you can help us out with that. But as a cinematographer, I know you've acted and you've been around many different roles, um, around, around the film. Uh, first, prior to getting into a little bit more of that, uh, Matt, great pleasure to have you on the show. Thanks for coming on and talking philosophy and, and, and, and, and film. Um.
00:11:02
Speaker
But so about those different roles around film, could you give us a peek into how you see the different components in your work and having the talent and the ability to see different aspects of filmmaking? What does that do for you when you make your own film?
00:11:25
Speaker
For sure. Well, when I was younger and I started making movies, I didn't have anyone's help except maybe like my best friend, Shay Glashin, who I've been working with for a long time and he's always kind of involved in all the movies. But from the very beginning, you know, if maybe he wasn't around one day or whatever, I'd still want to make movies since I was like eight, nine years old. So I kind of had to learn how to start writing the thing, then getting the camera, figuring out what lenses I wanted to use and, you know, getting the lighting right, blah, blah, blah, all on my own.
00:11:52
Speaker
And then I would even act in the movie myself because no one else was there to help me. I'm just like an eight year old kid that wants to make a movie. So I kind of learned all facets of production and then obviously then you have to do post production. You have to edit the thing that you have. You have to kind of make it a piece that you're happy with on your own with the limited knowledge that you have.
00:12:10
Speaker
So from that get go of like I need to make something for myself and I don't want anyone's help or I don't need anyone's help, I just want to do it on my own. That kind of helped me to learn all the different facets of production from writing, shooting, acting, directing, lighting, and then ultimately editing and colorizing the thing in the end.
00:12:31
Speaker
And then I've just sort of based my, I'm a freelancer, so I've based my career on just using any of those aspects to basically make a business.
00:12:41
Speaker
Yeah. It's great. And thank you for answering that question. I know within film, there is a lot of let's figure it out in DIY and how do I fill in. But one of the things I found really fascinating as I've interviewed artists is that a lot of times where an artist is known as one thing,
00:13:05
Speaker
And, you know, there's kind of a compulsion or a pull or a push or something to present yourself as that thing. I find it very fascinating to talk about the different components of the way you see and hear around what you create and in the different roles that you fill, you know, or when I'm talking, you know, painters who also write and do that, it's a piece that's missed. And I think that's why the conversation can get deeper into, you know,
00:13:33
Speaker
really seeing all every part that goes into it. But hey, Matt, we're going to jump back to the beginning. We're a little bit jumpy here, but I got to hit you with one of the big questions at the beginning is, and it's a little bit of an origin about whether folks are artists when they're born, whether maybe humans have that propensity. So Matt, when you were born, were you an artist? That's an interesting question.
00:14:02
Speaker
I mean, from the very beginning, when I was like a little kid, I always kind of came up with little stories, and I even remember as far back as like first grade, I would gather people to create an artistic project. I had a friend who was good at drawing, so I would be like, hey, I'll write this story, and then you do the illustrations for it, and then we'll go up in front of the class, and then we'll tell the story. I always kind of wanted to just channel what I was thinking into a story format, and then get an audience to see it.
00:14:31
Speaker
And then after that, even then into middle school, I started this little acting troupe where we would do little skits and sketches. And we got a little bit of a fan base from that as far as our classmates goes and stuff like that. And then that sort of just transitioned into finally picking up a camera and writing scripts. And I always loved movies since I was a kid from the very beginning.
00:14:53
Speaker
I think I just always wanted to, whenever I would see other pieces of art, like when I'd listen to music or I'd watch films or see paintings or whatever, it'd be like, oh, well, that's so cool. I want to get into that. I want to try that out. And so I've kind of, it's caused me to like dabble into everything. Like I've tried painting, you know, I make music, I make films, I write stories, you know, kind of do all sorts of things. It almost comes from like a jealousy, I think, of seeing other people do something and being like, well, why can't I do that? I want to do that too, you know.
00:15:20
Speaker
Yeah. So yeah, I mean, maybe from from when I was born, I don't know if I was like a baby coming up with film ideas, but like, you know, ever since I could start coming up with ideas and, you know, taking in art for what it is, I think I've always wanted to make it. But I feel in a way like everybody is an artist because I know, you know, there's not one person you meet that like doesn't like movies or music. So the appreciation, I think, can make you an artist in your own way. And then whatever you do, you know, for fun or for work kind of can be your own art.
00:15:55
Speaker
You know, like a bit of a good arrogance, you know, about like wanting to I want to do that as well. You know, that that's that's a drive that pushes you along. And I like that as well. It's like that challenge and being like, well, I probably can do this because I've gotten close to doing it before. So why don't I give it a shot? So I love those.
00:16:16
Speaker
Yeah, I like there's a little piece in what you're saying. I think there's like this.
00:16:20
Speaker
I love those dynamics. And you got to be okay with it being bad at first, also. Every piece of art you make, if you just are getting into it for the first time, I've made so many really corny, cheesy, bad movies from when I was a kid. And the people that made it with me, we'd watch them and just be like, we can't watch this anymore. We can't watch this anymore. We have to hide this. We have to delete this from YouTube.
00:16:49
Speaker
But you have to be bad when you start. Otherwise, how are you going to learn? I don't think anybody starts making something and they're like incredible at it from the get-go. There's a love for it that you might be born with, but no one's born as an amazing artist to start. Yeah, there's so much work that goes into it. I want to get into the big question as well. And it's one I enjoy talking to artists about.
00:17:18
Speaker
What is art? And quickly, the reason I ask is you put a lot into this. We're talking about creating art, creating film.
Exploration of Art and Identity
00:17:28
Speaker
But for you, what is art? Yeah, I mean, I think art is, I guess, a representation of what's going on inside someone's head. And I think as people, we want to create things that we can see outside of ourselves that represent the inside of ourselves.
00:17:48
Speaker
So whether it's like music or painting or a movie or whatever, it's just a reflection of what's inside you. And there's some sort of like psychological satisfaction, I think, in seeing something that represents your own thoughts and emotions, but it's like outside of yourself so you can analyze it.
00:18:04
Speaker
And I think that kind of feeling and satisfaction that comes with that is what drives people to do it. It's definitely what drives me to do it. I'm just trying to figure myself out. So if I can make a movie and I can channel these thoughts and emotions that I'm currently having into characters in a story, then I can watch it again. And then I can almost learn something from it after watching it, after rewatching it. I can rewatch a movie that I've made a year later. And I'll learn new things. Oh, I was probably going through that at that time. Or oh, I was probably feeling that way about that thing.
00:18:34
Speaker
And yeah, I think that's kind of my drive to do it is just to sort of like figure out what we're all like doing here and you know what everything means. Yeah, I want to drill on that component a little bit. I mean, it's fascinating to me. You know, like you looking at what you had done there and
00:18:55
Speaker
you know, just identifying maybe why you made those choices or like that's what my thinking was. And I was thinking about the intimacy of the viewer watching the film, you know, your films and with the content, there's this deep thing where you pulled in, I don't want to use any terms loosely within film, but like a voyeur of viewing, of seeing somebody in shame.
00:19:23
Speaker
Yeah, and and you know in in delving and delving into that and for you as a creator kind of seeing you know that again, so let's let's take that let's take that component Matt because
00:19:38
Speaker
It's always interesting in a challenge to talk about video on audio. But let me talk about Henry in not giving anything away. I'm going to talk about it generally because nowadays with films, we have to approach it the right way. But what I wanted to ask or just mention about it is that
00:20:04
Speaker
I'm deeply pulled and fascinated when you when when we're taken into private space in particularly the idea of a hotel room, right? Yeah. We think about transients, I think about when people are in the move, they may be themselves or they may not be themselves. Yeah. They might be away from others who would modify their behavior, they might be away from them. And
00:20:34
Speaker
One of the components for me with that idea of a hotel and that peering in that happens here, I was thinking of the movie Anomalisa, which is- All right, I haven't seen it.
00:20:51
Speaker
But I know it's Charlie Kaufman, isn't it? It's Charlie Kaufman. And the reason I mentioned this in the context of it's in the hotel. And there's things about the way that the film is done is stop motion with the movements. Everything seems supernatural. Everything seems so mundane and so normal. But there's a lot of psychological things going on. And that's what I see. We bring it to a common scene of a hotel room.
00:21:21
Speaker
and the character in the film is trying to procure an escort, and there's things that happen after that that you think might be scammed, followed by a situation where the main character has to deal with and get through that is very different than the other.
00:21:47
Speaker
peering in on your film to those moments that every viewer can feel and understand as far as shame or being tricked or being exposed. What is it like as a director bringing folks to that spot?
00:22:10
Speaker
Yeah, I think all of my films, at least the last four that we're talking about, are all very voyeuristic and they're all kind of cinema verite in the way that, you know, we want it to almost seem like it's not a movie, like you're just watching someone's life and the character is right there. We're right close up to them, but somehow they don't acknowledge the camera and they don't realize that an audience is watching them.
00:22:32
Speaker
to sort of maybe hone in on some sort of truth or something that maybe we wouldn't be able to see if we were just watching someone's life from the surface, like if we just met them, you know, out on the street. You know, the movies are meant to kind of explore what we are like when we are alone and when we're at our most vulnerable.
00:22:47
Speaker
So, yeah, Henry specifically, I think what we were trying to hone in on with that one is just sort of like the headspace that you have when you're getting further and further away from everyone you know and how everyone you know links yourself to your own identity. And if you're getting further and further from those people, your identity could slip further and further away and almost your most, what's the word?
00:23:13
Speaker
like your most immoral habits can sort of come out and can be reflected in your actions. And then the movie in a way, in an almost biblical way, sort of punishes our main character for not acknowledging those that are close to them and taking advantage of those that are close to him and then suffering the consequences in a way. It's almost like a meditation on guilt.
00:23:38
Speaker
Like in how we feel after we do something that we feel bad about, how we feel that we deserve the worst punishment. And in Henry, the worst punishment is dying in the desert. Yeah. In biblical, I hadn't thought of that word.
00:24:00
Speaker
I once took a course that was a history course, and hang on here, this sounds a little strange, but there was a major section of it that delved into the history of shame and guilt, and how that's been used to modify, at least within American culture, 19th and 20th centuries.
00:24:19
Speaker
The idea is that with the public eye in a more connected society or close society back in the past, that shame was heavily dominant to the eyes of the others modified our behavior. So you think of shame as like, I feel shame because others are moving shame towards me. Whereas guilt, the great interiority of guilt, and sometimes that's tied to
00:24:46
Speaker
Um, uh, like Protestants or some religious, some Jewish religious traditions of like the idea of guilt, which was more of that interiority. Like I don't need the outside eye. That interiority to it is going to guide my behavior. So when I was watching, like I've had that.
00:25:06
Speaker
It's kind of a great frame. When I was watching Henry, I was thinking about the fact that we as viewers are imposing the shame, or now we're eyes to witness the shame, yet it's a private moment. Right. And we have this sort of respite character to be like, oh, great. We're going to put all of our guilt and shame on this guy, because he's fictional. So now we can really judge him. There's something about watching a character do bad things that I think we all like as an audience, because we get to go like, well, I'm great.
00:25:34
Speaker
And this character is the one that's making all the mistakes. And this is a great lesson to learn because, you know, I would never do that, but at least we could see someone that would. But the truth is, like, we're all capable of these kinds of, you know, shameful acts. And I think the movies kind of explore that. And going back to what we were saying, too, about how, you know, you can watch your own art or your own film and then learn more about it.
00:25:54
Speaker
Even every time I talk about it, I feel like I learn more. The way I described Henry to you just now, I feel like I learned a little bit more about it this time. It's like, oh yeah, the hotel part was the shameful moment. And then the desert scene is almost metaphorically how he feels that he deserves punishment. And the movie is sort of an exercise in what that character feels he deserves after doing something shameful. Interesting.
00:26:20
Speaker
Yeah. Well, I don't know if you tagline, I don't know how things marketing work. It'll be Matthew.
00:26:25
Speaker
Matthew, Kyle, Levine and have it be, you know, public shame for your for helping to make you feel better. You know, I don't know. Right. Right. Yeah. That'll be the tagline. Yeah. No, that dynamic, that dynamics going on. And while I'm deeply intrigued and pulled and, you know, other viewers are going to be like, shit, I ain't going down that road. You know, like, you know, you know it. I mean, but but for me, I love the journey and thinking about that.
00:26:55
Speaker
So Matt, we talked about art, what art is. I've been grappling with the issue of, for me, the world seems different in 2022.
The Evolving Purpose of Art
00:27:07
Speaker
Things that I knew, I don't believe anymore. Things have changed, it's seen. But what about art right now? Is art just doing the same old things that art's supposed to do for us?
00:27:25
Speaker
I don't know, sitting here right now, May 2022, is art supposed to be doing something different or what do you think? Yeah, I mean, I guess you're referring just generally to like the political climate and like COVID and all that stuff. Political and COVID and just kind of like structural shifts. I would even throw in the massive expropriation of wealth from all the people to the top, but that's just me commenting. Lots of social shifts, at least.
00:27:52
Speaker
Yeah, all those big ideas and concepts and these things that frustrate us and nag at us, I feel like almost everything you said, I feel like makes its way into the movies that I make for sure. I think Miss Freelance and Daddy's Wallets specifically target the wealth inequality issue for sure. Like the daddy character is this character that is a representation of the 1% and then all the women in his life are sort of
00:28:16
Speaker
suckling to just hold on to his wealth and to have a better life just based on his own prosperity and the weird power dynamic that comes with that. And then Ms. Freelance is the same way most of her clients are richer than her and more well off and she's just sort of holding on to them and just swinging from one to the next just to sort of keep herself afloat.
00:28:39
Speaker
And so those were both written, well, Miss Freelance was completely written and filmed before COVID. Daddy's Wallet was written right around when COVID started. So I think there was a little bit of an influence there, but for the most part, it was something that was on my mind before. But Henry and House to herself are 100% representations of
00:28:58
Speaker
of what was going on with COVID for sure. I wouldn't say they were about COVID specifically at all, but they're definitely a representation of the way I feel like the whole COVID situation makes people and made me feel housed herself being about a girl that really can't make any connection with the outside world and all she is just on her phone and she has this nice big house, she had everything in her life is great.
00:29:20
Speaker
but there's something stopping her from connecting to others. And Henry is also this story about someone who for the entire film, we only, I'm pretty sure we all, yeah, we only see him the entire time that he just communicates with people on the phone. And you think maybe it's something particular to this movie, but it really is more just the movie is commenting on, I think, COVID in a way and that we have these connections, but
00:29:44
Speaker
but somehow all of a sudden mostly we can only deal with these people in our lives through technology. And then I think there's a bit of a disconnect that comes with only communicating with people through technology. And that's why I feel like in Henry and in House to Yourself, those two characters are losing track of their own identity because they don't have their loved ones around them in person to help them feel like they are who they are. And I think in a way there's like a moral
00:30:10
Speaker
slip and almost a personality shift that comes with that, that comes with the reliance on technology. Like a panic and a shift with that and the behavior that comes about with that.
00:30:26
Speaker
No, just extremely, extremely well executed. I love hearing, you know, from you and having recently, you know, watched the films and just kind of in your thinking about them. And again, everybody, Daddy's Wallet, Miss Freelance, House Tour Self and Henry. Matt will give us, I want you to tell us right now, Matt, with Vimeo and how to find those films just so people can connect with it, you know, right now.
00:30:51
Speaker
Yeah, if you just go on my my instagram, which is Matthew Kyle Levine, there's always a link to one of the films right now. Henry's the most recent one. So that link is right there in my bio. And then that'll take you to my Vimeo. And then all the movies are right there. Great, great. I know you worked on Orfeo that that I I recently featured Liz Kiger, director. And again, you know,
00:31:21
Speaker
a marvelous, marvelous film. I hadn't seen something like it before, so I'm excited about it. Yeah, I love that Liz made something that was just completely like, oh, I've never seen an opera done in this way where it's like, it's all, all the performances are real. They all really perform those performances in person, on camera.
00:31:43
Speaker
And a lot of it is all in one take, which was a big challenge for me. At first, like me and Liz were talking about it, and I was kind of like, does it have to be all in one take? Like, can we kind of shift it around? And we ended up settling on not making literally the entire film one take because we switched locations. But for the most part, like some of these takes are like 20 minutes long. And being a single camera operator and it being an indie film, there's no way to
00:32:08
Speaker
There's no way to have help doing a lot of things like focusing and shifting the angle and all that stuff. I had the camera on a stabilizer, so I was able to keep things pretty fluid, but there was a lot of crazy movements that I had to achieve to get everything in the frame and in focus all the time. It was a great challenge, and I think it created a raw live performance feel, even though it's a movie.
00:32:31
Speaker
Yeah, I've watched, I'm obsessive about films. I've watched tons of films and I become more interested in how films are made and tell us about this Red Komodo 6, the camera and the aesthetic because
00:32:55
Speaker
that was used and and tell me what i'm just tell me what i'm seeing tell me what i experienced because of that uh filming yeah i wish i had it with me right now so i could just show you i'm like well this is it right here but uh no i mean uh i can't say enough like uh i'm not sponsored by red or anything like that i wish i was obviously but uh that is the red komodo is like the greatest camera i've ever
00:33:18
Speaker
dealt with or ever used and I've used a variety of cameras in my career and this one is just absolutely incredible. Just the way the image quality looks is right up there with any other $50,000 you know crazy red camera or like an RE camera or whatever but it's in this like tiny little form factor and unlike a lot of you know big cinema cameras
00:33:40
Speaker
This camera has a screen right on it so you can you can treat it almost like it's like a little like a little DSLR camera you know like something like this but it actually is like a Netflix approved cinema quality camera that can take you know all sorts of of cinema grade lenses and you know accessories and all that stuff.
00:33:59
Speaker
And it's also at a really nice cheaper price point. So single camera operators like myself who don't always have focus pullers and other ACs to help, they can operate like a high quality camera just on their own because of the form factor.
00:34:18
Speaker
Yeah. Wow. Thank you. Thank you for that. Um, I had heard of it before and it's just, I, I enjoyed the experience of knowing that going in and having a little bit more intimate knowledge of, uh, production. And then, but I still was left afterwards being like, I experienced something like really, really deep and nice different, but I'm still figuring out what it was. So thank you.
00:34:43
Speaker
Yeah, Henry and House to yourself are also shot with that camera. Daddy's well into Miss Freelance. I used a Canon C100. But once I got the RED, I could never go back. So I sold that old camera and I'm just like now filming everything with the RED. Yeah, look forward to it. Big question. Approach it whatever way you want. Who or what made you who you are? It could be music influences, video, your parents, your friends.
Cinematic Influences and Techniques
00:35:12
Speaker
whatever, like what, who or what made you who you are? Well, I think there as far as like what makes you who you are, if we're talking about, you know, given that this whole conversation we've been having is about filmmaking and art and stuff like that, there are my influences, like they're the people there, they're the filmmakers that I watch that really I get inspired by and obviously music too, I feel like music always inspires me in terms of like, you know, when I when I want to write, I like to like listen
00:35:37
Speaker
to certain songs to kind of get me going or whatever. Tell us about those, Matt. Tell us about the filmmakers and the music. Yeah, sorry to interrupt. Yeah, tell us about them. No, sure. Yeah. So my favorite directors are definitely Paul Thomas Anderson. So he was the director of There Will Be Blood and The Master. And I just like his really raw, but also beautiful style of filmmaking. Somehow he can make these very almost Kubrick-esque composed shots. But within the shot, it feels almost like we're just watching reality.
00:36:06
Speaker
And what's incredible about him is that he always has these period pieces which, you know, you would think would take you out of it in a way because you know that this is a modern film and they're just recreating a period. But somehow with his films, unlike anyone else's, I feel like I'm looking into the past and really watching something that I would never be able to see in real life without having like a time machine or something like that. So.
00:36:28
Speaker
His films are just incredible and the performances he gets out of his actors like you know Daniel Lee Lewis and Early Blood and Joaquin Phoenix and The Master are just two of the greatest performances I've ever seen and the fact that those two came out so close to each other it makes me feel like I'm living in this like incredible time for film and obviously Phantom Thread, Licorice Pizza, like the newer movies he has out are also incredible.
00:36:48
Speaker
And then as far as older influences go, I feel like you can't not mention Stanley Kubrick, for sure. He's a big influence, without a doubt. Obviously, 2001, The Shining, Eyes Wide Shut, and all that stuff are great. And then there are indie filmmakers, too, that I absolutely love that inspire me that have made movies that I feel like everyone I speak to, they've never seen these movies. So it's almost funny to mention them. But I like these movies just as much as the ones that are more known.
00:37:14
Speaker
Amherst is a great film from 2014 that is like my absolute, one of my favorite films. It creates and shows this rawness and it creates these or showcases these performances that are just really incredibly realistic. And Sleeping Beauty, a 2011 film, not at all related to the Disney movie, is an incredible one too that I really recommend people check out.
00:37:39
Speaker
And but then as far as like what makes you who you are, I feel like my creative collaborators really make me who I am. There's two people, two guys, Shay Glashine, Alex Girlados, that I've been working with since I was a kid making movies with and they have little bits and pieces of help within most of the films that I've that I've made. And, you know, their influences and their creative minds have really shaped me, you know, made me make me it made me become the filmmaker that I am today for sure.
00:38:08
Speaker
Yeah. Wonderful. Thank you. I had seen Sleeping Beauty. Yeah. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know if you could see the correlation between that and the films that I make, but it's incredibly very disturbing stuff, but really raw and realistic and really touches on the themes that I feel like my films touch on as well. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.
00:38:37
Speaker
you know, thinking about the master and there will be blood is a, I love that point where you said, and there's this maybe confusion or uneasiness where it's that because of the realistic component, you're like, well, I'm not supposed to be watching something that's these three, this realistic from another time, like that weird,
00:38:58
Speaker
Yeah, that weird feeling being like, huh, this is or at least how you imagine it, right? Because we weren't there, but it feels right. And most period pieces too are always like, oh, this is a movie about Abraham Lincoln or whatever, you know, and you can kind of like latch on to that. But the fact that his movies are period pieces, but they're about these fictional, maybe they're loosely, but like, you know, obviously in the master, the Phillips more often characters loosely based on Elrond Hubbard.
00:39:23
Speaker
So they have touchstone characters from reality that they're basing the movie off of. But it feels like you're just watching a real person because they aren't historical figures. But they're coming from another time. Yeah. Yeah. I want to ask you one question since you mentioned Kubrick. Anybody can geek out on Kubrick. But I just want to ask you one question. One of the things I always noticed and I've always seen as key to what he does is
00:39:53
Speaker
viewing him as a photographer, which was his first impetus and who he was. And I've always thought that there's something that Kubrick does that great directors do, because you're dealing with disparate photographs all starting together. But he holds the movie that you're still, at times, looking at profound, gorgeous, or horrifying
00:40:23
Speaker
photographs. That there's these central images. And do you see that that like, I mean, with the thinking about things in terms of photography of like, the idea of just, even though it's a moving film, going for almost that that that that painting or that picture or that capturing that image? Yeah, no, I think the one of the brilliant things about Kubrick is that he is a photographer.
00:40:51
Speaker
You know, and Paul Thomas Anderson also, he operates as his own cinematographer for a lot of his films. I think if you're a great filmmaker, you know how to operate the camera and you know how to make great composition because at the end of the day, what a film is is photography and it is the performances that you're capturing as well. But at the end of the day, like I feel like to be a great filmmaker, you need to use your hands and hold the camera and make the film that you want to make.
00:41:18
Speaker
If you want it to be a completely uncompromised vision, you need to find what fits in the parameters of that shot, and you need to okay it and make sure that it's the image that you want it to be. Because you can tell a story and point the camera at an actor and be like, this is our character. But the way you're pointing the camera and the way you're framing that actor is just as important as the story you're telling, for sure. Yeah, yeah.
00:41:47
Speaker
I wanted to ask, let's do the big question, Matt. Let's do the big question. I want to chat a little bit more about filming. Just hear a little bit more as you tell folks about some of your recent film, get them a little bit of a taste of that. But big question, why is there something rather than nothing, Matt? Do you know?
Contemplating Existence: Something Rather than Nothing
00:42:08
Speaker
I know that's the name of the podcast, so this is a question that I should have expected. Why is there something rather than nothing? I feel like we'll have to dive in a little deeper to that to really go into what that question means. But to me, there's only something. There's certainly not nothing, not until we're dead. So while there's something, you might as well reflect on that something and make more something out of the something that you're in.
00:42:37
Speaker
That's, the frame of the entire show is things. I think you make beautiful things, you create beautiful things, and it's all about existence. And one of the funny things is that, as I started to ask this question, which is like a typical, the typical way to ask it, I know, and I was talking to a guest and they were like, the better frame is,
00:43:08
Speaker
the better frame is how is there something rather than nothing, right? So then there's stepping back and saying there is something. All right, Ken, with your goofy ass question, there is always there to something that we're experiencing, which is totally fine. Right. Right. Right. As well. Um, hey, um, yeah, we'll go ahead and go ahead. No, no, no, go ahead. Go ahead.
00:43:33
Speaker
Now, I was going to say, as a person living on the planet, I think a lot of people try to jump to conclusions and make assumptions as to why we're here and what the point of it all is and why there is something rather than nothing. The truth is, we don't know.
00:43:48
Speaker
There's no way we could know. We're too insignificant and small in the span of the universe. So I feel like the whole point of life is to explore what makes you you and why your experience is unique or how your perspective is unique.
00:44:04
Speaker
And I think it's almost the beauty of life that we don't really know what the purpose is of it and that we're too small to understand. It makes us, I think, forever looking for more. And I think that quest for more is what drives great art and what drives great general innovation.
00:44:21
Speaker
and stuff like that. I think underneath that, or I think the psychological dynamics like wonder, creativity, curiosity, knowing that the biggest things, we just have this general feeling like, we're not going to get the big report at the end that tells us the why. So let's keep pushing through.
00:44:51
Speaker
Matt, so tell folks, we had talked a bit about Henry, Daddy's wallet, Ms. Freelance, house to herself.
00:45:04
Speaker
I'd really like folks to see these and I was just wondering if there's anything else, additionally, you want to just comment about those more recent films that you've done to kind of lead folks towards that, however you wish to share.
00:45:24
Speaker
I mean, yeah, just as I said before, like, you know, you can find me on Instagram, you can find me in Vimeo and yeah, I always appreciate hearing people's thoughts and I love collaborating too. So if anyone watches these films and then they want to make a film of their own, like I'd love to hear from them and work with them.
00:45:40
Speaker
I definitely like making my own films the most, but almost just as much. I take great pleasure in working on other people's projects and being a helper and facilitating someone else's vision. So I'm always looking in the same way that I worked with Liz and I made her vision come to life.
00:45:59
Speaker
I think there's a great adventure in making your own films, but there's even more adventure in a way in making films for other people because you're meeting other artists and you're collaborating with them and you're kind of understanding their perspective on the world. So I'd love to hear from other people and help them with their work.
00:46:15
Speaker
Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much. That's, that's, that's, that's really a nice, really nice, nice offer. And, and just thinking about, I wonder too, and just your comments, like I picked up on certain things you said about, you know, helping Liz realize her vision and just like, you know, cause you have, I know, like as an artist, you have your own thing, like this is the thing that I want to do, but to be able to immerse yourself into the, into the vision of what somebody's trying to carry out and use your skills to accomplish that.
00:46:46
Speaker
collaboration in combining artistic power to create something like Orfeo. Amen, like incredible, just profound, just beautiful. It's very thrilling because you get there and for that in that case specifically I got there and like I know nothing about opera to be honest. So I just know you know how to make great looking shots you know so like I get there and
00:47:07
Speaker
It's just kind of exciting to be like, okay, wow, this is like a whole other world that I'm kind of diving into. And then I had suddenly right after the first day of shooting, I had this profound new respect for opera and what it takes to perform opera and, you know, make a film that represents opera in the correct way or in the way that Liz wanted it to. So, yeah, I think being able to learn more through filmmaking is kind of an exciting thing for sure.
00:47:32
Speaker
Yeah. And I've, and I've, and I've learned it too. I don't want to have the, the, the background, but one of the things that was very apparent first off was just the incredible amount of honed tight skill that is necessary within performance with it. It's language, the Asian intonation, and then presenting yourself as an artist, being able to speak in, uh, whoa, like,
00:48:01
Speaker
There's a lot of development in deep talent. A lot of talent, yeah. You have to really have a certain ear and eye and mind to just perform opera generally, but then to also perform it in the framework of making a movie. I feel like it takes a lot. Yeah. So Matt, in finishing up our chat here, I was just wondering,
00:48:27
Speaker
I think about future things or about what you're thinking about and I know projects can be discrete and you know, it might be involved with them without revealing them. But you seem obviously in talking to you is kind of sensitive to the things that you're creating, how you're thinking about them. Is there a direction or a way or different things you're looking at going forward with your film work?
00:48:51
Speaker
Yeah, in terms of future screenings, we're always looking to get the short films themselves screened in various festivals. And we've had a lot of luck with getting a lot of reviewers to look at the movies and getting them screened in various locations and stuff like that. But as far as future projects go, I have like two short films that I've just finished filming that I'm working on editing now.
00:49:12
Speaker
And those are very exciting. And then I'm also writing a feature that I'm hoping to shoot hopefully by the end of the year. It'll be the first feature that I've ever done. And I'm looking to really gather like a decent sized budget and make a larger scope production because I feel like right now with the short films, there's a nice mystery to them. And then they don't have a lot of, in the fact that they don't have a lot of context because there's not a lot of time to showcase an entire story in the framework of like a 20 minute movie.
00:49:39
Speaker
So I'm kind of intrigued and excited by making a story that, you know, has an hour and a half to really dive into the character and, you know, create more context for the story that I'm trying to try to tell. Yeah. Thanks so much. So people can look forward to seeing that eventually when whenever. Yeah. Yeah. Really look forward to that. And I've done some I've done some reviews. So let's let's let's chat about that. I mean, part of I make no pretense of part of
00:50:06
Speaker
the folks that I talk to and the incredible art that I encounter, I want other people to experience. So it's like, how do we get this out there in front of more eyes, particularly when, like I said, I'm just so deeply impressed and honored to be able to talk to you about your thinking and to learn more, for me to get in a bit more
00:50:28
Speaker
and to learn about these films. But I honestly- I appreciate it. I appreciate the questions. I mean, it's just, you're great. You really get me to talk about them in a way that I don't normally get to. So it's nice. Not everybody wants to hear all about what you're making. So it's good to kind of like hone in on that for a second. So I really appreciate that. And it's great to hear that you reviewed too. Like I'd love to see written reviews for any of the films. If you want to take it upon yourself, I'd love to see that.
00:50:53
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. I've done it with some film and some, I try to, with some, you know, labor books, it doesn't sound like the most tantalizing, but I try to, you know, make it, you know, see what people are going on and people, like I said, are organizing, organizing, collaborating, putting our powers together to try to
00:51:18
Speaker
create great things. Matthew, great, great pleasure to meet you. Thank you for your film. I think films, you know, being a mitzvah, a gift to folks. I want to thank you for those and everybody check out
00:51:40
Speaker
And of course, a recent guest, Liz Kiger with Orfeo, Matt worked on that film. We've mentioned the other short films. Check out his Vimeo and Instagram.
00:51:54
Speaker
Just to experience these great, impacting films, psychologically drawing you in. Be prepared, but be ready and gain the experience. Matt, thanks for popping on something rather than nothing. Oh, for sure. It was a pleasure. I had a great time. That's awesome. Look forward to more of your film. Keep up the great work and hope to chat soon.
00:52:22
Speaker
Appreciate it. Yeah, looking forward to coming on here again sometime. All right, take care, brother. Okay, bye-bye. This is something rather than nothing.