All photos and interview shot by LUX.
( transcribed conversation from an in person interview)

Matthew Green

“Story is everything with film, and how to tell that story visually.”
Instagram: @L_E_A_F
Filmmaker & photographer:
https://vimeo.com/imwithleaf
On Christopher Nolan:
”He’s a self taught filmmaker.”
I’ve been working on corporate video for the past year which fucking sucks, but it allows me to make ends meet. After seeing INTERSTELLAR I researched Christopher Nolan, turns out he did corporate video in his 20’s to pay bills. He said that in interviews to make ends meet. It gave him time to work on his film. Which took him a full year to make, shooting every weekend. With his own money, own friends and own apartment, he just had a good story and it worked. From there he took the film to a festival and it did really well because it had a good story. After that he met a producer and he made ”Memento” a few years later. The way he put it was, he wasn’t ashamed of doing corporate video because he saw it as practice. Filmmaking is troubleshooting, photography is troubleshooting, you get to a location and deal with actors, you deal with managers, you deal with people and learn how to get somewhere. Be fast and good at the same time and that’s what film making is; get to the set, strike it, nothing works then figure out something that does work and make it beautiful.
He said “This is my film school.” He’s a self taught filmmaker, went to school for English major, that’s why he’s such a good writer. He also got involved with the London film society. Most cities have a film society. He used their equipment whenever he could. He was like an intern, he never got paid for that. He taught everything he knows himself. What’s really amazing is watching ”Following” knowing only a few years later he made Memento. Amazing to see how fast he learned. He was 26, 27 when he made the Following and then he was like 31 when he made Memento and just in that short time, he blew up!
Him and his brother are good writers. His brother wrote ”Interstellar.” His wife is a producer. That guy is a fucking hustler, he’s a super inspirational man and that’s what’s getting me through these horrible jobs. We’re creatives, we’re sensitive to the content we film. You have a shitty retail job, a job you don’t like, it’s going to affect your day. Some people are content with that, like most techies. Some people are good at ignoring their instinct to create something, they’re comfortable sitting at their desk as long as they’re getting a paycheck and they get to go to happy hour. That’s fine with some people, not me.

Top 5 Directors At This Moment in Time:

They’re all self taught. I enjoy researching filmmakers careers; seeing their movies when they’re in their 20’s, compared to what they create in their 60’s,70’s or 80’s. Most of these filmmakers went through a time in cinema where there wasn’t a standard to the craft. They constructed the standard, they shaped the craft.

King Vidor
Sydney Lument
Otto Preminger
Akira Kurosawa
Orsen Wells

Current Project:

“6 cigarettes” feature film & “Cadillac Love” short film

5 Quirks Gear Essentials & Why:

Epson V-700 Flatbed scanner- For my writing and photography.

Manfrotto Monopod w/ the fluidhead- All time essentials for videography.

H4 zoom recorder: 4 channels and if I do live show I can plug into sound board. Good for writing meetings as well.

Batterypack grip for 5d.

Muji Pen and paper!

Why SF:

I moved here to get out of New York and it was a better option than LA. I wanted to create art that wasn’t influenced by any industry. I wanted to be around independent artist and I wanted to struggle in a city. I wanted to work outside of the industry.

Exodus on SF Artists:

I moved to San Francisco on December 31st, 2008.The recession hit hard, it was a great time to be in SF. Not so much for a lobor for money, but for art in general. The music scene was unreal, very vibrant.The creative person I am today, I owe it to those few years. Documenting music,art shows, collaborating with friends. Now because of the tech boom everybody fucking moved. I don’t have any friends here anymore. My wife and I got the boot from SF because we couldn’t afford it, which is fine. We moved to Oakland and it’s a great city, I love it here. It’s home.

Amazing though, seeing everyone split within the past 2-3years. There’s still great artist up here, but nobody is really working together. The rent is too damn high.

Contact:

matthew@imwithleaf.com

All photos and interview shot by LUX.
( transcribed conversation from an in person interview)

Matthew Green

“Story is everything with film, and how to tell that story visually.”
Instagram: @L_E_A_F
Filmmaker & photographer:
https://vimeo.com/imwithleaf
On Christopher Nolan:
”He’s a self taught filmmaker.”
I’ve been working on corporate video for the past year which fucking sucks, but it allows me to make ends meet. After seeing INTERSTELLAR I researched Christopher Nolan, turns out he did corporate video in his 20’s to pay bills. He said that in interviews to make ends meet. It gave him time to work on his film. Which took him a full year to make, shooting every weekend. With his own money, own friends and own apartment, he just had a good story and it worked. From there he took the film to a festival and it did really well because it had a good story. After that he met a producer and he made ”Memento” a few years later. The way he put it was, he wasn’t ashamed of doing corporate video because he saw it as practice. Filmmaking is troubleshooting, photography is troubleshooting, you get to a location and deal with actors, you deal with managers, you deal with people and learn how to get somewhere. Be fast and good at the same time and that’s what film making is; get to the set, strike it, nothing works then figure out something that does work and make it beautiful.
He said “This is my film school.” He’s a self taught filmmaker, went to school for English major, that’s why he’s such a good writer. He also got involved with the London film society. Most cities have a film society. He used their equipment whenever he could. He was like an intern, he never got paid for that. He taught everything he knows himself. What’s really amazing is watching ”The Following” knowing only a few years later he made Memento. Amazing to see how fast he learned. He was 26, 27 when he made The Following and then he was like 31 when he made Memento and just in that short time, he blew up!
Him and his brother are good writers. His brother wrote ”Interstellar.” His wife is a producer. That guy is a fucking hustler, he’s a super inspirational man and that’s what’s getting me through these horrible jobs. We’re creatives, we’re sensitive to the content we film. You have a shitty retail job, a job you don’t like, it’s going to affect your day. Some people are content with that, like most techies. Some people are good at ignoring their instinct to create something, they’re comfortable sitting at their desk as long as they’re getting a paycheck and they get to go to happy hour. That’s fine with some people, not me.

Top 5 Directors At This Moment in Time:

They’re all self taught. I enjoy researching filmmakers careers; seeing their movies when they’re in their 20’s, compared to what they create in their 60’s,70’s or 80’s. Most of these filmmakers went through a time in cinema where there wasn’t a standard to the craft. They constructed the standard, they shaped the craft.

King Vidor
Sydney Lument
Otto Preminger
Akira Kurosawa
Orsen Wells

Current Project:

“6 cigarettes” feature film & “Cadillac Love” short film

5 Quirks Gear Essentials & Why:

Epson V-700 Flatbed scanner- For my writing and photography.

Manfrotto Monopod w/ the fluidhead- All time essentials for videography.

H4 zoom recorder: 4 channels and if I do live show I can plug into sound board. Good for writing meetings as well.

Batterypack grip for 5d.

Muji Pen and paper!

Why SF:

I moved here to get out of New York and it was a better option than LA. I wanted to create art that wasn’t influenced by any industry. I wanted to be around independent artist and I wanted to struggle in a city. I wanted to work outside of the industry.

Exodus on SF Artists:

I moved to San Francisco on December 31st, 2008.The recession hit hard, it was a great time to be in SF. Not so much for a lobor for money, but for art in general. The music scene was unreal, very vibrant.The creative person I am today, I owe it to those few years. Documenting music,art shows, collaborating with friends. Now because of the tech boom everybody fucking moved. I don’t have any friends here anymore. My wife and I got the boot from SF because we couldn’t afford it, which is fine. We moved to Oakland and it’s a great city, I love it here. It’s home.

Amazing though, seeing everyone split within the past 2-3years. There’s still great artist up here, but nobody is really working together. The rent is too damn high.

Contact:

matthew@imwithleaf.com