Profile: Matt Maude

Matt made a series of films with disadvantaged young people in Leeds, using their own words to describe their experiences.

Why did you pick this subject for Fresh?

Ma learnt how to swim to do this film. It showed how important these films were to him. To all of us

How long have you got? It started when I came into contact with Studio 12, based in Leeds Library. It’s a community media service working with 16–30-year-olds looking to learn new skills within music, film and design. It’s a free service to its members, the majority of whom are unemployed young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. When Jamie Hutchison, the manager of Studio 12, asked me to get involved I felt like I had discovered this mass of creativity, personality, struggle and potential story.

It’s unbelievable the lack of opportunities that are available to people growing up in poverty and the incredibly negative stereotypes that surround this community. Benefits has become such a dirty word, so often associated with laziness or inertia. But for the young people I’ve worked with, been around, there’s always this constant activity. A need to create. To express. To feel empowered, useful.

I’d say 90% of this creativity is found within music. With this project we just shifted the skills from producing music to producing film. Swapped lyrics for spoken word, for poetry. No one can knock poetry. It’s Shakespeare, Marlowe. It’s middle class dinner party conversation. You can’t ignore it as a means of expression. Because it’s just words being spoken loud and clearly.

I felt like theirs was a story that needed to be heard. To try and combat the volume of negative noise that is being directed at these young people.

What motivated you to make this film?

The young people themselves. The belief that there’s a story within all of us that needs to be heard by someone else. To help understand what is going on inside of our heads. Their stories are so powerful. I just wanted to be a part of that expression.

To quote some of the young people in the films:

"I learnt to live through words. What they meant. How they defined what was happening inside.” - Saph

"This is the trap to poverty. When it's so hard to climb the mountain why not just spend your life at the bottom never looking up?" – Hassan

“Live how you sleep. Live how you dream. Be the person you imagine you can be.” – Ma

When you’re presented with words such as these it’s hard to not to be inspired. To be motivated to put these words to film, to get it heard.

What equipment did you use to shoot the film?

You can’t edit anything just by yourself. There are times when you can’t see the wood for the trees

We shot on a RED Epic with a skeleton crew. Often it was just me and the DP (Adam Lyons) shooting sequences. I love shooting small. It allowed Saph, Hassan and Ma to be really comfortable in front of camera. To try new things. For the underwater scenes, we shot on a 5D Mark III in an underwater housing. The producer (Jamie Hutchison) is a trained scuba diver so it was amazing to see him get those shots! Especially as Ma couldn’t swim before doing this project. He learnt how to swim to do this film. That’s pretty life-affirming. It showed how important these films were to him. To all of us.

Tell us about post-production.

I often self-edit. I find it allows me to write the script twice. I have great director and editor colleagues/ friends though, who provided awesome feedback. You can’t edit anything just by yourself. There are times when you can’t see the wood for the trees. We all need some perspective on our work.

Who/what inspires you?

I used to think the people who inspired you were the ones whose work your own would closely follow. It took me an age to realise that I wasn’t going to be the next Wes Anderson. Or Christopher Nolan. Or Steve McCurry. Or Tim Hetherington. I’m different to them. I see through a different lens. But they inspire me to look through it.

I’m inspired by my friends' work and motivated by them. Most of the time I’m just trying to play catch-up with the talented people I get to share oxygen with. I get inspired by the most stupid inane things. A commercial. An incredible sporting achievement. A quote. Music. Photographs. Anything that doesn’t just encourage me to sit down in front of a computer or a pad of paper and create something. It demands it.

What are your plans for the future?

Dreams: To write and direct a feature film. Plans: Work out how to do this.

What is the most important thing you have learned so far?

To keep asking yourself that question. To never stop learning. That it’s always the most interesting thing to be the most interested person in the room. To never stop asking questions. Of everyone. The world. Yourself.