Young Bishop's Stortford film-maker Matthew Goodeve mixing it with actor from 1917 for latest movie
Aspiring young film-maker Matthew Goodeve made the most of a two-week summer course at college in Brighton, adding another thought-provoking short movie to his burgeoning portfolio.
Matt, 17, of Gilbey Avenue, Bishop's Stortford, is set on a career in film and the Indie reported earlier this year on a short movie he made during the coronavirus lockdown called .
That film used audio from news reports of the coronavirus pandemic, with poignant images to accompany them, filmed by the teenager around his home town.
For Matt it was a way of getting through the limbo he and other young people faced. He admitted to the Indie at the time the message of the film was that things were going to get better and it was a message he should have been telling himself as he struggled through the difficult times.
Now, after a course at the Screen and Film School, he has played a big part in the production of movie short A Pile of Red, featuring George Verrall, whose roles include Oscar-winning First World War film 1917, directed by Sam Mendes and starring George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman as two soldiers on a mission to deliver an important message to call off a doomed offensive attack, with Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch in supporting roles.
"The aim of the course was to make a film at the end," said Matt. "Someone else came up with the script and I did a lot of the other things, such as camera and sound work and editing the end product."
The result is a dark, five-minute vignette focusing on a session between Clark (Verrall) and counsellor Gwyn (Mary Napoli) as they go through the events of a building site accident which ended with "a pile of red".
Clark struggles to talk about and come to terms with the incident, and his inner voice takes over and leads him into a state of despair.
Matt said he did not expect to come away from the course with such an excellent piece of work.
"I went in to just do the course so it would look good on my CV," said Matt, who after seeing the end product proudly posted it on his YouTube account.
He has one more year of A-levels in film studies, media studies and photography at Saffron Walden County High School, after which he hopes to go to the film school in Brighton.
Although he is focused on film, he has found a new love of photography and produced a collection based on people who had to self-isolate during the pandemic.
"I went down to Heathrow [Airport] and took some really powerful and moving photos of real-life people," said Matt.
He is full of praise for the school, which has embraced his love and desire to make his way in the film industry.
And he is looking forward to the next year, when he has three projects on his list of things to do, including two more films and a music video.
To see A Pile of Red check out Matt on YouTube. The film is written and directed by James Tyler. Matt is credited as co-director of photography with Mari Lewis as well as editor and for sound design, poster design and mix.
