Brothers Make Big Splash In Marietta Pond

Twin brothers Matthew and Jared Young of Brother’s Young Productions are making their mark on the indie film scene in both Marietta and Metro Atlanta. With their production office located within the , they are making headway as “young” up-and-comers in the business as they gained tutelage from fellow suite mate Brent Brooks early on.

“Both of us have always been very ambitious as far as being entrepreneurial spirits and on our own,” Matthew says of their success in building a sustainable income at their newly acquired craft.

Ironically, neither Matthew nor Jared were amateur filmmakers growing up, although Matthew says they were creative types as they would build, design, draw and make cartoons for fun. They also developed an ear for music, which plays out in their current works, by playing four years in the band at Lassiter High in Northeast Cobb.  

However, it wasn’t until their senior year at the University of Georgia, when they were bitten by the “bug”–the acting one in this case.

“Our older brother Travis had always been involved in theater and acting, so we had some exposure already,” said Matthew of him and his brother's venture into the world of acting.

Matthew admits his interest in acting started by chance as he and Jared decided to take an intro to acting class for satisfying their curiosity. But soon they found a passion for not only acting but also producing and directing that they had not previously known existed.

Their first indie production for which they appeared was The Gallon Challenge, an ultra-low budget feature directed by another UGA graduate Brent Brooks, who later became a partner on some collaborations and a mentor.

Soon the twins took their creativity to a place where support was abundant–their church. They created Sensitive Charles, a 5013c, which allowed them to work within the church in developing their talents and following. After two years, Matthew says they had honed in on the skill of storytelling and figured out how to market their work.

“I think we both have a natural inclination toward marketing ourselves and our product,” Matthew says of how they took Sensitive Charles beyond the original concept.

By developing a small cult following on YouTube, they were able to tweak Sensitive Charles into a locally based children's show; though perhaps small and unknown it was nonetheless an important step for the twins.

“The children’s arena is really an underserved market; [it] has been great for us because it pays the bills,” notes Matthew of their progress thus far.

Matthew shares that part of their success is being in such a collaborative environment like the Artisan Resource Center. They partnered with Brent in renting a suite in 2007 and have never looked back. He tells that at least 50 percent of the work done on their productions is subcontracted with other tenants of the center. He applauds the energy and connectivity shared among the many people he associates with at the center on a weekly basis.

Currently, Brother’s Young Productions, with new business partner Julie Butler, is premiering their latest project Galactic Perry’s Learning Starship next month. Galactic Perry is a satiric reflection on the cheesy children’s shows of yesteryear like that of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, Captain Kangaroo and Zoobilee Zoo. Matthew says it pokes a little fun at these shows by showing the adult problems with the people behind the curtains; though nothing too serious, it's more of a light hearted comedy.

Brother’s Young Productions is putting on a "Perry Con" (creative play on Comic-Con) with the help and assistance of other Marietta-based ventures such as Dim Horizon Photography, Penny Dreadful Productions, Battle & Brew Gaming Pub and will premiere videos from the SciFi Janitors.

Perry Con will be at the Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce De Leon Ave., in Atlanta on Saturday, April 9. Doors open at 9 p.m., screenings are from 9:30pm to 12:30am. To learn more of Brother’s Young Productions call 678.760.6664 or send an e-mail to matthew@thefantasticworld.com.