ABOUT THE EPISODE
Guest Matthew Lundmark, the founder of Lundmark Creative, a Lake Charles-based video production and marketing company, joins hosts Brady and Jillian on Louisiana’s Playground to go behind the scenes on Visit Lake Charles’ most recent video series, Made in SWLA, Built for America. The series’ creator delves into his most meaningful moments, the hardest shots to capture and the spirit behind the series that kept it moving forward.
ABOUT THE GUEST
Matthew Lundmark is the founder of Lundmark Creative, a Lake Charles-based video production and marketing company specializing in cinematic storytelling for brands and organizations across Southwest Louisiana. A graduate with a degree in marketing, he built his career producing digital content at Waitr, before launching his own creative firm.
Matthew served as the director, editor and co-writer of Visit Lake Charles' America 250 video series, Made in SWLA, Built for America, bringing the destination's vision for the project to life from start to finish. He joins the show to pull back the curtain on what goes into producing a series that puts Lake Charles on the national stage.
ENVIE EATS
Big E's Kitchen in Sulphur serves Southern home cooking out of a small spot just off Ruth Street, with a menu built around fried fish and shrimp dinners, burgers, etouffee, and daily plate lunch specials. A drive-thru window stays open late for Blue Bell ice cream, shakes, and cones after the kitchen closes. In addition, Covenant Coffee, a specialty coffee bar inside the restaurant, serves a two-origin espresso blend, matcha, chai, and other signature drinks made with locally roasted beans.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
EPISODE 99 TRANSCRIPT
Matthew Lundmark: [00:01] Well, I didn't pay a single person to participate. Like, I asked, "Will you take me on a boat?" And they said yes. Our people here are very willing to share their culture, which is, I think, something special. People are very kind here and they want to share. They want to show you their cool thing, you know.
Brady Renard: [00:22] Thanks for joining us on Louisiana's Playground Podcast, your roadmap to all things Lake Charles, Louisiana. I'm Brady Renard.
Jillian Corder: And I'm Jillian Corder. And of course, we are excited to bring you the authentic stories and experiences of Southwest Louisiana. We have all the tools you need to build your own personal Lake Charles itinerary.
Brady Renard: A terrific show for you today. And let's make a mini announcement. The last audio-only episode in our catalog.
Jillian Corder: That is right. Now, you can not only listen to us, but if you'd like, if you so dare, you can watch us too.
Brady Renard: And that will start with episode 100. And we have some other details that we're pretty excited about for that episode coming up. We really think that one's gonna be great. But we also think this one is fantastic.
Jillian Corder: This one's fantastic.
Brady Renard: Episode 99. We talked to Matthew Lundmark, who is a local video producer and creator. He runs a local production company that helped us bring our America 250 series to life. Made in Southwest Louisiana, Built for America. And so it was a really cool story. He goes behind the scenes, tells us a lot of cool things about it. It's really a lot of fun for the episode. But as you know, before we get to that, we do what we always do around here.
Jillian Corder: We're gonna begin the show with a taste of Southwest Louisiana, a segment we call Envie Eats.
Brady Renard: [01:52] And this week we head down the interstate across the water to Sulphur.
Jillian Corder: The water.
Brady Renard: Yeah. To Sulphur, to Big E's Kitchen. Yes. A little spot off Ruth Street that has big taste.
Jillian Corder: Little Spot, Big Taste. It's a cute little area, a little restaurant. Kind of a diner-esque feel. It's got the... sure. It's got the...
Brady Renard: The modern diner, I would call it.
Jillian Corder: Sure, sure. And I don't know, the best food to me because it's like home cooking. Yeah, but also they serve ice cream and, you know, I don't know, that's the best for me. And coffee.
Brady Renard: And coffee too. That's right. They're kind of a coffee shop as well, all built into one. So, yeah, they have a local coffee shop too, Covenant Coffee, there, and it's a whole family affair between everyone that kind of runs everything. But as far as the food side, there's a lot of good stuff. They have their daily plate lunches. And apparently Wednesdays they have hamburger steak and that is their most popular day.
Jillian Corder: Fortunately, we did not go on a Wednesday, but we did go on a Thursday. And it was jambalaya day, and that is what I got. In addition to their plate lunches, I just want to say this, their daily plate lunches, they do have a full menu to order from as well.
Brady Renard: Right. And that's where I ordered from. I had the fried shrimp and fish basket. There's also burgers. And one of the people with us got the burgers and they loved them.
Jillian Corder: Yeah.
Brady Renard: She was all about it. She said, "This is now one of my new go-to burgers."
Jillian Corder: Okay, top the others. Yeah, so I had the chicken and sausage jambalaya with corn and green beans. I was trying to be good 'cause I'm sort of kind of on a diet. Jambalaya may have broken that diet a little bit. We're just gonna ignore those calories. But let me tell you how good it was. Chicken and sausage. So good. The chicken was tender. It was so well seasoned, extremely flavorful. The sausage was not too spicy because I don't like spicy food, but it had a nice little oomph to it. Sure. You know what I mean? And then overall, how do I describe? It's hard for me to describe. Rice, like a rice dressing kind of, like that.
Brady Renard: It looks sticky.
Jillian Corder: It was sticky. Okay, but I don't mean that in a bad way. No, well, that's the best word to describe it for me. Like, you could with your fork, you could squish it into a bite and it's so good. It's moist and the meat in it, they didn't, you know, short you on meat, like it's full of chicken. It's full of sausage. But yeah, that rice was so perfectly cooked. It was absolutely delicious. Sticky might resonate as like a bad thing for some people, but for me, that's what I'm looking for in a meal like that. And then the corn and the green beans also really well seasoned. I say this a lot here on the podcast that those are not throwaway sides. They're not just mailed in. Because a lot of places it's just like me at home, I'm just dumping green beans out into my plate and calling it a day, you know, like that. I'm not doing anything to them. But these are like cooked. These took effort and seasoning. And the corn was really, really good. I ate all of it first.
Brady Renard: Corn is your favorite.
Jillian Corder: I do love corn and this was really good. I did. I ate all of that first and then I finished off everything else. And despite my diet and how big the plate was, I finished every single grain of that sticky rice.
Brady Renard: It did look really good and I tried a bite and the jambalaya was very good. I went with... I'm a big just seafood fan, and so anytime that I can get a chance to eat shrimp and fish and etc., I do it. And look, the shrimp and fish both were fantastic. The fish was huge and it was a cornmeal batter. Crunchy and flaky. You know, it has that perfect kind of fish taste, not too fishy. I mean, it was just a wonderful flaky big white piece of fish, right? And the cornmeal batter meant it was crunchy and had a little bit of a flavor to it, too. It was wonderful. Whereas the shrimp, they use flour batter, right? So, it's a thinner batter for the shrimp because the shrimp were huge. And they were cooked to perfection. Both were fried exactly like they needed to. So, they obviously have their times down, their temperatures down, and it matters. Those little details mattered.
Jillian Corder: It's an art.
Brady Renard: It's an art and they knew what they were doing. The shrimp were great as well.
Jillian Corder: Well seasoned.
Brady Renard: And then they have big thick crinkle-cut fries. The standard, right? Well seasoned. They don't skip on any of that. And so each of those things paired well into each other. And so ultimately it was a great meal. The issue is because there's so much food.
Jillian Corder: Yeah. You don't really have room for dessert. And they have great desserts.
Brady Renard: Yeah. You have their ice cream. Their Blue Bell ice cream.
Jillian Corder: Next time we go, we'll be more strategic about how we order.
Brady Renard: Yeah. Your eyes definitely lead the way. And then your stomach is lagging behind until you finish and you're like... your stomach's like, you gotta have... the lungs are burning.
Jillian Corder: You gotta have a lot of willpower and stop yourself so that you can get some good dessert, too. Great little spot right there in Sulphur and just off the interstate. So, excellent if you're passing through and want a good lunch spot. Or even going to the Creole Nature Trail. The Creole Nature Trail Adventure Point.
Brady Renard: It's now the unofficial start of the Creole Nature Trail right there off the interstate. There you go.
Brady Renard: [07:16] From a great meal to a great guest, we welcome on Matthew Lundmark. Matthew is the founder of Lundmark Creative, a video production company right here in Lake Charles. And if you've seen our Made in Southwest Louisiana, Built for America video series, then you've seen his work, turning our vision for that project into something that's truly special. And so today, we're going behind the camera to talk about what it takes to tell a story worth watching. Welcome to the show, Matthew.
Matthew Lundmark: Thanks for having me.
Jillian Corder: We'd like everybody to get to know how our guest plays in Louisiana's Playground. So, we have some Rapid Fire questions for you. Ready?
Matthew Lundmark: Yeah.
Jillian Corder: Okay. Crawfish or gumbo?
Matthew Lundmark: Depends on the weather, but mostly gumbo.
Jillian Corder: Mostly gumbo. So, it is weather dependent. Oh, wrong answer. I don't like that.
Matthew Lundmark: Well, it's weather dependent, like I'm not gonna have crawfish in the winter, right?
Jillian Corder: Seasonal. Okay, I get it. But do you find... absolutely would if possible?
Matthew Lundmark: Gumbo is mostly seasonal, but if I have the chance to have it, I will. But I won't really cook a pot in...
Brady Renard: I'm leaving this interview and going to eat gumbo. Just FYI.
Jillian Corder: Actually is. It's gumbo Wednesday. So, you know, Brady's gonna go find gumbo somewhere in Lake Charles. That's how he works. Okay. Our second question here is poolside or beachside?
Matthew Lundmark: Beachside.
Jillian Corder: Same. Yeah. Yeah. Nothing beats the real thing.
Matthew Lundmark: I want to hear the waves, the wind, smell the salt, you know.
Jillian Corder: Yeah. Yeah. Not that concrete jungle that Brady likes of a pool.
Brady Renard: Who doesn't? Who dislikes a pool?
Matthew Lundmark: I like a pool, too. I just don't have enough friends with pools who invite me.
Brady Renard: Okay. And now we're getting... You don't just dislike... You don't dislike pools. You're just poor.
Matthew Lundmark: I'm just poor. That's actually what it is. I don't hate pools. I just have an inflatable pool in my backyard right now for my kids. And that's...
Brady Renard: I don't see you with an inflatable beach in the backyard.
Jillian Corder: I know. If only. If only. Okay, last one. Concert or comedy show?
Matthew Lundmark: Well, this is tough because I am friends with Jacob Guidry. So I love to see some good comedy here whenever he puts it on. But I love a concert, you know. And we've gotten some great acts here lately for concerts.
Brady Renard: As we always do, man. Trying to remember who some people... who we saw here last.
Matthew Lundmark: I mean, like Switchfoot, Lit, and Fuel, I believe, are playing at L'Auberge in September, so you know, as a millennial, those are the ones I'm excited about.
Jillian Corder: Yeah, we like those, too. I think our very first concert in Lake Charles ever was Three Doors Down. Saw them. Yeah. And it was really good.
Brady Renard: [10:00] For sure. All right, Matthew, let's move on to the conversation at hand. Can you give us kind of an introduction to how you became a filmmaker behind Made in SWLA, Built for America?
Matthew Lundmark: I am a video producer. I've been playing with cameras since I was a kid, and that's what I do professionally now as well. As you said, I have my own video production business that I've been doing myself for about four years here in the area. And it started kind of serendipitously as a bit of a passion project. I was starting to do some interviews and just getting footage at different local Cajun, Creole, and zydeco music events and interviewing people like Rusty Metoyer, Sean Ardoin, Chris Miller. And I was talking to someone who works at Visit Lake Charles about that, and then it was also serendipitous that they thought about doing this campaign later on and thought, "That's funny that you're working on something like that, 'cause I want to work on something like that." And it worked out perfectly because the passion project, I didn't really know what it was gonna be. I was just getting some footage whenever I had time to do it, and I ended up actually using some of that footage in the final product for the America 250 project. So, I guess it's just one of those things where everything kind of just came together like it seemed like it was supposed to.
Jillian Corder: Yeah. And you chose some four pillars, if you will, right? Culture, food, outdoors, history, and music for this. How did you come up with those? It's so hard to, you know, narrow it down here in our area, Southwest Louisiana. How did you get down to those?
Matthew Lundmark: So, I mean, that was a collaborative effort between myself and Visit Lake Charles and Brady Renard.
Brady Renard: I know that guy.
Jillian Corder: Hey, that guy. Yeah.
Matthew Lundmark: The goal of this project, I think, was to set Southwest Louisiana as something a little different, to stand up on its own in Louisiana. If you travel somewhere and you meet somebody and you say, "I'm from Louisiana," the first thing they say is, "Oh, I've been to New Orleans. I love that place." You know, and we wanted to focus on things that Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana can say is theirs. And a lot of people don't know, like, the beginnings of Cajun Creole music started here, as well as zydeco. We have a rich musical history here. We have a very interesting history, and the idea of those pillars was, these are things that we can explore and we won't confuse people with New Orleans.
Jillian Corder: Yeah. Yeah. We were just talking about that the other day about how, you know, people think we all live on Bourbon Street and have pet alligators kind of thing. So...
Brady Renard: And we do, of course.
Jillian Corder: Obviously. But yeah, getting people to really understand the real culture, not just like what you might think of in movies or something, or what you see, right, nationally of what New Orleans is, which is great, and we're proud of New Orleans, too. But, you know, we've got our own kind of unique identity.
Matthew Lundmark: We definitely do. I mean, and it also goes the same thing with the story of the Cajuns, you know. We're not all Cajun here. You can hear us speaking. We sound like we're from Texas. So, this corner of Louisiana is unique to the rest of the state.
Brady Renard: Yeah. Now, speaking of that, hold on. I got a really good question for you.
Jillian Corder: Well, Brady was born in New Iberia. So, he does, you know, originally have an accent.
Brady Renard: But you mentioned the culture, and I think that that's a good starting point for kind of the video series. So, as Jillian mentioned, four videos, one for kind of each pillar, one of which was culture. And so I know in our discussions trying to figure out, all right, how do we sum all of that up, and we thought the best way to kind of do it is Mardi Gras, right? It is the quintessential piece of culture that everyone kind of knows, but it also is a great representation of it because it's the... we work really hard to then party for a short period to get back to working really hard, and we do that throughout a lot of what we do. And then specifically in this area of the state, there's a lot of country Mardi Gras, right? Yes. The Courir de Mardi Gras, the run, the chicken run. You went to Iowa and you filmed all of that. Was that the first time that you had gotten a chance to be out there?
Matthew Lundmark: [14:59] That was. I had always wanted to go to a traditional rural Courir de Mardi Gras experience, just never made it happen. One of the reasons, I thought that they were kind of... I'd have to drive an hour.
Brady Renard: Sure.
Matthew Lundmark: Or something like that, to get to it. And I didn't really even know about the chicken run that goes on at Iowa right there. And so I hooked up with Rodney Victorian, who is the captain of the Iowa Mardi Gras, and interviewed him and got to be one of his guests. I mean, one of maybe a thousand other guests that were there.
Jillian Corder: His thousand closest friends.
Brady Renard: Yeah. Can you give us the quick elevator pitch of what that day entails? What is the chicken run, so to speak?
Matthew Lundmark: So, the tradition goes that people go from house to house and they perform, they do a dance or something like that, and then they get an ingredient to make the gumbo for the community. And that's what is part of the chicken run. And then they will throw a chicken in the air and all the kids, or mostly the kids, will chase and try to catch the chicken. Some adults out there too.
Jillian Corder: Some adults as well.
Brady Renard: I love it. The people, the community are the parade. It's not a parade put on for them. They are the parade. In it and for it.
Matthew Lundmark: Yeah. Correct. Yeah. And it was just so... it was really cool. It was like such an experience. It was probably my favorite part of this whole video series, was getting to be a part of that. And, you know, I've been to the Endymion parade in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and I would rather do this every time.
Jillian Corder: It's so different. Mardi Gras in Southwest Louisiana is obviously different than what New Orleans is putting on. And yes, we have the big parades that draw out the bigger crowds and things like that, the music and all that, but there's just something really down-home authentic about...
Brady Renard: Authentic.
Matthew Lundmark: I would agree a hundred percent with that. This was a true cultural experience. This was not going to Austin and booking an Airbnb tour and going on a taco tour. You're being guided by a transplant telling you, you know, "This is where the locals eat." These were the locals' homes that we were visiting, along the parade route. It goes into the residential neighborhood, which is a rural area too, and they just stop all the trucks along the way, and we stopped for lunch and we just ate in people's front yards who were grilling. Some people invited us into their home to have food off their stovetop as well. And I was just amazed by the hospitality and just the kindness of everyone there, making us feel so welcome, especially for it being our first time.
Jillian Corder: [18:04] Speaking of food, let's talk about the food video for a second. Some amazing chefs were featured in that, too, and a real cast of characters. Yeah. How do you find these people?
Matthew Lundmark: You just keep calling and asking people, is, I guess, how it started. I mean, it was one of the more difficult videos to find our talent for. I want to say talent. These are all real people. They weren't acting at all. You know, this is their true lived-in experience. But it was hard to find people to participate because they're busy. Like...
Jillian Corder: This is their job.
Matthew Lundmark: This is their job. You saw how hard that these shrimpers, commercial fishermen, these chefs work every day. It was hard to find them, but many of them were on board with the project even if they weren't willing to participate themselves. And then they would say, "Well, I know Jimbo might want to do it. I'll give you his phone number." And then, "Well, I know this." And then, I mean, it kept on going down the line 'til finally Snoopy the shrimper said, "Come on, you can get on my boat." And got up before the sun rose and got out there, and we dragged net in the ship channel.
Brady Renard: I love that. You had, you know, an executive chef at a really nice local restaurant. We had kind of an internet sensation, someone that kind of has, lack of a better term, a celebrity chef, right? Yeah. A seafood supplier. And then two shrimpers named Buster and Snoopy. Right? Why do shrimpers get the best nicknames?
Matthew Lundmark: Well, I don't even know if you can really tell in the video, 'cause I didn't realize this till I was leaving the boat, but Snoopy has a Snoopy hat on.
Jillian Corder: I don't know if I even noticed it.
Brady Renard: I mean, you lean into it. From Snoopy. You lean into it, right? You own it.
Jillian Corder: Yeah. I think I'm gonna become a shrimper just so I can get a cool nickname.
Matthew Lundmark: And he also had two sweet dogs riding on the boat with us.
Brady Renard: Oh, that's great.
Matthew Lundmark: I guess they didn't make that cut.
Brady Renard: So what ultimately surprised you the most during those conversations?
Matthew Lundmark: [20:16] I mean, I was surprised that the commercial seafood industry in Cameron is struggling. From climatological issues, over-industrialization issues, and a lot of them are having to pivot to do different things. Snoopy catches shrimp, but he also does a lot of crabbing as well now. And he said that the crabbing industry has helped supplement his business.
Brady Renard: His business. Yeah.
Jillian Corder: Yeah. I know we've talked to a lot of the shrimpers down there who, as their industry is evolving quite quickly, you know, they're trying to keep up and save their livelihood a little bit. But I know so many new laws are going into effect to help save the shrimping industry in Louisiana. So, I love that these two guys and all the shrimpers I've ever talked to, they stay so positive about it. They're really, because they love it. They love what they do.
Matthew Lundmark: They truly do. And I try to get a good sound bite out of Snoopy saying that, but it was more conversational because we talked about him doing, trying different things, and going for work for other places. And he is out there seven days a week, and then whenever he's done dragging net in the channel, then he goes to check on his crab traps and set more bait for those. And I said, "You love this, don't you?" Said, "Yeah, I do. Wouldn't change it."
Jillian Corder: Yeah, that's beautiful to see. That kind of leads into...
Brady Renard: [21:50] Yeah, and the next one. Exactly. The outdoors. And this one was a video that, I don't know, ambitious maybe is the right word for this, right? Because with this pillar, we wanted to hit history and geography and a little of everything. And it ended up also touching on the Calcasieu River and birding and the Creole Nature Trail, resilience after storm. It's kind of the heart and soul of it, maybe, is the right way to kind of view it. Who in that video gave you the quote or moment that kind of stopped you in your tracks, made you think?
Matthew Lundmark: Well, I would say I got breakfast with Adley Cormier prior to us filming because I myself had a different understanding of the history here in Southwest Louisiana, and I wanted to meet with him and really get the rundown. He is a local historian here and a treasure trove of information.
Jillian Corder: Absolutely.
Matthew Lundmark: And what's kind of sad is that our history in this area is just not very well documented. So it is kind of up to these orators to keep passing it down. I mean, you can go to the Imperial Calcasieu Museum here in Lake Charles and you can find a lot of this out, but this is not stuff that's gonna turn up on Google for the most part. But the thing that surprised me the most was him saying that this was the Wild West before the Wild West. So, this was Wild Southwest Louisiana. But back in the 1800s, even after the Louisiana Purchase, this area was considered a no-man's-land and was ungoverned. And that's why we know about pirates like Jean Lafitte. He was able to operate here, and he was the person who would bring things in. There were no stores, there were no peddlers coming by to supply anything. And so this land was just... it was lawless, you know? And because of that, it was also a place that people could have hid out who needed to lay low from other areas. It's why a lot of Black communities grew and flourished here because of that. There were a lot of people, freed people of color, and escaped slaves who came and joined communities here like Mossville.
Jillian Corder: Found some sanctuary in this place.
Matthew Lundmark: Yeah. Yeah. And it was just so interesting. I'd never known that. And it also lends to how diverse this area really is.
Jillian Corder: My hometown of Oakdale, legend has it that it was such a place known for outlaws that they changed the name at some point. It was Dunnsville, I think, before, and they changed their name to try to... just rebranding. Get a better PR.
Matthew Lundmark: They rebranded. That's the legend I hear. But yeah, it was such a place known for outlaws in this no-man's-land that was this area. And I was, you know, I'm a McNeese alum and never really understood why we were the Cowboys, but now I do, because this was cowboy country as well. There was a lot of flat land and prairie, which made it a great place for running cattle, and that was one of the big industries here.
Brady Renard: And I love that you kind of tied that at the end. One of my favorite conversations I was able to sit in on, some of the interviews, was talking to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife representative Robbie Maxwell and hearing his history that he talked about, the land, and kind of from the ecosystem aspect of it, where he talked about prairie and it being kind of unique that we have this stretch of prairie here that's kind of rare for where it is and where it's situated and how it is. And then just you start figuring out, okay, well, that makes sense why this was settled this way, how this was done this way. And then, you know, we've talked about here on the podcast the railroad history of this area and how that kind of changed everything. And it's just... it was just a lot of things going on all at one time, which... a good line that Adley kind of talked about, there was so many different avenues that came through here that led to what we know today.
Matthew Lundmark: Yeah. Yes, it is. And Lynn Jones, the bird photographer or wildlife photographer, and Robbie and Adley kind of say the same thing, that this is a major throughway for wildlife, for the economy, for people, and it's something kind of you always knew, but then whenever you put it together, it just makes so much sense. Like, we are a big hub because of our port. Yeah. The railways and the waterways to get things out.
Brady Renard: And the birds see it too.
Matthew Lundmark: And the birds see it. The birds get it.
Jillian Corder: [27:01] I feel like it's also too, for those that are native to this area or to Louisiana, you take all of these things for granted until you see it again, or you see it from a different lens, and then you go, "Wow, this is really cool. This is a beautiful place to live. Wow, we do have great food and culture and music."
Matthew Lundmark: I agree with you a hundred percent. Like, this was... I feel bad for the viewers. It was a much bigger education for me than they'll get, because, I mean, I lived in these worlds for much longer than the about three-minute duration of these videos and really got to see. And it was just also neat that all these people, I didn't pay a single person to participate. Like, I asked, "Will you take me on a boat?" And they said yes. You know, our people here are very willing to share their culture, which is, I don't know if that's unique or not, but I think it's something special, that people are very kind here and they want to share, they want to show you their cool thing, you know?
Jillian Corder: And one of those people was Rusty Metoyer in the music video, right? And he showed you a little bit of his slice of life, if you will.
Matthew Lundmark: Yeah. Yeah, Rusty. Rusty's the best. I had worked with Rusty previously because, like I said, he was part of that passion project I was working on. So I had gotten to know him previously, and I knew that he would be perfect for this video. He's such a great ambassador for Southwest Louisiana and a talented musician. Just a humble, down-to-earth family man as well.
Brady Renard: Yeah. And I loved the line in there about the fact that on the weekdays, he's fixing ACs, he's dad, he's just whoever, but on the weekends, he's a rock star. You know, people line up and they wear shirts and they come out to support him. And then beyond that, from the video aspect, he's the only one where you hear one voice for the video. He carries it by himself. What made you want to center the music chapter on him instead of several voices?
Matthew Lundmark: Well, he, I think, just perfectly represents our area, you know. He does work hard. He is a family man. He is extremely talented. We have a lot of talent in this area, and he's just a true ambassador of this Lake Area. And I felt like he summed everything up for that video.
Brady Renard: And his line at the end of the video was obviously my favorite and probably my favorite line of the entire series, where he talks about Creole culture pulling from all different kinds of people together, and then says the line, "America is for everybody."
Matthew Lundmark: That's right.
Brady Renard: And it was the line that I used in my promo video of the series. I used it for a couple of those cuts, because it sums up everything perfect. Being that you closed your video with it as well, I assume you kind of see the same thing there.
Matthew Lundmark: Absolutely. I mean, that has been the recurring theme that has shown itself throughout this whole project, was that this area is for everybody. You're not gonna meet the same kind of person anywhere here. It's very diverse. It is a gumbo pot, not a melting pot. It's a gumbo pot. And it is richer than the sum of its parts, you know, with everybody put together.
Jillian Corder: [31:01] Working on this series, is there a particular moment that kind of sums it all up for you? A particular shot or something that you're really proud of capturing?
Matthew Lundmark: I was very proud of capturing the Mardi Gras, the chicken run, 'cause like I said earlier, that was like a true cultural experience. Some Mardi Gras parades that you go to, it's a lot of strangers together and acting as strangers. You know, they're just trying to catch beads or whatever and party, have a good time. But at this, everyone knew each other, and it was just so real and authentic. I'm also technically proud of the whole series and being able to put that together and find these stories, because a lot of times we have an idea of what the story was, what we wanted it to be, or what our narrative arc was going to be, and then after you do an interview, you realize that's not it.
Jillian Corder: Yeah.
Matthew Lundmark: It's something else. And that they inform you of what it is, and it takes a certain amount of creativity to find that story and then put it together and make it a complete narrative arc that people can understand and see a throughway for.
Jillian Corder: Well, and from us also in the, you know, media world, I got to say, technically speaking, we'll nerd out here for just a second. Technically, visually, the audio speaking, it's a beautiful piece that you've put together.
Matthew Lundmark: Thank you so much.
Jillian Corder: It's absolutely beautiful.
Brady Renard: Yeah. And I was gonna say, it's funny enough, we're kind of on the same wavelength as that, where this conversation is unique in that each of us have been filmmakers in some form or fashion, whether it be for television news, which is where Jillian still is, for me, who's kind of a hybrid of both professionally, and what I did in television and what I do for Visit Lake Charles and all I do, and then you being a video production company.
Matthew Lundmark: Yeah.
Brady Renard: We've all had to make stories, and those are my favorite ones, where you go in thinking A and you leave thinking, this has to be B or even C.
Jillian Corder: That challenge is so much fun when you go, "Oh, I am telling this a different way," and you come back to the drawing board once you're done with...
Brady Renard: This is not how it was supposed to go, and it's gonna be better because of it.
Matthew Lundmark: Yeah. Yeah. It was easily probably one of the most challenging. It was the most challenging project I've done, because it was also the biggest, having four separate videos and, I don't know, I guess ten to twelve interviews.
Brady Renard: Sure. What was the most challenging? Was there a shot or some type of composition that you felt the most challenged by when doing it?
Matthew Lundmark: Well, one of the hardest things was getting a shot of the side of the river on the boat during the nature video, because whenever the boat driver punched it, we were going like 50 mph, and that wind was whipping, a bit aggressive, and I was hanging tight, trying to stay on that camera, holding on to my livelihood camera to make sure that didn't fly out of my hands. That was certainly challenging. But I mean, the Mardi Gras day shoot, that was a very long, that was an all-day thing that I was out there. So I had to consider if I had enough batteries. Also had my wife help me, to be a second camera at times, and then try not to abuse her too much. Let her have fun as well. And also on that day, my family was with me. So we really did celebrate the Mardi Gras with them. I was not just working. I had a fantastic time and brought my sister-in-law and my special needs brother-in-law as well. And I was worried how he was going to be with this 'cause he does not like to walk. He likes to sit. But we got to sit on the float, and he had the best time. Y'all may have figured it out. People who know us know, but I featured him in three of the videos.
Jillian Corder: Okay. He's in a lot of them. Yeah.
Matthew Lundmark: Just as a... he's just in a clip of it, but he didn't make it into the nature video. He wasn't around for that, but he's a real fun person to be around. So, it was kind of fun, a little Easter egg for our family to stick him in.
Jillian Corder: [35:43] Oh, that's fun. I love that. So, when you wrapped up all this project, what's the one thing you hope someone... obviously you hope people that are from here find like a new love, reinvigorated love for this area, right? But for somebody who's not from here, somebody out of state, maybe never been here before, what do you hope they understand now about Southwest Louisiana?
Matthew Lundmark: That it's its own unique thing. We don't have Bourbon Street here, but we have a lot of other great things. We have incredible places to fish, a lot of beautiful wildlife to see. We have, I mean, I think some of the best food in Louisiana is here.
Brady Renard: In the world.
Matthew Lundmark: In the world. Well, yeah, that part, you know, it goes world in Louisiana.
Brady Renard: But that's just my opinion.
Matthew Lundmark: That's just my opinion.
Jillian Corder: I mean, I'm a fan of it. Yeah, obviously.
Matthew Lundmark: And this is a real culturally rich community. This is a real authentic community. This is not a private equity built place to get influencers to get your matcha tea at your boutique hotel or whatever. This is a real place people live and have lived for a long time. And a history like that can't be faked.
Brady Renard: No. And welcome you in. That's the biggest thing. It's not just... there's plenty of places in this country that are as authentic as what we live here, but not everywhere wants people to come see...
Jillian Corder: Yeah.
Brady Renard: Wants you to come eat crawfish at their table with you. Wants you to try a bowl of their gumbo. It's different here because of that, in my opinion.
Matthew Lundmark: I agree a hundred percent. John Duff, the fisherman that I rode with in the nature video on his boat, he said the same thing, that people here are terrible at keeping secrets, you know, and they'll share their honey hole with you and tell you where the fish are biting.
Jillian Corder: Yeah. And I think, hopefully people out there go and watch the series, right? And then come live it. Even if just for a weekend, watch it, get your preview in of what this place is really all about, and then come pass a good time here.
Matthew Lundmark: Come pass a good time. Come eat, get to know your bartender, ask them where to go. They'll know.
Brady Renard: They'll know.
Jillian Corder: Sounds good.
Brady Renard: [38:19] Thanks again to Matthew for joining us here on the show. And the biggest thank you of all goes out to you, the listener, for joining us on the podcast, which, Jillian, I'm gonna let them know, the last audio-only podcast.
Jillian Corder: Then you have to look at us too. Or you could also... you could also, if you want to just... then you can look at us, I should say.
Brady Renard: We're not gonna not be anywhere else that we currently are, but if you want to watch us, you can. And if you want to just say, you know what, it was better with my eyes closed, you can do that, too. But if you don't mind, if you've been listening to us, we appreciate it. If you can leave us a like, a comment, review, something, anything to let us know that you appreciate us and want us to keep going, we like it. We also love episode suggestions, so if you have those, feel free to drop them in.
Jillian Corder: That's right. And go to visitlakecharles.org/podcast for more episodes, advice on where to eat, and events that are happening this very weekend. I'm Jillian Corder.
Brady Renard: And I'm Brady Renard. Thanks again for coming to play at Louisiana's Playground. C'est tout.