We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brandon Green. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brandon below.

Brandon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

Working on my own to create something from nothing is at times surreal. I do wonder what it would be like to have a “regular” job…but then I wonder what is “regular”? Even when I had full time employment with bigger companies, the hours were never set and each project was it’s own unique journey. I like finding the path to telling the story, whatever the story is at the time. I’ve always done life and work this way and cannot imagine being happy in any other situation.

Brandon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I attended Kansas State University. While there I became exposed the Radio and TV curriculum when a friend invited me to do a show on the university radio station. While I love music, I quickly realized I was more visual and was intrigued by the idea of telling a story through a camera.

I graduated with a degree in RTV from K-State. Not long after graduation, a seemingly random meeting put me in touch with a local television station who was looking for an entry level editor. I landed that job and started learning the mechanics of editing video. Eventually, that led to work in the production and post production of local and regional commercials. This is where I learned to craft and express my ideas in video from via writing, shooting and editing.

Sometime in 1997, I moved to Kansas City to take a job as an Avid editor for a production company called Take Two. One evening as I was working late to meet a deadline, my house was burglarized. Eventually, I received an insurance check for my stolen property. It was more money than I had ever had in my life at one time. Since I would never be able to replace the things that were stolen, I eventually decided that I’d use that money to take a trip. I had never really traveled and wanted to see how far I could get from my front door in Kansas City. I spun the globe and found India and Nepal. Taj Mahal and Mount Everest here I come.

I landed back in KC after that 4-week trip to India, Singapore and Nepal completely changed. I knew I had to get out of the dark edit suite, get back into production and experience more of the world. I wanted to tell my own version of stories with a camera.

I quit my job, moved to Los Angeles and this is when life went into fast forward. I connected with an old friend from college who was an associate producer for an LA based production company. The producer was, Luke Ellis. Luke was working on the Modern Marvel series for The History Channel. He hired me for my first national network shoot. In that moment, I became a Director of Photography and began to define and realize what my vision was. Luke and I have been working together ever since.

For the next two years, we traveled the world filming Modern Marvels. This was nothing short of a blessing. We visited and filmed in so many amazing locations. While I was taking in all these incredible experiences through the lens, I realized that I could do this job from anywhere. So, I left my tiny studio apartment near the beach, the craziness of LA, and moved back to Kansas City. The midwestern lifestyle was just more suited to me.

In 2001, I founded EvergreenImages, LLC, which continues today. I’ve been able to travel with so many amazing clients and film every kind of story I could have ever imagined. I have written, produced, filmed and edited 2 independent documentaries that are close to my heart. I cannot imagine what other job I could have stayed in for so many years. My journey has given me many cherished heartfelt, human connections. I am thankful and humbled and cannot even begin to count all my blessings.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron is a book that changed my life. Early in my career, before I was self-employed, I went on a solo trip up the California coast by motorcycle. I stopped in San Francisco to stay with my friend, Robbyn, for a couple of days. She had been through this book, which is a kind of self-guided workshop. Robbyn gave me a copy. I blazed through it, started immediately journaling, a practice that gives me peace and clarity to this day. I have not earnestly picked up this book since I finished it, but I’ll never forget the insight I gained from it and will always be thankful for the tools I learned from it’s pages.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

People have been my greatest resource. I wish I had actually known the impact my mentors were having on me when I was building a life. If I had known the depth of the wisdom my family, friends and peers were sharing with me, I wonder if I’d have heard them differently? I would probably listened more intently and asked for advice more often. Every difficult challenge or uncertain situation I’ve faced, someone close to me has always been there to lift me up and provide hope and help. Never underestimate the power of a kind word.

Contact Info:

• Website: evergreenimages.tv

Image Credits
Brandon Green, personal collection