My Favorite Films of 2011

Posted on March 12, 2012 by codyclarke

I didn’t like too many movies that came out last year, so this is gonna have to be a Top 6 instead of a Top 10:

1. Transcendent Man
Apparently this came out in 2009, but I don’t think it was officially released until last year. Anyway, this is a great documentary, one of the best I’ve seen in a long while. Ray Kurzweil is fascinating and this is a perfect introduction to him, his work, his theories.

2. Midnight in Paris
It’s no secret that I’m a huge Woody Allen fan, and hell, apologist. I’ll defend Curse of the Jade Scorpion, September, et al., to the grave. Midnight in Paris isn’t one I’ll need to stick up for. If you’ve ever enjoyed a film of his, you’ll like this one. I’d say it’s one of his very best.

3. Moneyball
This is the only Oscar film this year that I enjoyed, and in a perfect world, it would’ve swept. But this is not a perfect world. This is a terrible world where solely awful things occur. But I digress. This is a great film. And I don’t even care about baseball.

4. Le Havre
It’s a travesty this was not even nominated for Best Foreign Film. For fucks sake, it’s got a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes! Shameful. Anyway, watch it. You’ll probably like it more if you’ve already seen a bunch of Aki Kaurismaki films, because he has a very particular sense of humor, and to the uninitiated, it might seem like there are no jokes at all.

5. Red State
Never thought I’d ever be putting a Kevin Smith film on a Top 10 let alone a Top 6, but here I am doing just that. Man, was I blown away by this one. I did not think he had it in him. I don’t think he thought he had it in him, either. But he does. And I hope he does more films like this. Not necessarily horror, but serious and well-shot and well-acted and all that. This is by a wide margin the best thing he’s ever done.

6. Cedar Rapids
This is a really cute movie. I went to see this in theaters not knowing what to expect, and I loved every minute of it. Cute, cute, cute. That’s really the best way to describe it. You love all the characters and you love the time you spend with them and the pace is really pleasant. I’ve seen it a few times since and it very much holds up.

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Rest in Peace, Minnie

Posted on March 8, 2012 by codyclarke

My longtime friend, muse, and feline companion, Minnie, passed away peacefully on March 5th, 2012. She was thirteen years old.

You may remember her from my ‘DVD ___ for Cats’ series, ‘Animal Time USA’ video, and other silly creations of mine over the years. It was a pleasure to work with her on those, and I believe her wonderful personality came through.

She was the best cat anyone could ask for, and she will always be in my heart.

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A Bonus Movie

Posted on January 30, 2012 by codyclarke

In my previous entry, I announced I’ll be shooting a new feature film this Spring. Well, I don’t want to have to wait that long to get behind a camera again and do what I love most, so I’ve decided to make another one before then. Day 1 of shooting is this Thursday.

It’s called ‘Rehearsals’ and it centers around a group of 20-something girls who are trying to make it as actresses in NYC. There is no script, and no planned story. Everything will be improvised. Only in the editing room, after everything has been shot, will I assemble some sort of a narrative.

I will be shooting it all myself, with no crew whatsoever. The budget is likely to be virtually nothing. I expect to have it up online for free in a month or so.

Lastly, here’s what I sent out to my cast this week:

INSTRUCTIONS FOR CAST OF ‘REHEARSALS’

  1. Be yourself at all times.
  2. When improvising with cast members, talk about things you actually want to talk about. Have real conversations. Say things you genuinely want to say. No ‘chatter’.
  3. I will never tell you what to say in a given scene. Say anything you want, so long as it comes from a real place within you.
  4. Don’t worry about a narrative or a story. Focus on the present (the scene you’re in at the moment) and not the ‘big picture’.
  5. As you will be in your real apartment/dorm, behave as you would normally in this setting. Everyone has favorite places to sit, ways of sitting, rituals, etc. Use your space as you really use it.
  6. When we shoot outdoors, we will not go places arbitrarily. We will go places you genuinely would like to go. You are as in control of the places we go as the things you  say.
  7. Never break a take. Even if you feel sure in your heart that it’s not going well. It might end up somewhere nice. You never know. Only ever break if I tell you to do so.
  8. Feel something. Anything. Joy, sadness, boredom, nervousness. It doesn’t matter. If it’s an emotion, it’s okay.
  9. You are beautiful as you are. Don’t spend any more time on beautifying yourself than you would normally spend in ‘real life’. You’re not going out on the town. Unless, of course, we’re shooting you going out on the town.
  10. I love you. I wouldn’t be working with you if I didn’t. This is a labor of love. I believe in you, I trust you, I enjoy you.

    Your Fan,
    Cody Clarke

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What’s in store for 2012? A new film!

Posted on January 2, 2012 by codyclarke

Hello, fans! (All six of you)

I hope 2012 has been treating you well so far. Me, I’ve been lazing it up, and will continue to do so through my birthday, January 3rd. But after that, I’ll be getting right back to the grindstone! And what will that entail this year? Glad you asked:

This Spring, I begin shooting my second feature-length film. I can’t say too much about it right now, but I will say a few things:

I wrote it, I’m directing it, and I’ll be in a couple scenes.

I’ll have a lot more money to work with this time around. Not an inordinate amount, but compared to Shredder? Avatar budget.

The main characters are two sisters, and it’s a feel-good romantic comedy. But it’s my version of that genre, which is to say, it’s a little subversive. Though it will play to a wide, PG-13 type of audience.

Why have I gone this route? Well, after making Shredder, I didn’t want to make ‘Shredder II’, so to speak. I didn’t want to repeat myself.

I wanted to do something completely different. I always want to do something completely different. In fact, the film I’m writing right now (which I plan to shoot 2013) is even more out of left field!

My goal is to never make two films that are alike. This isn’t to say I don’t respect directors that stick to one tone. Trust me, I worship at the altar of Aki Kaurismaki, Todd Solondz, Woody Allen, et al. But right now I’m having a great deal of fun jumping from genre to genre.

Thanks for your support, and I can’t wait for you to see the new one!

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Check me out in ‘Fake Henrik Zetterberg’

Posted on November 27, 2011 by codyclarke

Fake Henrik Zetterberg

This summer I acted in an episode of my friend/colleague Greg DeLiso’s web series ‘Fake Henrik Zetterberg’. It’s just one tiny line, but it was really fun to do, and the whole cast/crew are great people. Definitely check out the series. It’s cute and quirky and funny and all those good adjectives. The one I’m in is ‘Episode 4: Henrik’s Big Idea.’

Check it out at: FakeHenrikZetterberg.com

12/28/11 Update: In the beginning of Episode 9, you can briefly see me in the background getting chewed out by the boss.

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Nancy Ivers: 21L

Posted on November 16, 2011 by codyclarke

Hello darlings,

I was recently hired to film, direct, and edit a silent documentary about an artist’s first gallery show. If you’re one of the three people out there who liked Shredder, check it out, as it’s kinda up that same alley: static shots, fly-on-the-wall style, Canon T2i.

Nancy Ivers: 21L

Check it out here: Nancy Ivers: 21L

Enjoy!

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Watch Shredder, my first feature length film, streaming online!

Posted on July 31, 2011 by codyclarke

Shredder, a film by Cody Clarke

This past fall/winter, I filmed my first feature-length film, Shredder! We made it for $3,000, $735 of which we raised on Kickstarter. The rest came out of my own pocket.

I produced, wrote, directed, and edited the film. I also star in the lead role, as Travis, a High School senior who is falling out of love with writing silly comedy songs on guitar, and in love with heavy metal music. Over the course of the film, we follow my character’s ensuing ups and downs with friends, love interests, and his instrument.

The tone of the film is very atmospheric, minimalist, fly-on-the-wall. It’s shot in black and white and comprised solely of static shots. No coverage whatsoever. And there are some very long takes. I’ll tell you right now, the movie isn’t for everybody, but if you’re into that sort of thing, you might dig it.

Making this was the most fun I’ve ever had in my life, and the cast and crew grew very close. A lot of love went into this thing. I hope that comes through as you watch.

Check it out here, where it’s streaming for free: http://www.codyclarke.com/shredder

Thanks for reading and thanks (in advance) for watching!

P.S. As a result of making this film, I’ve already found a producer for my next feature-length. We’ve been in pre-production for many months already. It’s an experimental romantic-comedy, and we start shooting this Fall. My goal is to keep making a film every year, a la Woody Allen.

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Duluth (Poem)

Posted on June 8, 2011 by codyclarke

Duluth
by Cody Clarke

Dancing in China,
or at least Chinatown,
is our dream.

It’s what we one day
hope to do
in this world:

jiggle at grown-up strangers
who remind us of us
in Middle School,

what with their polite-society stoicism
and destinations
and introversion,

as our All-American
18-year-old breasts
from Duluth, Minnesota

shake them from their Matrix.

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Are You Using Too Much Pick?

Posted on June 8, 2011 by codyclarke

Using too much of the guitar pick when you’re picking can really get in the way of speed and precision. Here’s a neat test I came up with that will help diagnose whether you’re doing just that. For this test, make sure you’re using a guitar that is properly setup with a consistent distance between the string and fret, all over the fretboard.

1) Play an alternate picking lick you’re fairly good at. Something you can play several times in a row without screwing up.

2) Now try playing it, but instead of picking where you usually do, pick over the last few frets. This should be around the 20th to 24th, depending on how many your guitar has.

3) Is your pick coming in contact with the fretboard and/or frets? If you’re human, it probably will somewhat. Slow it down and try and make it so that your pick never touches them. This may require ‘choking up’ on the pick a bit so that less of the pick comes in contact with the string.

4) After you’ve gotten good at this, go back to picking over the sound hole or pickups. You should be better at the lick, maybe even able to play it faster than you were previously able to! Use this trick with other licks, particularly ones with different alternate picking patterns.

Don’t get me wrong, there may be specific times you’ll want to use more of the pick, but that should always be occasionally, to color notes. Your ‘default’ picking– especially if your goal is to develop into a very precise player– should use very little pick.

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Miniature Golf is Satire

Posted on June 8, 2011 by codyclarke

I don’t know how I never realized this until now. Maybe I’m the last person on earth to do so, maybe I’m the first. Whichever, I still feel dumb, because it’s so obvious: Miniature Golf is satire. The shitty fountains, plastic waterfalls, bridges, clubs– every aspect of a mini golf course is a fuck you to the pompous, haute deisgn of real golf courses. I can think of no other ‘mini’ version of a sport this subversive. Mini golf, I tip my hat to you.

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