"Body & Blood" Making-Of Interview

Here's a link to an interview I did with Music Video Theory a few months back regarding the making of my video for clipping.'s "Body & Body."

Patrick Kennelly directing Clipping.'s "Body & Blood"

"Body&Blood" - MV for Clipping.

Music video I recently designed, produced, directed and edited for Clipping.

clipping. - Body & Blood [OFFICIAL VIDEO] -- NSFW -- from Sub Pop Records on Vimeo.

Premiering on Stereogum, it has received numerous accolades from the media, including being listed as one of Dazed's Music Videos of the Month, on Flavorwire Year in NSFW Music Videos, and on Mr. Skin's Best Full Frontals of 2014.

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"Patrick Kennelly is an artist to watch...an interesting sensory experiment reminiscent in some ways of the work of Cattet / Forzani." - indie-eye REC

"one of the best videos of recent times" - HRUPmag

"If you're into some weird, out there ish that gets in your face and rattles your f**king cage, then you'll probably agree with us that clipping. "Body & Blood" is a best music video." BITCandy "Best New Video"

"Thanks to the brilliant Patrick Kennelly, clipping. now have a video that matches the brutal honesty found on 'Blood & Body'. The director has taken the track's title and pushed it to the extreme - leaving us with uncomfortable blasts of nudity, drills and disturbing reds. It's pretty intense. " - The 405

"weird and greasy and delightful in a consenting snuff just like grandma taught me way except all the bodies in frame probably didn’t make a 70s payday but, whatever. Art is cheap and smut is free and exceptionally paired with the wild dungeon lust of LA’s new avant hop wunderkinds...." - Pinpoint Music

"This was a weird week in the music-video universe, and that was a good thing. Many of this week’s videos (including those that didn’t make it onto this list, like clipping.’s genuinely harrowing “Body & Blood“) do strange things with the form, warping it and manipulating it but still finding ways to complement their songs." - Stereogum

"literal and abstract...an aesthetic similar to Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers...one sweaty malviaje (ie. bad trip)." - VICE Noisey Mexico

"Patrick Kenelly directs the dark and very intense music video for "Body & Blood" from left-field hip hop artist clipping. The split screen styled visual features a number of physically fit nude performers in various states of distress, strain, or discomfort. Drug use, sexual fetishes, and torture are also implied and contribute to the visual’s crude, raw, and unforgettably bold presentation." - Fringe Music Fix

LA County Arts Commission Video

I was contracted to create a piece for the Los Angeles County Arts Commission Internship Program (of which I myself was a participant over a decade ago). Shot December 2013, completed May 2014.

"ten minutes is two hours" streaming now...

The short-form documentary I directed, ten minutes is two hours (shot in South Sudan), has been chosen as an official entry in the OneCloudFest Film Festival. You can view the complete movie here.

as the festival writes on their site:
"Centered on cultural exploitation in South Sudan, this fascinating documentary uses experimental and arthouse techniques that blaze new trails for the doc format. You really have to see director Patrick Kennelly's unique vision for yourself."

next up we'll be playing at the National Constitution Center as part of the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival at the end of the month!

UPDATES: ten minutes is two hours became a finalist for OneCloudFest's Best Video of 2013, and has gone on to play a dozen festivals and events internationally, most recently at the San Diego Black Film Festival in early February 2014.

"swirling and chaotic, yet contained..."

VCR i destroyed editing the video for Clipping.

Some more great notices for the Clipping. Live video I created can be found here, here and here.

from Ad Hoc: "In the new nearly twenty-five minute long film, director Patrick Kennelly showcases clipping.'s ability to seamlessly intertwine abrasive noisemaking and Diggs' effortlessly flowing rhymes, all through a sheen of visible static and jumpy cuts. Kennelly is also successful in capturing the aesthetic of clipping.'s jarring beats. The film is reminiscent of Midcity's swirling album art: swirling and chaotic, yet contained. And like the album art, the black and white film speaks to the dual nature of the music, a simple and effective combination of noise and rhymes."

from The Organ 'zine: “While the reception to clipping.’s debut album ‘midcity' has been exceptional, most still have not gotten the chance to see the band live. How does such an extreme, yet calculated combination of rap and harsh noise exactly come across live? Well, besides a series of clipping. tours beginning this May, people can now find out via a 20 min live film just dropped by director Patrick Kennelly. It was filmed on a half dozen cameras, and edited to feel much like the dissonance of the clipping. album (including the use of literally smashing a vhs player with a hammer during playback to get distortion effects from the footage). The performance is austere, letting the sounds build in energy over the course of the performance. In the noise world they call it a slow burner. A performance that lures you in, making you think everything is safe. But before you realize it, the chaos has begun.”

Clipping. LIVE

Premiere of the live performance video I produced, directed and edited for noise-rap act Clipping. on Potholes in My Blog, which writes:

"The Patrick Kennelly-directed video looks like it was ripped from a moldy VHS tape scooped up at your neighborhood flea market. In other words, it’s brilliantly edited and matches the vibe of (Clipping.'s) Midcity (album) perfectly."

SUDDEN DEATH

U-N-M-A-R-K-E-D presents the mini action movie “Sudden Death” for Maxi Wild’s new electro-punk single. A simultaneous homage to the physical comedies of the silent era and direct-to-video action movies of the 1980s, director/co-producer/editor Kennelly has crafted what he calls a “domestic violence dramedy” that “flirts with the surreal and contains a cornocopia of disparate stylistic and thematic influences, including Laurel & Hardy, Ingmar Bergman, Vincent Gallo, Albert Pyun, Abbas Kiarostami, and Michael Bay.”

"Sudden Death" teaser

Teaser for my mini action movie “Sudden Death” for Maxi Wild’s new electro-punk single.

 

PATTY:THE REVIVAL receives 5 L.A. Weekly Theater Award nominations

PATTY: THE REVIVAL, which premiered in May 2012 @ Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica, CA, was nominated this past week for five 2013 L.A. Weekly Theater Awards:

"Best Musical"

Creator, Producer, Director - Patrick Kennelly

Producer, Presenter - Highways Performance Space 

"Original Music" 

Music: Jonathan Snipes with Kristin Erickson 

Lyrics: Daveed Diggs, Sigrid Gilmer, Kristin Erickson, Patrick Kennelly and Jonathan Snipes 

"Musical Ensemble" 

Verity Branco / Nikki Bohm / Heather Cadarette / Blythe Evans
Maya Gingery / Elaine Hammel / Emma Hawley / Elizabeth Hayhurst
Chelsey Rae Holland / Devin Holliman / Amber Morse / Jasmine Orpilla
Pamela Stark / Stephanie Tucker / Justine Woodford 

"Choreography" 

Marina Magalhaes 

"Costume Design" 

Pilar Macchione

ten minutes is two hours TRAILER

ten minutes is two hours (subtitled “Voyages Dans جنوب السودان”), a documentary video shot in South Sudan, is both a work of and a commentary upon cultural exploitation. It is a cinematic” recreation of a journey through a land plagued by the ghosts of colonialism and the present anxiety of conflicting religious and political agendas - both of which can often seem one and the same.  Evoking a surreal sense of place, both very present and very distant, the video depicts the hazy lines between notions of “foreign aid” “missionary practice” and “colonialism,” and shows the ways history has of recycling itself. The essayistic, experimental nature of the work is inspired by the politically charged silent-era montage of Dovzhenko, Vertov, and Eisenstein and the later impressionistic film and video works of Marker and Godard.

"Sudden Death" music video SHOOT

RAW frame grabs from the music video I wrote & directed for Maxi Wild a few weeks back. Trailer premiering soon. These images show off the inestimable work of dp Ben Conley.

south sudan

recently returned from South Sudan.  working on a few projects related to this, including a personal essay-video called "10 Minutes is 2 House," related to the experience of shooting in this newly developing country for 3 weeks.

Here's a frame grab from a vid:

photo by Patrick Kennelly / Franklin Graham revival in Juba, South Sudan, October 26, 2012

And here's some copy from the initial press release that went out in the beginning of October:

Dennis Garcia of Trek for Peace has partnered with Sudan Sunrise and Highways Performance Space to bring attention to the crisis in South Sudan. He will be accompanied by a film crew led by award-winning multi-disciplinary artist Patrick Kennelly and Sudanese-American peace activist Rudwan Dawod to document the reconciliation project in Torit, the Manute Bol school project in Turalei,  and the Yida and Abyei refugee camps located in South Sudan.

Garcia first learned about Rudwan's reconciliation project through Ambassador Sharon Wilkinson and media coverage. Garcia met with Rudwan in Washington DC after his incarceration. Rudwan told Garcia about his unjust 45-day detention, arrest, and torture by Sudanese authorities in Khartoum. Rudwan, a Darfurian Muslim, believes the Sudanese government targeted him because of his humanitarian and reconciliation efforts with Sudan Sunrise to heal tensions between Christians and Muslims, and citizens of Sudan and South Sudan.  Rudwan also told Garcia about his first encounter with Manute Bol while volunteering at the Manute Bol School in Turalei, South Sudan. Rudwan was instantly inspired by Manute's commitment for reconciliation and subsequently dedicated his life to promoting reconciliation between Muslims and Christians, and Sudan and South Sudan. Rudwan detailed the special relationship he had with Manute, until his untimely passing in 2010.

"I was intrigued with the legacy entrusted to Sudan Sunrise by the late Manute Bol to continue his vision of building schools for children of all tribal, religious, and ethnic backgrounds in South Sudan and to foster peace and reconciliation in his country," said Garcia, adding, "You have to expect yourself to do what needs to be done."  Rudwan will now join Garcia with Trek for Peace to raise awareness and additional investment for both projects.

Garcia joins a growing list of Sudan Sunrise supporters including Board Chairman, John Zogby and advisory board member Ambassador Sharon Wilkinson. Sudan Sunrise supports projects that facilitate reconciliation efforts aimed at providing education, health care, and community development in South Sudan and Sudan.

Highways Performance Space, a non-profit arts organization in its 24^th year of presenting, partners with Garcia on the filming. Highways Performance Space's mission is to promote interaction among people of diverse cultural backgrounds and to engage artists and the communities they serve in cross-cultural dialogues about social, cultural and artistic issues.

Patrick Kennelly shooting @ Franklin Graham revival in Juba, South Sudan

"PATTY: The Revival" performance frame grabs

some frame grabs from the run of PATTY performances:

PATTY Commercials / PSAs SERIES 2

The second series of spots created for the world of PATTY.  These were included as part of the live performance of PATTY: The Revival and are also part of the interactive website @ www.pattytherevival.com.

Couldn't have done this series without director of photography Trevor Baker, Sigrid Gilmer, who scripted the "Gingham/Salamander" piece, composer and sound editor  Jonathan Snipes, composer Wes Medina (who did the 2nd half of the "Gingham/Salamander" piece), and the production support of Mean Panda (aka Ed Cha).

www.pattytherevival.com - VERSION 2.0 !!!

www.pattytherevival.com

Version 2.0 of Interactive website for all things PATTY, executed by Adam Bech Harms

Here are some screen grabs:

PATTY trading cards (2)

Sneak peek #2 of the official PATTY trading cards!

photography: Trevor Baker / art direction: Patrick Kennelly / fashion design: Pilar Macchione / hair&makeup: Jill Fogel

#TeamPatty

To all of the anti-patty terrorists - thank you for the publicity.  (Twittur'd)

Follow PATTY on Twitter @pattytherevival

PATTY SUPER EGO (modeled by Elizabeth Hayhurst)
photography: Trevor Baker / wardrobe: Pilar Macchione / hair&makeup: Jill Fogel / art direction: Patrick Kennelly

PATTY ID (modeled by Elaine Oakley Hammel)
photography: Trevor Baker / wardrobe: Pilar Macchione / hair&makeup: Jill Fogel / art direction: Patrick Kennelly

PATTY EGO (modeled by Blythe Evans)
photography: Trevor Baker / wardrobe: Pilar Macchione / hair&makeup: Jill Fogel / art direction: Patrick Kennelly

PATTY schwag

PATTY - "The System" poster (by Marie Fromont)

PATTY t-shirts (logo designed by Kake Geck)

PATTY: The Revival album on custom-USB drive (designed by Patrick Kennelly)

PATTY glowsticks (designed by Patrick Kennelly)

"PATTY: The Revival" - Promo Reel

"5 minute promo reel for "PATTY: The Revival." This was compiled from a 1 hour, 45 minute edit of the full show (available upon special request) done with the editing assist of Cristina Bercovitz and a sound mix by Jonathan Snipes.

"PATTY: The Revival"

Created & Directed by Patrick Kennelly
Music by Jonathan Snipes with others
Book by Sigrid Gilmer & Patrick Kennelly
Produced by Highways Performance Space, Artistic Director, Leo Garcia & Patrick Kennelly

Video edited from performances May 18-20 & May 23-26, 2012 @ Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica, CA. Live audio mix from May 26, 2012 performance.

Video documentation supervised by Trevor Baker, shot by Baker, Katherine Street, Ané Vecchione, Simon Hammel and others. The songs "The System," "Colors," "kiT," "Destroyer," and "Glory" were edited by Cristina Bercovitz. All other editing by Patrick Kennelly. Sound mixing by Jonathan Snipes.

PATTY trading cards

Sneak peek of the official PATTY trading cards!

photography: Trevor Baker / art direction: Patrick Kennelly
fashion design: Pilar Macchione / hair&makeup: Jill Fogel

Video Violence. optional commemoration and the future

my video for Clipping's "Mobb 2 it" is playing in Dresden, Germany as part of this exhibition:

  

Clipping: make party music for the club you wish you hadn't gone to, the car you don't remember getting in, and the streets you don't feel safe on; are phantom broadcasts bleeding into Power 106 as you drive out of range; are twenty different rappers looking into one broken mirror, talking to themselves all at once; are classic west coast rap music out of the tradition where sounding different wasn't cause for fear.

Formed in 2009, initially as a remix project, Clipping acquired a vocalist in 2011 and began pursuing music-making at the intersection of gangster rap, music concrète and harsh noise. One of the producers also composes film music under his name, Jonathan Snipes, and pop songs under the name Captain Ahab. The other one makes noise as Rale. The rapper fronts a hip hop group called The Getback under his real name, Daveed Diggs.

PATTY / PMS / Nikki

in-the-works

In pre-production on my new film - a speculative Mobius strip sex thriller.  Here's the teaser poster:

SEX IS VIOLENCE opens up a Pandora’s Box of lies and sexual negotiation, contemplating voyeurism, misogyny, and the crumbling marriage between physical decay and virtual immortality

PATTY Commercials / PSAs SERIES 1

The first series of spots created for the world of PATTY.  These were included as part of the live performance of PATTY: The Revival and will soon be grouped together @ www.pattytherevival.com.

Couldn't have done this without the support of Cristina Bercovitz, who created "The Jessicas" and also edited "Tanya DeFreeze"; Rodney Ascher, who created the PSA for Triomphe; Sigrid Gilmer, who fleshed out and scripted all these wonderful concepts; Trevor Baker, who shot all the spots; and composer, music supervisor, and sound editor Jonathan Snipes.

PATTY - 5.25.2012 performance pics

Still photos (shot by Trevor Baker, unless otherwise indicated) from the Friday, May 25 performance of PATTY: The Revival @ Highways Performance Space.