We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cody Brown a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Cody, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I enjoy learning from other people, which has helped me a lot through the years. I was an assistant editor under a bunch of great editors at a post house, I worked on projects with a lot of great directors and followed them on set and I’ve been watching and hanging around great musicians for years. In any situation, being in the room with people that are farther along than you is like skipping the line. Be a sponge.
As far as obstacles, I am always concerned about being a jack of three trades, master of none. Some of the people I admire the most appear to be very singularly focused, but I could never give up one thing or the other. Time will tell how it works out.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a commercial director/editor and drummer based in Minneapolis. I’ve been playing drums since I was kid, started in middle school and did all the things; marching band, jazz band, concert band and played with my friends. I started getting into video as a senior in high school after watching Michel Gondry videos and being pretty blown away. I made some projects with friends and thought it would be great to pursue.
Fast forward to after college I was trying to do anything I could, so I started editing local music videos, which being a drummer I think had a knack for and was able to get in as an assistant editor at a post house. I worked up through there all while playing in a bunch of local bands and then went on to work internal at an agency.
At that point I’d edited some TV, a show called In an Instant 20/20. I also worked on movies in the editorial department such as Wilson and Voice From the Stone. Then I started cutting national campaigns for the likes of Supercuts, The Belize Tourism Board, Bissell, Easton Hockey and cut bunch of spots for other Minnesota based companies.
I started directing more at that point while at the agency and shortly after going freelance I partnered with Plural in Minneapolis for commercial directing representation. That was around 5 years ago. Since then I’ve been directing spots, editing as well for brands like Target and Amazon, and kept playing in bands through it.
A couple years ago Hot Freaks, a band I was in that had been on a bit of a hiatus, had a pretty significant viral moment and things have taken off quite a bit. We’ve been very busy recording and touring which has been a dream come true. That’s pretty much where things are at now.
I’m trying to push my directing career, editing most of the things I direct and am working on our band. It’s a pretty great balance and all these things benefit each other. Video is very rhythm based, and being a musician, specifically a drummer gives me something else to bring to the table. I just want the next thing I make to be the best thing I’ve ever made, and I’d like to collaborate with as many talented people as possible along the way.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect for me is having an idea, the spark that might turn into something great. When that happens I get really excited and just want to get to work, whether its video or music.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I don’t think so. Creativity is mostly critical thinking and problem solving. Anyone in a “non-creative” field is probably thinking about a bunch of different angles to approach their career, asking questions about what the right move is. For me it’s just more based in individual projects.
Contact Info:
- Website: codyleebrown.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/codylbrown/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/codyleebrown04/
- Other: Band links: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0wGzciem2JUvglxX6Hr3E9?si=jofOAiBAQpKFkTEPvX1J_A https://hotfreaks.band/