Under the Utah Moon _Clark Schaffer and Movie Magic

Once again, Hibbs and I walk under a Utah full moon to find magic ...

Movie Magic ...

And its Wizard, Clark Schaffer :



Roland :

Hi and thanks for taking the time to do this interview.


Clark :

My pleasure. I thought you were bringing Hibbs, the cub with no clue, with you.

Roland :

Ah, he's out looking for the fork.


Clark :

The fork?


Roland :

You see, Hibbs figures that in a place called Spanish Fork,

there has to be an impressive fork somewhere around here. And where there's an impressive fork, there has to be impressive food to match so ...


Clark :

I understand. He's off for some impressive food. That does sound like Hibbs all right.


Roland :

Would you mind telling us a bit about yourself?


Clark :

I’m an art director and visual effects artist providing designs, models/ miniatures, creatures and matte paintings for the film industry. I operate my own fx house, Schaffer Studios, and have recently began producing my own independent features.


Roland :

Where you always a fan of the Sci-Fi / Fantasy genre or was that just something you got into through your professional work?


Clark :

I’ve always enjoyed science fiction and I have to say that designers like Ron Cobb, Joe Johnston, Syd Mead and Ralph McQuarrie embedded in me an even greater appreciation for the genre.


Roland :

What was your favourite film?


Clark (rubbing the back of his neck) :

Tough question. As far as films that inspired me to want to make movies and create visual effects I’d have to include Star Wars, anything that Ray Harryhausen did,


Roland :

As a child, I loved THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD. I found it on a late night TV marathon. What other films did you like?


Clark :

So many -- Alien, the Dark Crystal, Indiana Jones, Planet of the Apes, Back to the Future, Ghost Busters… I followed the work of ILM and Rick Baker religiously.


Roland :

How long have you worked as a professional film maker?


Clark :

For twenty years.


Roland :

Wow! You must have really honed your talent over that time.What was the first project that you worked on?


Clark :

I worked first on a mostly forgotten about film called Free Jack after which I worked at BOSS Film on Batman Returns. I worked on various parts of the huge Gotham City model, focusing most of my energy on building the ornate Gotham Cathedral.


Roland :

How did you get started as a professional model builder?


Clark :

Since I can remember I had always wanted to be a visual effects artist so I had always drawn or sculpted or built models with this in mind. As I got older, mostly right out of high school I began documenting all of my work and keeping a photo portfolio.

Once I felt that I had a large enough body of work to represent my skills as a sculptor, painter, and model maker, I went from my home in the San Francisco bay Area and spent a few days interviewing with various FX companies.

I met with BOSS Film, Fantasy II and Dream Quest, and they all said that if I were living in Hollywood I would be working. I moved to Hollywood two months later.


Roland :

But your studio is now in Utah?


Clark :

Yes- long story. When my wife and I started raising a family we both felt strongly about providing a different atmosphere as the backdrop of our kids childhood than LA offered. We moved about ten years ago, went first to Oregon, then to the Bay Area


and then a production brought us to Utah where I was surprised to find a rather big and established film industry. I have since established myself as the place to go for anything visually out of the ordinary,


I still work for the studios on select jobs and our boys are growing up with white Christmases at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.


Roland :

Now what about you producing your own films?


Clark :

Since I was a kid I’ve wanted to tell my own stories on film and now with my own studio and over 40 films under my belt I’m finally doing it.


Roland :

And tell us about the original way that your making it happen.


Clark :

The biggest drawback with making a film is that it cost a lot of money and it takes a special kind and rare person to invest in a film.

There is a site online called Kickstarter that allows artists and filmmakers to present their projects to the world and it lets individuals contribute to projects to make them happen.


I need $100,000 for my first film and I feel very confident that there are enough people out there who will find my story compelling enough to help me reach my goal by July. It’s a “strength in numbers” approach to accomplishing something great.


Roland :

What can the people who contribute expect?


Clark :

Everyone who contributes gets a variety of potentially valuable gifts; I’m even offering an actual x-wing model from the original Star Wars film. Then they can follow the progress of the film over the course of its production, get their name on the credits and receive a copy of the film upon completion.


Roland :

That sounds terrific.


Clark :

Yes. We are excited. We are encouraging everyone to check out the site and contribute whatever they can.


Roland :

In closing, what project would you have loved to have worked on if you could have (from any time) and why would you have loved to work on it?


Clark :

The original Star Wars. It changed the way films were made. It took model making to its greatest place. It would have been fun to be part of that energy and creativity, to be part of the creative, hippie artist group that was assembled and to have had a hand in creating such a historical piece of film.



Also anything that Jim Henson made. He died just before I got into the industry so, sadly, I never got to work with him.


Roland :

Thank you so much for the time you took out of your busy schedule for this interview.


Clark :

As I said at the start, Roland, it was my pleasure. Now, let's go find Hibbs before he gets into too much trouble.

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http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/109319462/cleverer