The Milwaukee Film Festivalopens today. The eighth annual edition of the festival runs through October 6th and features some classic movies, along with remarkable recent films from national, international, and local filmmakers.
That last category is organized under the mantle of the Cream City Cinema series. Tonight, the series spotlights not just Milwaukee filmmakers, but musicians as well for its Milwaukee Music Video Show. Some of the most interesting and cinematic music videos from the region will screen, including the latest music video by Lake Effect alum Trapper Schoepp. "Settlin' or Sleepin' Around" features Trapper, along with character actor Richard Riehle, and was shot on Milwaukee’s east side:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxSMSP-5cRI
"Trapper had a really clear vision that he wanted to have a dichotomy between a young character and an old character," says Caroline Jaecks, the director and editor. In the song's context, the older character represents the frame of mind of feeling displaced in a setting of youthful change. For Jaecks, having the music video take place while students move in or out of houses was the ideal way to present that "chaotic transitional period."
Another crucial aspect to the music video was finding the right actor for the older character. For Schoepp, the only person for the job was actor Richard Riehle. "I'm such a big fan of the movie Office Space and of Richard and all of his different roles,” he says. “This goes without saying, but working with him was just working with someone on a completely next level of skill and expertise.”
Through the combination of local settings, the right extras, the perfect older character and fast pace, a “scripted spontaneity” expresses the “controlled chaos” within the music video experiment.
"We want everyone to feel the pace of the song, so that way later on, you don’t look at a scene and think, 'that really drags,'” says Jaecks. “We want everyone to be moving with the rhythm of the song at all times, whether it’s conscious or not.”
“Settlin’ and Sleepin’ Around” will screen tonight among other Milwaukee music videos at 9:30pm at the Oriental Theater.
*Originally aired September 2016
