UWM film students capture music in Milwaukee

Students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts documentary film center, doc|UWM, recently partnered with the Pabst Theater, Riverside Theater and Turner Hall to launch Cream City Soundcheck, a new video series that brings together parts of Milwaukee’s music scene with unique historical and cultural landscapes. The students have been working on a series of documentary films about up-and-coming Milwaukee musicians and musical groups playing at Historic Turner Hall since January. 
National bands Generationals and YACHT have confirmed their participation in Cream City Soundcheck. 
"We know that our students are endlessly creative and this project gives them the chance to flex their creative muscles, gain skills in documentary filming and have an invaluable professional experience," said Wade Hobgood, dean of the Peck School of the Arts. "We’re thrilled that Pabst/Riverside/Turner is invested in this project, and believe this is yet another great example of how creative collaborations between higher education and industry can help raise Milwaukee’s profile."
Students have been documenting musicians playing in concert and also experiencing our city’s interesting landmarks, people and events since January. Generationals and YACHT are the first two national bands the students will get to work with. Students will conclude filming soon, and post-production will finish in the summer of 2011 with a target project unveiling in fall of 2011.
"This project gives our students an intense and exhaustive hands-on crash course in various modes of documentary. We teach them to be fast thinking, creative problem solvers, which helps when you only have a subject in town for a day or less," said Ryan Sarnowski, project director of doc|UWM. "Thankfully, we have some very gracious and talented local acts who have let our students practice their documentary skills by making small documentaries that highlight up-and-coming bands with strong Milwaukee roots so that they are now ready to work with national bands."
The five- to seven-minute videos will be pushed out via social media and online marketing.  They will also be accessible on a dedicated website created by Peck School design students that will include links to the interesting places the musicians visit and Milwaukee music venue websites. 
"We’ve enjoyed working with Peck School doc|UWM students on this great project,” said Andrew Nelson, public relations manager of the theaters and Turner Hall. “From our lakefront to our many museums, unique neighborhoods, restaurants and bars, we have a lot to be proud of in Milwaukee. Cream City Soundcheck is a distinctive and fun way to capture this vibrancy and spread it around the world."