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TITLE: Video Essay – Milwaukee
MEDIA: Video Art
SOFTWARE: Premiere Pro
DURATION: 13’20”
CLASS: COM 260 American Cinema
PROFESSOR: Patrick Ellis
INSTITUTION: The University of Tampa
SEMESTER/TERM: Spring 2022
DESCRIPTION: In my video essay I wanted to call attention to city of Milwaukee’s film industry and why it does not receive the attention that it should. Milwaukee is one of the most underrated places for film. Milwaukee is chock full of film sets whether it be the lake front or the Milwaukee Art Museum. Many films and television shows referenced Milwaukee but never filmed any footage in Milwaukee. In 1974, Happy Days was about the Cunningham family living in Milwaukee in the 1950s and their greaser friend, Fonzie living in Milwaukee. In 1976, Laverne & Shirley, another TV sitcom about 2 single women in the 1950s and 1960s who worked at the fictious, Shotz Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1992, the film Wayne’s World has heavy metal artist, Alice Cooper providing a profound definition of the Native American meaning for Milwaukee. Lastly, the film, Tommy Boy references Chris Farley’s character graduating from Marquette University located in Milwaukee, WI. In the 1980s, Milwaukee started to get some film recognition with The Blues Brothers (1980) and Major League (1989). Movies that followed included Mr. 3000 (2004), Public Enemies (2009), and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011). I used Adobe Premiere Pro. I used clips from Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Wayne’s World, and Tommy Boy as examples of Milwaukee references. Then I included clips from The Blues Brothers, Major League, Mr. 3000, Public Enemies, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon films; all filmed within or near downtown Milwaukee between 1980 and 2011. I identify the Milwaukee buildings, landmarks, and sites used and investigated what made the movie great because of the shots filmed in Milwaukee. I really enjoyed creating this video essay because I am from the Milwaukee area. When I pitched my idea for the video essay about Milwaukee, Professor Ellis insisted I include the scene with Alice Cooper from Wayne’s World. I opened my video essay with the Alice Cooper scene. In my research, I learned more about Milwaukee’s film industry. The project was a refreshing change to writing research papers.

TITLE: Now Showing: Revive the Rivoli
MEDIA: Research Essay
PAGES: 15 
CLASS: COM 260 American Cinema
PROFESSOR: Patrick Ellis
INSTITUTION: The University of Tampa
SEMESTER/TERM: Spring 2022
DESCRIPTION: For this assignment, I wanted to look at the legacy of The Rivoli Theater over the decades as it is a historical, small hometown, Wisconsin theater. It was originally built in the 1880s in Cedarburg, Wisconsin as a general store and turned into a cinema in the 1930s. I have many fond memories of attending movies at The Rivoli. When I turned 8, I had my birthday party at The Rivoli and saw my name in the marquee. The most interesting part is how The Rivoli remained operational in small town America since 1936. I had the opportunity to interview an individual (Jerry Voight) who currently operates the Rivoli and attended shows at the Rivoli in the 1940s. Jerry provided me with many historical sources to research. I organized the research paper by decades. It was really cool to learn the history about the building and how it transformed into a movie theater and changed over the years. The most interesting part of the research was learning how movie projectors changed over the years. In 2012, The Rivoli upgraded to a digital projector.