Rutgers-Camden Art Student Creates Music Video for Favorite Rock Band
Most music lovers look forward to watching their favorite band’s latest video. But how many people can say they created it themselves? For Rutgers University—Camden senior Matt Scheuerer, this dream is becoming a reality.
Over the summer, Scheuerer had the chance to meet Little Dragon, an electronic pop band from Gothenburg, Sweden, before their performance at The Fire nightclub in Philadelphia. After hearing about his senior thesis project, a music video featuring marionettes, the band asked Scheuerer to create a video for a track off their most recent album, Machine Dreams.
“The video for the song ‘My Step’ will use handmade marionettes and accompanying sets to tell the story of a robot travel agent trying to sell adventure get-a-way vacations to humans,” said the Roebling resident.
Little Dragon’s use of puppetry is not a new concept, as a previous video using shadow puppets is what sparked Scheuerer’s initial interest in the band. The Rutgers–Camden studio art major never expected, however, that his personal music video, “Crickets,” which he created under the advisement of Margery Amdur, associate professor of art at Rutgers-Camden, would lead him to work with one of his favorite bands.
Scheuerer, who has a concentration in painting, says that Amdur gave him the artistic freedom necessary to pursue what was then just an “ambitious vision.” Though his work with Little Dragon is not associated with Rutgers–Camden, Scheuerer says his colleagues are still involved in his latest creative endeavor.
“These videos wouldn’t be nearly as successful if it weren’t for the community of artists that I have here supporting me,” he says.
Scheuerer is also enrolled in the teacher preparation program at Rutgers–Camden and plans to teach art in some capacity upon graduation. He cites Muppets creator Jim Henson as one of his heroes and hopes to eventually work in children’s television.
“Right now I’m just going to be happy I get to work with a group of artists who appreciate my work as much as I do theirs,” he says. “Regardless of a professional future, I’m going to keep telling stories with sight and sound because that’s what I love to do.”
Scheuerer is posting the weekly progress of “My Step” on his blog, http://mattpowerhouse.blogspot.com/ which will feature conceptual art, puppets and sets being built, and videos of marionettes being tested. Amanda McDonnell, a Rutgers–Camden film studies major, will handle the post-production aspect of the video, which will be completed no later than Dec. 31.
- Rita
Related Posts
No related posts.
