By Joan Mead-Matsui, Abington Journal Correspondent
Three friends, who work separately and together on projects including film, music and videos, recently came together to create one of the region’s first high-end, music videos.
Joe Peters, Lake Winola, who collaborated with Joe Van Wie and Rich Jenkins, described the project as, “first of its caliber.”
“If I Had You” is the tune performed by local jazz musician Jenkins in the video directed by Van Wie and produced by Peters.
Jenkins said, “I didn’t have to go to New York to do this…It’s all right here.”
The public is invited to celebrate the release of the video at a party at The Scranton Club on Feb. 15, 5:30 to 9 p.m. Hors d’oeuvres will be served and a cash bar will be available.
The friends collaborated to create this full-scale NYC/ Hollywood- type production at POSH at The Scranton Club. Peters hailed the music video for its “romantically engaging music by Rich Jenkins,” incorporating lights, sound mixing, make-up, pre-production set and costume design, post-production editing, multiple camera angles and a cast of actors, models and extras.
He said, “I was proud to be the Executive Producer of this music video. My view of this work is that it intended to touch the romantic heart in us all.”
Van Wie added, “The synergy started because Joe (Peters) and I have worked on projects in the past and we’re both mutual friends of Rich (Jenkins)…We started the ball rolling on the production and that’s when Joe (Peters) became involved and said, ‘Make it an event.’ Joe gave it an injection of steroids.”
POSH owners, Joshua Mast and Paul Blackledge set the stage as a “chic, upscale NYC-style venue of both modern-day and of years gone by,” said noted Peters.
“Josh and Paul were great hosts. There were 20-30 people in the cast and crew. This was a full-blown music video production. The visual was colorful, trendy and the warmth of a nightclub feel,” said Peters.
Peters, Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple executive director, WNEP-TV television commentator and radio talk show host of “Tough Talk with Joe Peters,” studied theater in college and has been involved in television in New York and Los Angeles, where his son Max was an actor. He has also invested in a TV pilot and co-produced an independent feature film, which he, Van Wie and others worked on together.
Jenkins can be found entertaining crowds at The Scranton Club with older and traditional jazz tunes.
Scranton native, Van Wie, is CEO and executive producer of JVW, Inc., a Scranton-based advertising agency and film production company. He is well known for his roles as line producer on “The Paragon Cortex,” executive producer on the movie “Forged” and associate producer of “La Soga.” He thanks David Corigliano, cinematographer and his production team for their part in the film. He said, “The production was planned within a week and we had the shots in two days.” With production complete and the music video scheduled to premiere, Peters said, “It was the realization that we, in Northeastern Pennsylvania, could now create another high -end art form – a music video…which touches generations. We’re putting this region on track beyond filmmaking, television commercials and now into the music video genre. All of us are working toward a film music industry in Northeast Pennsylvania.”
