Kevin Ruth puts comic spin on lost youth for Friday’s Morristown film fest
Posted by Nayna Shah on August 19, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Nineteen-year-old Kevin Ruth is probably the best publicity agent Jesse James will ever have.
That’s Jesse James the recording artist, not the outlaw. Kevin’s entry in Friday’s Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Festival is a music video for Jesse’s song Way Too Young.
“I am extremely close with Jesse; he is one of my best friends. His musical talents were something that I really wanted to showcase,” Kevin said of his 19-year-old friend, whose real-life name is Jesse Otero.
Kevin sought an upbeat song that all audiences could relate to. Jesse is working on a CD, so there were many choices.
“Jesse was just crankin’ out songs left and right and I listened to them all, waiting for the perfect one to pick. The day he finished Way Too Young, he told me he wrote one he thought I might like. After hearing it, I knew it was the one.”
Jesse stars in the video, which takes viewers back in time through a boy’s childhood. With a green screen and multiple computer programs, Kevin put a comic book twist on his friend’s music. He wanted it to seem like the “most prized edition of the Jesse James Comic Book,” and for audience members to reminisce about their own comic book days.
Scene from Kevin Ruth's 'Way Too Young,' which premieres Friday at the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Festival.
The song and video spread a message about cherishing our childhood. As he prepares to attend the University of Maryland this fall, Kevin is wistful.
“I feel like we all grow up too fast and need to enjoy our youth. When I look back, it seems like everything I used to love–books, movies, songs are so old. Some of our fondest memories are made when we are young,” said Kevin, a Morris Plains resident and Parsippany High School graduate.
This solo effort is a departure for him; usually, he makes comedies and music videos with a bunch of friends who call themselves the Marston Farms Militia.
Last year they entered the Film Festival with Benediction, a story of totalitarian government similar to George Orwell’s 1984.
At that gathering, Kevin heard the song Que Sera Sera by the Morristown band Universal Rebel. He liked it so much, he chose to use part of the song in this year’s video.
Kevin aspires to take a few film courses in addition to his engineering studies this fall. Until then, he is chilling with Jesse and his Marston Farms friends, creating music.
Feel like reminiscing? Let the music of Jesse James and the film work of Kevin Ruth take you back to the good ol’ days on Friday night.
Nayna Shah will be a sophomore at Morristown High School this fall. The Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Fest kicks off around 6:30 pm on Friday, on the lawn of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown. Admission is free. The popular kids band Boys Nyte will perform, with home-grown movies to follow at dusk. The audience will vote for Best Picture. If it rains, the show will move into the church hall.
