Guest Blog by “Ladders” Music Video Director Keith Rutowski

Joe Hedges "Ladders" music video
Directed by Keith Rutowski
Shot by Chris Joecken
"Ladders" appears on the full-length album Alchemy

I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. As a kid I was a voracious reader and enjoyed writing very much. When I was in high school my grandpa gave me an old Nikon 35 mm still camera and with time I came to realize the power of the image to convey what words could not. In college, I studied journalism and photography while simultaneously fostering my growing love for independent and foreign films. After I had graduated, I came to the conclusion that film represented the marriage of all of my passions, and I decided then that I would do everything I could to either make them myself or to write about those who did.

Before “Ladders,” I had co-written/co-directed a short narrative film named Mirriam. I had every intention of working on another narrative short until Chris approached me this past spring and asked if I would consider doing a music video. I’d never worked on one before but I’m always interested in exploring new forms and so I told him I would give it a try. Chris and I met with Joe in mid-April to discuss which songs off Alchemy might have potential to become the second video. Coincidentally, we found that we agreed on the same three songs and eventually came to decide on “Ladders.” The choice was made primarily because we’d all been previously drawn to and had worked on projects that were darker in subject matter and tone. We all embraced the opportunity to challenge ourselves to do something with an entirely different mood.

The most difficult aspect would be to create something that felt uplifting while not coming off overly sentimental. Joe and I agreed from the start that it was critical for the story to embody a certain earnestness.  We also agreed that it didn’t need to be entirely realistic and that we would be best suited to take a whimsical approach in its presentation.  It seemed that we were looking for a character whose predicament wasn’t common but to whom an audience would feel connected for a brief period of time. Listening to the song, all of the images that kept appearing in my head were characterized by a child-like playfulness. I knew that some of the lyrics lent themselves well to potential images but I was intent on taking those images in a different direction than how they were used in the song.  The line I kept returning to was the first in the chorus: “Walking backwards under ladders…”  I came to the conclusion that this attempt at reversing one’s luck was in reality a means of escapism, of avoiding the problem itself. It made sense to me then that the video would depict a man whose intense superstitions preoccupy his every movement but whose work would help him to confront and overcome them.

Although the video only intended to deal with bad luck as a metaphor, misfortune seemed to rear its ironic head throughout production and the project would soon became an example of how life often imitates art.  We’d all been in the midst of some heavy personal issues when we began shooting and these didn’t seem to abate until near the end of the process. It was rare that we had enough time or money to do exactly what we wanted (the story of every artist’s life) and so we made several major revisions along the way. But despite a modest budget and conflicting schedules we managed to shoot at five locations, construct a “mirror room” for the performance sequence ourselves, and by and large create the atmosphere that we had sought from the start.

I’d like to thank Joe for granting me the opportunity to work on this video and being patient throughout the process, and I’d like to thank Chris for not only his technical prowess but also his tireless moral support.

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Keith Rutowski
www.keithrutowski.com