Two months ago, a blog named Content Milwaukee quietly entered the ever-growing local publication scene. At first, its scope and ambition seemed as humble as its name: a collection of mostly black-and-white pictures capturing small moments and details of Milwaukee life. But as the site continued, a more interesting mission began to take shape. A fly-on-the wall video documentary of East Side eatery Love Handle was released last week, and just yesterday, a video of a South Side resident named Gillette was unveiled. Though the videos cover vastly different ground, they both simply let their subjects exist, with as little editorial intrusion or production adornment as possible. It’s a quiet, reflective look at the city and the people who call it home.
Content Milwaukee is the brainchild of Anthony Lopez, who knows a thing or two about capturing slices of Milwaukee life. As part of video production company High Frequency Media, Lopez has documented dozens of events for Alverno Presents, countless live shows, and the occasional impressionistic band road trip. His work for Content Milwaukee may be less focused on music, but his fascination with the city remains. “The inspiration is the world around us,” Lopez says. “It’s a weird place, and since we live in Milwaukee, we’re focusing on Milwaukee. The subjects chose us, really. We’re finding a lot of our subjects by happenstance. It’s a city-wide project where every citizen is a participant.”
According to Lopez, Content Milwaukee intends to be a “living document” of Milwaukee, focusing less on well-trodden A&E and cultural topics, and more on the oft-unheralded residents who make the city unique. Future videos will spotlight a local drug dealer, a former UFC fighter, a paranormal investigator, and the ubiquitous flower-peddling Rabbi. New content is added to Content Milwaukee daily, with new videos scheduled for release every few weeks.