Seemingly impossible drone footage in Minneapolis bowling alley stuns top filmmakers

It’s not often that you see a bowling promotional video in general, let alone a video that catches the attention of millions of people. But that’s exactly what a video did for Bryant-Lake Bowl, a bowling alley in Minneapolis. Not only has the spot gone viral on social media, it has also caught the attention of top Hollywood directors who praise the delicate direction and camera work it involves.

The nearly 90-second footage begins with a drone camera hovering over the street outside the bowling alley before diving through the front doors and zooming inside the building. It starts with “OK, that’s cool,” but halfway through it’s clear that it’s not your average drone camera job.

With impressive speed we are taken through small openings above the bowling lanes, behind the bowling machines, through narrow corridors that no one can ever see, under people’s legs, through the conversations of the people. people, around the bar and the theater, and finally to the right dab in the middle of flying pins. It’s impressive.

So impressive, in fact, that it caught the eye of Lee Unkrich (director of the hit Pixar Coco), who retweeted the video of James Gunn (director of guardians of the galaxy), with both men sharing their sorry reactions.

The surprising film success comes from Rally Studios in Minneapolis and was created by cinematographer Jay Christensen and directed by Anthony Jaska. According to the Star Tribune, Christensen and Jaska directed the short to help draw attention to struggling local businesses.

“If you think of all the small businesses and COVID, their business has been affected, obviously,” Christensen said. “I would go in there and notice it was pretty empty.” The couple contacted the owner of the bowling alley with the idea of ​​showcasing the uniqueness of the place.

The quick tour inside, outside, up and around the different parts of the bowling alley is incredibly cool, but the fact that everything was shot in one take is what gives it that “amazing feel.” “.

“It’s a real one-take,” Jaska told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “There’s no CGI. It was quite interesting. But also the positive nature of it – people see the skills needed and the unique ability it takes to combine the skills of an incredible pilot, the technology of a drone and the story it can actually be told in one take. “

The perfect shot came after 10 or 12 tries over a 2 hour period. They shot the film after hours (for COVID safety) on March 2 and added audio after the fact, as the drone’s hum interfered with the natural sounds of the bowling alley.

According to the Tribune, Christensen had worked extensively with FPV (first person view) drone cameras since last spring, but had never shot footage of drones indoors before, which makes the feat d ‘all the more incredible. But as remarkable as the camera work inside the bowling alley was, he said the hardest shot was actually the very first one – getting through the front door. It was a windy day, he had to make sure there were no pedestrians and he had to maneuver around a parking meter which was exactly where he wanted the drone to be.

The hard work has paid off, however. Todd Vaziri, a visual effects artist who has worked on blockbuster movie franchises such as Star Wars, Star Trek, and Marvel, tweeted: “This kind of wonderful photographic innovation adds to the language and vocabulary of cinema. Simply beautiful.”

Director James Gunn not only hailed the footage as “incredible” and “stupendous,” but he also said he wanted the duo to join his team in London while filming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Christensen and Jaska said several directors contacted them, which came as a surprise. When the Tribune asked about working with James Gunn, Jaska said it “sounds crazy, but who knows?”

Talent is talent, and sometimes it is found in the strangest places. Looking forward to seeing where these guys’ drone work takes them as they explore future projects with the best in the business.