Videos
Meat
The short film Meat, directed by Michael Forstein and shot in Duluth, premiered online this week on the Short of the Week website.
Meat tells the story of an idealistic college student forced to take a job as a door-to-door meat salesman. Highlighting the culture clash between small-town, working-class America and its urban counterpart, Short of the Week describes Meat as “warm to the realities of poor, white, male culture, but clear-eyed to the self destructiveness and fundamental insecurity that underpins its habits. It is a remarkable work that heralds powerful new voices in Forstein and Thomsen.”
The script was written by Duluth native Colin Keith Thomsen and the cast includes Caleb Carlson (Hermantown native), John Cromwell (son of actor James Cromwell), Sari Lennick (A Serious Man; Woody Allen’s Cafe Society), and Pearce Bunting (HBO’s Boardwalk Empire). Before premiering online, Meat screened at over 30 festivals across the United States, Europe and Australia, including the Denver Film Festival, Dallas International Film Festival, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival, Rooftop Films, Indie Memphis and the Duluth Superior Film Festival.
Video Archive: The Psychic 8-Ball Hotline
In early 1996, under the assignment of the late-great UW-Superior Professor John D. Munsell, I was tasked with creating a 60-second television commercial for a Direction of Talent in Media class. Since psychic hotline ads were common on cable TV, and I grew up in a house with a rec room and a Magic 8-ball, I opted to produce this spoof. (more…)
Homegrown Music Video Fest 2016
The videos from the 2016 Homegrown Music Video Festival have been popping up online, and PDD is archiving them on a page. We’ll continue to add to the collection as we find them or as they are sent to us.
Here’s a sample by Tomas Soderberg – “Machinery” by the Social Disaster
The Story of Hairmantown: ESPN Clip
ESPN’s E:60 premiered its Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament feature tonight, they released this clip on their website specifically about the Hermantown Hawks’ pursuit of the class A championship … and excellence in flowing locks.
The Art in Mayor Larson’s Office
PDD doesn’t typically post promotional videos, but this one from the University of Minnesota Duluth’s School of Fine Art offers an interesting glimpse into some of the artwork in Duluth Mayor Emily Larson’s office, particularly focusing on Stephanie Boyum’s piece that melds an archival photograph of Fifth Avenue West over a modern-day scene.
Superior Siren – “Rosemar”
[Video removed from YouTube.]
The Superior Siren trio performs the song Rosemar aboard the William A. Irvin in this video shot for the 2016 NPR Tiny Desk Contest.
Boku Frequency – “Satisfied”
WDSE-TV’s The PlayList captures Boku Frequency performing “Satisfied” at Tycoons Alehouse during the 2015 Homegrown Music Festival.
The Farsights – “Saturdays”
WDSE-TV’s The PlayList captures the Farsights performing “Saturdays” at Tycoons Alehouse during the 2015 Homegrown Music Festival.
MinneFLOWta Trailer – ESPN E60 Feature
ESPN’s E:60 will premiere its Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament feature during its May 10 episode.
Producer Mike Farrell and hockey analyst Barry Melrose were in St. Paul for the tournament in March capturing footage for the feature, and the E:60 crew spent time in Hermantown leading up to the tournament, focusing on the Hawks’ pursuit of the class A championship.
St. Louis River Story: Stephan Witherspoon
People in the St. Louis River watershed shared their connection to the river with WDSE-TV during the opening reception for The St. Louis River: Diverse Connections at the Duluth Art Institute. In this installment, Stephan Witherspoon talks about his family catching “a big garbage bag full of catfish” on the St. Louis River.
One Night in the Tipi at Fond du Lac Indian Reservation
Frank Sander spends his first night in a tipi.
The Boomchucks Home Movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQP2uImMX90
Batteries – “Evening Birds”
WDSE-TV’s The PlayList captures Batteries performing “Evening Birds” at Tycoons Alehouse during the 2015 Homegrown Music Festival.
Video: Jay Cooke Park Swinging Gate Bridge in 1939
Quoth the Minnesota State Parks and Trails Facebook page: “The spring ritual of visiting the Swinging Bridge at Jay Cooke State Park during high water has been around since the bridge was built in 1924. This rare 1939 video shows a family bravely crossing the river before the bridge is damaged by high water. Since it was built, the bridge has been raised seven and a half feet to try to stay above the floods. Unfortunately, mother nature doesn’t always cooperate. Today’s visitors are crossing Swinging Bridge number five!”
For the history of the swinging bridge, visit dnr.state.mn.us.
Denfeld Lip Dub 2016: “Crazy in Love”
The original Denfeld Lip Dub for 2016 got the ol’ copyright smackdown from YouTube for usage of the Jay Z song “Run This Town.” For those of you who missed the Gold version, here’s the Maroon one.
PDD Pronunciation Guide: Karpeles
In episode three of Perfect Duluth Day’s Pronunciation Guide series Bridgette Baker, Karpeles Manuscript Library‘s assistant to the director, demonstrates the proper pronunciation of “Karpeles.”
St. Louis River Story: Sharon Rogers
People in the St. Louis River watershed shared their connection to the river with WDSE-TV during the opening reception for The St. Louis River: Diverse Connections at the Duluth Art Institute. In this installment, Sharon Rogers talks about the quiet of the river, the birds, the wildlife and the flowers.
PDD Pronunciation Guide: Teatro Zuccone
In episode two of Perfect Duluth Day’s Pronunciation Guide series Andy Bennett, Zeitgeist Arts creative director, demonstrates the proper pronunciation of “Teatro Zuccone.”
The Boomchucks – “Antidote”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NihR6v414js
Yes, another video for this song was released a year ago, but hey, the Boomchucks like to make videos. In fact, The Boomchucks Home Movie premieres Friday night at the Red Herring.
The new “Antidote” video was shot at the Red Herring, outside the Zeitgeist Arts Building and at Carmody Irish Pub. It contains almost as many birds as a certain pair of videos from the PDD Archive.
Portage – “Hold On”
Portage released this gorgeous video shot in Iceland from their upcoming album Creatures, due out May 28.
Upcoming gig:
May 5 at the Reef Bar
Woodblind & Big Wave Dave and the Ripples – “Kom-on-Inn”
Woodblind joins forces with Big Wave Dave and the Ripples on the new song “Kom-on-Inn.” With the help of Myke Dixon and crew, the hospitality of the Kom-on-Inn staff and the participation from friends and fans this video was created. It was shot on Jan. 17, and after a few months of editing it was released on April 5 with performances by both bands and video premiere at the Kom-on-Inn. (more…)
Kip’s Memory Card Dump #6
Duluth photo-raconteur Kip Praslowicz has published another memory-card dump video, this one covering December 2015 to March 2016, including the Duluth Art Institute’s Annual Membership Show, the Bernie Sanders rally and on and on.