Videos
The Slamming Doors – “Clover”
Duluth-based roots-rock band the Slamming Doors perform the song “Clover” for The White Wall Sessions in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The band has Duluth gigs coming up Feb. 13 at Teatro Zuccone during TED at Teatro, Feb. 23 at Blush, and March 15 at Ursa Minor.
Shinobi – “Risk Zone”
Duluth rapper Shinobi shouts out to his city in this video shot and edited by Daniel Weiser.
Duluth Reference on The Passage
The latest Duluth mention on a national television show is in season 1, episode 3 of the new Fox series The Passage, which aired on Monday night. (more…)
Video: Duluth Sea Smoke
Video by Twin Cities-based Sky Candy Studios.
Reference to Duluth on American Crime Story
Season two of American Crime Story, which dramatizes the five murders committed by Andrew Cunanan and is subtitled The Assassination of Gianni Versace, features a quick Duluth mention. The character David Madson is portrayed as an award-winning student at the University of Minnesota Duluth, which is sort of true. (more…)
Selective Focus: Mike Scholtz
Mike Scholtz makes movies about odd little things that no one seems to know about, but after watching them, you think, “Why didn’t I know about that?” Also, these are not little things, they are big parts of some people’s lives. The world premiere of his latest film “Riplist” at the Fargo Film Fest was just announced today. Mike talks about what drives him to dig into these stories and presents some trailers from his work.
I’m a documentary filmmaker who enjoys making funny films about serious subjects. Or serious films about funny subjects. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure which. But I do like to sneak up on an audience with a few laughs before I hit them with the soul-crushing realization that we’re all going to die in a cold, uncaring universe.
That’s how I approached my latest film, Riplist. It’s about a group of friends from Fargo who compete in a celebrity deadpool. It’s a contest where players draft celebrities they think might die in the next year, like fantasy football but with elderly presidents and ailing musicians. I hope people are as morbidly fascinated with this hobby as I am, because it’s premiering at the Fargo Film Festival in March. I suspect it will play at some other festivals in the area shortly after that. If you like your comedy as black as your soul, I think you’ll like this film.
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Well Below Zero
This video by Erik Wilkie documents a Jan. 20 surfing expedition on Lake Superior when the temperature was -15 Fahrenheit.
Lake Superior Sunrise Time Lapse
Video by Danny Baker.
Selective Focus: Esther Piszczek
This week, Esther Piszczek talks about her journey from attorney and doodler to artist and teacher. Be sure to check out the beautiful documentary produced by Lola Visuals toward the end of the post to see in real-time how she makes her intricate artwork.
EP: I am a pattern artist specializing in the Zentangle® method of pattern drawing. The Zentangle method, created by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts in Massachusetts, uses a .01 Sakura micron pen and pencil shading on a 3.5 x 3.5 inch paper tile to create intricate, beautiful, non-representational art. The method is contemplative and founded on the principle that there are no mistakes, only opportunities to create something unexpected. (more…)
Weird Waves Season 1: Great Lakes
Shoe company Vans brings its branded content team to Duluth, and the locals show them some of the winter surf “hot” spots. (more…)
Selective Focus: Amber Burns
Amber Burns is a true advocate for the arts. She has worked as a dancer, choreographer, painter, teacher and is now Artistic Director of the Duluth Playhouse Family Theatre. This week she talks about her love of many types of expression, and how she builds the work of other people as well as the many disciplines of her own.
AB: When I think about my medium I more like to think about what I love to create, which is visual movement, whether it is through my choreography, directing, through sculpture or on a canvas. Sometimes my medium is paint and sometimes it is physical bodies. I am a dancer, actor, director, choreographer, and visual artist. When I was just three years old I started dancing at a studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota and when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I said, “I already am a dancer!” As I got older I developed passions for many other things, including drawing and painting. When it was time to pick a career and go to college I decided to b become an art teacher, and graduated from UMD in 2011 with a BFA in Art Education, all the while I was still dancing and teaching dance classes. At UMD I also received a minor in dance, and this is where I was introduced to the theater world.
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North Shore Adventure in 60 Seconds
Joe Esenther of Excelsior posts videos of his travel adventures on YouTube under the moniker “Wild by Nature.” His most recent travelogue shows him exploring the North Shore of Lake Superior with friends.
Video Archive: Tim Kaiser on PBS’ “Make”
It was ten years ago — January 2009 — when Duluth musician Tim Kaiser was featured on the public television program Make.
Bigotry to Brook Trout: A Watershed Moment
Geoff Vukelich, who lives just north of Duluth, is the subject of the short feature “Bigotry to Brook Trout,” which is part of the International Fly Fishing Film Festival.
Synopsis:
Bigotry to Brook Trout features one man’s transformation from a life of ignorance and hate to quiet solitude on the waters of northern Minnesota. Hard truth and honest self-reflection parallel the beauty of Fall brook trout in this rare display of vulnerability and acceptance. Geoff Vukelich owns his past and speaks his truth, reminding us that we have the capacity to change our lives.
The traveling festival will hit Duluth on March 22 at Zeitgeist Arts.
Skating the Duluth Harbor
Matt Porter and friends laced up and skated on the Duluth Harbor back in mid December for this video.
Video: Rad Surfing on Stoney Point
Once again Brent Eliason of Ease Drones has captured some exceptional aerial video of Lake Superior surfers at Stoney Point. The footage is from Dec. 28.
“All the surfers in this video were killing it!!!” Eliason wrote in the YouTube description. “My favorite shots are between 2:20 and 2:40. At 2:20 you will see UMD’s Randy Carlson just dominating on the SUP.”
Perfect Duluth Day’s Best Videos of 2018
We come to the close of another year, and look back on some of our favorite videos that were posted on PDD. It really does get harder and harder to choose favorites with so much variety and quality these days. But we’ve looked through the music videos, the drone videos, the extreme sports videos, the travelogues, the absurd experiments, and we’ve got twelve here that feel like a pretty good summary of 2018 in Duluth. Let us know if we’ve missed any of your favorites. (more…)
Video Archive: KDAL-TV Anniversary Video from 1974
Check out this video. If you’re a fan of 1974 TV in Duluth, then you’ll enjoy this. It’s a recording of KDAL-TV’s 20th anniversary as shown on the Town and Country Show with Kathy Linde. The video features many of the most recognizable personalities from the Channel 3 studios during that era.
Video: Burntside Lake Christmas Ice Carousel
Joe Bianco and Cam Regan of Ely built a giant Christmas carousel on Burntside Lake, about 100 miles north of Duluth.
It’s Going to be a Merry Christmas
[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]
John Holden obtains a set of fancy speakers in the grocery store parking lot.
Ingeborg von Agassiz – “Shoemaker Sally”
A song about painting over from Duluth’s Ingeborg von Agassiz.
Oct. 10, 2018: Record-setting Surf
Flashback to the big storm on Oct. 10: Brent Eliason of Ease Drones shot this aerial video as surfers took advantage of the 50 m.p.h. wind gusts at Stoney Point on Lake Superior.
Ingeborg von Agassiz – “The Holly & the Ivy”
A short little Christmas tune from Duluth’s Ingeborg von Agassiz.