Viral Drone Videos Show How The Twin Cities Survived 2020

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Everyone loves to get a strike at the bowling alley, but very few people know what unfolds once the pins fall and the ball disappears from view. That changed for thousands this week thanks to a viral video from filmmaker Jay Christensen.

The promotional video was filmed using a drone, produced by Minneapolis-based Rally Studios and directed by Anthony Jaska, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The video begins with a drone flying through the front door of Bryant-Lake Bowl in Minneapolis, bypassing the bar and following a bowling ball down the lane.

The drone then circles the room and enters the space behind the pins, where machinery whirs and grinds behind the scenes.

The footage then takes the viewer back through the room, picking up snippets of conversations and flying only inches away from mask-clad patrons chatting, drinking and lounging in Bryant-Lake’s theater.

The 90-second video caught the attention of thousands online, including “Guardians of the Galaxy” filmmaker James Gun, who called the footage “stupendous.”

“I want them to come with us to London later this year when we shoot Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” Gunn wrote on Twitter.

Christensen told the Minneapolis Star Tribune he was inspired by the destruction and rebuilding of Minneapolis following protests last year in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.

"If you think about all the small businesses and COVID, their business has been hit, obviously. I would go in there and notice that it was pretty empty," Christensent told the publication. "It made me think, what's the future of Lake Street going to look like? Bryant-Lake Bowl is a staple in the community, and not having it be that way didn't sit well with me."

In December, Christensen posted another film to his YouTube channel titled "Twin Cities 2020."

The nearly four-minute clip tells the story of two cities embroiled in the coronavirus pandemic and the anger and destruction that followed the killing of George Floyd. It also tells the story of the cities' rebirths.

The stunning footage begins with scenes from an empty city, presumably taking during the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Soon, tranquil streets give ways to burning structures, fireworks in the sky and streets crowded with marching people carrying signs.

The footage continues to alternate between crowded streets and vacant stadiums before showing a bird's-eye view of a street mural listing the names of some 20 people who died while in police custody in the United States.

The footage then pivots to scenes of a city rocked by violence: charred buildings, boarded up windows and a field filled with makeshift gravestones and a hill emblazoned with the phrase “Say Their Names.”

As the video comes to an end, clear skies, bright lights and fireworks are seen over the Twin Cities.