DRONE VIDEO SHOT AT BOWLING ALLEY TAKES OFF ONLINE

A video taken by a camera-equipped drone buzzing through the nooks and crannies of a historic Minneapolis bowling alley has attracted nearly 1 million views online since its release March 7.

The drone in the 1 1⁄2-minute video shot at Bryant Lake Bowl & Theater follows bowling balls down the alley and takes viewers behind the alley’s reset mechanism, back out onto the floor and into the bar. The video is one continuous shot, which took about 10 attempts to get right, the creators said.

The video, called “Right Up Our Alley,” is the work of 25-year-old cinematographer Jay Christensen, produced by Minneapolis-based Rally Studios and directed by Anthony Jaska, the Star Tribune reported.

The short film is winning praise from Hollywood.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” filmmaker James Gunn tweeted the clip to his 800,000-plus followers, saying he wanted the filmmakers “to come with us to London later this year when we shoot Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.”

Responding to Gunn’s tweet, director Lee Unkrich, whose 2017 film “Coco” won an Academy Award for best animated feature, wrote: “This is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. Jaw on the floor.”

The video was made as part of a project to document well-known businesses around Minnesota that are threatened by the pandemic, said Brian Heimann, a producer at Rally Studios.

The bowling alley, which also has a restaurant, cabaret theater and bar, opened in 1936 in an old garage that serviced Model T Fords.

Christensen, who lives near the bowling alley, was struck by the destruction and rebuilding along Lake Street following last year’s rioting after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

“It made me think, what’s the future of Lake Street going to look like?” he said. “Bryant-lake Bowl is a staple in the community, and not having it be that way didn’t sit well with me.”

The team approached the bowling alley’s owner, who let them shoot afterhours because of coronavirus restrictions.

To view the video on Youtube, go to youtube.com/ watch?v=vgs54fqkxf0.