Behind the Lens: Minneapolis Video Production for PBS NewsHour

It is always an honor to collaborate with national broadcast teams, but working with producer Lena Jackson and senior arts reporter Jeffrey Brown for PBS NewsHour felt extra special. I grew up watching the NewsHour - or rather watching my parents watch it - and even though I'm no good at karaoke, I could totally hum the NewsHour theme with zero hints.

My mother still tunes in religiously, so she was sooooo tickled to get a text from me with a video of Jeffrey Brown saying "Hi, Nan! Wish you were here at lunch with us... thanks for watching, etc." That was so fun and nice of him, and she has since showed all her friends . PBS NERDS!

Jeffrey Brown, left, Lena Jackson and me with St. Paul as the backdrop.

Here is a look behind the scenes at the two stories we filmed here in Minneapolis and St. Paul last month.

Story 1: Twin Cities Arts Organizations and Community Impact

Our first piece focused on how local, small-scale arts organizations in the Twin Cities navigate financial headwinds while serving as important neighborhood anchors. Even despite the chaos from the recent ICE surge here in the Twin Cities (which I documented for the New York Times), the Twin Cities was the place PBS Newshour came to talk about a thriving arts scene. Very cool.

We visited TaikoArts Midwest in St. Paul. Such a fun space to walk into and feel the raw, physical power of Japanese drumming. (The highlight was watching Jeffrey pick up the drumsticks and take a turn on the drums, fun stuff).

We also went to Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis, talking about their "radical hospitality" access model and rapid-response performances, along with Laura Zabel of the Creative Change Coalition on how arts nonprofits sustain local culture during challenging times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLTeBziXyo4

Local arts groups that shape community culture face financial pressure

Story 2: Suzanne Jackson’s Retrospective at the Walker Art Center

The second assignment took us to the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis to cover Suzanne Jackson: What Is Love, a major retrospective celebrating the 82-year-old artist’s six-decade career. Suzanne’s work creates free-hanging, three-dimensional acrylic paintings without canvas, embedding everyday objects like produce mesh bags and peanut shells into the paint itself. Capturing the scale, texture, and transparency of her floating art pieces was visual challenge that I had fun solving. Also just really cool to meet an artist in person who has a huge exhibition at the Walker :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyUJNZUOzwg

Experimental artist Suzanne Jackson celebrates decades of work in new exhibition

Huge thanks to Lena Jackson for her brilliant editing and producing on both segments, she was amazing to work with.

For those interested, here are some details on the gear I used.

• Primary & B-Cams: Canon EOS C70 and Canon EOS R5 C for matched color/dynamic range. Also used an R5 as a third camera at times.

• Lighting & Audio: Multiple portable softboxes for natural interview key lighting, paired with Senheiser wireless mic setups in acoustic spaces.

• Aerials: DJI Air 3S drone for cool from-above shots. Drones are so dang fun.

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