Brandon and Christian Cole grew up in Grand Marais, so returning with Rushaway Pictures to work on the filming of Virginia, Minnesota is coming home. They have enjoyed sharing the sights and sounds of the North Shore with the other members of the production.
Two of the crewmembers on Virginia, Minnesota, the movie being filmed along the North Shore this week, are very familiar with the area—they are Brandon and Christian Cole, former Grand Marais residents. The young men are well on their way to careers in the film and recording industry, working together and separately on a number of interesting projects.
Brandon Cole, serving as location manager for Virginia, Minnesota, is the older of the two and his focus is on film. He was a member of Cook County High School Class of 2007, but left school to earn his GED and then attend Lake Superior College. He earned his degree in media studies and production.
His training at LSC has served him well. He has been involved with six feature films and eight short films, doing everything from on-line promotion of the pieces to directing.
“School teaches you the basics and then sends you out into the world. Working on my first film, it was really nice to have that ‘jack of all trades’ training,’” he said.
His Death Calm Studio can be found on the Minnesota Film and TV Board website with an impressive list of credits. And there is more to come, promises Brandon who is embarking on an exciting film project that he can’t yet talk about.
Christian Cole, a microphone boom operator for Virginia, Minnesota, graduated from CCHS in 2010 and first went to school at Lake Superior College for welding. After he earned his certification and worked in the field for a while, he realized that wasn’t the career he wanted to pursue.
He went back to school at McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul to study audio engineering, receiving a McNally Smith Founders grant to get started. Christian said while earning his degree, he “did a lot of freelancing.”
He continues to freelance and this summer had two internships, with Mobile Jazz and Green River Recording.
To make ends meet, Christian is a DJ for weddings and events with Midwest Sound and Entertainment. But his real passion is helping manage Last Triumph, an independent record label in Minneapolis, working with bands such as Marah in the Mainsail, Good Morning Bedlam, New Sound Underground and BadNraD.
He proudly notes that Last Triumph is a B-Corp, a designation acquired by the company keeping its environmental footprint low, supporting the arts and spending hundreds of hours in volunteer activities. The recording studio is 100 percent powered by Windsource.
The two different career paths taken by the brothers blend well and they plan to collaborate when they can. Asked if they get along when working on projects together, the brothers smile. “We always get along,” said Christian.
Proof of that is their recent participation in the Minneapolis 48 Hour Film Project at which entrants receive a list of elements— character, prop, a line of script and genre—that must be included in a short film produced in just 48 hours.
The duo drew the genre of a western, not something they would have selected for themselves. They met the challenge and created a post-apocalypse version of a western.
The winner of the 48 Hour Film Festival advances to the national Filmapalooza event. The Cole brothers did not win, but they said it was a great experience and one they will try again.
“It was really cool to see how all the teams utilized the different elements,” said Brandon.
And how does it feel to be back in Grand Marais with Rushaway Pictures and Virginia, Minnesota?
“Really when you are working, you kind of forget you’re ‘home.’ It’s kind of weird, but it’s cool,” said Brandon.
Christian added, “It’s fun to have all these people from all over the United States saying how beautiful our town is.”
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