Soudan Underground Mine is the oldest and deepest iron mine in Minnesota. Now operated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the site offers a unique tour allowing visitors to experience the shafts on the 27th level 2,341 feet underground. This nine-minute introductory film is shown to visitors before they embark on their tour. Featuring the voices of miners who worked at Soudan, the film recounts the history and legacy of the site and the people who powered it.

The film features an array of archival images and footage from the site’s collection as well as contemporary footage, aerials, and animation. Original music and sound design round out the experience. Accessibility provisions include open captioning and audio description. The film production was part of a project to overhaul the visitor center interpretive experience, which included a new exhibit and the replacement of the previous introductory film produced in the 1990s.

Role:
Producer, Director, Scripting, Videography, Editing, Animation, Sound and Music, System Design

Exhibit Development and Design, Project Management (Prime): 106 Group

Accessibility Consultants: Prime Access Consulting

Heinzen Media Team:

Writer/Researcher: Julianna Olsen
Editor: Ned Hurley
Videography: John Thain, Nunaka Pictures and Kevin Jacobsen, Story North Productions
Tunnel Animation: Tony Rose, ProMedia Productions
Original Music: Jason Goodyear, Mediaslinger
Sound Design and Mix: Jason Almendinger, Audio Ruckus
Color Grading: Michael Sandness, Agate Color & Post

Ohiyesa: The Soul of an Indian is a deeply personal family film that follows Kate Beane, an urban, Dakota scholar, and her family as they trace the remarkable life of their celebrated relative, Ohiyesa (Charles Eastman), an important author, activist, lecturer and one of the first Native American doctors. Along the way, Beane uncovers uncanny parallels between their lives, though they were born more than 100 years apart.

For the first time, Beane and other relatives reunite to share Ohiyesa’s story from an indigenous perspective, considering questions their grandfather posed more than a century ago, such as how can indigenous people retain their cultural traditions and worldviews, while also working within institutions and a society that was created to oppress them?

Beane and her family search for the legacy of Ohiyesa while trying to determine what their own legacy will be.

The film is the creation of filmmaker Syd Beane, Kate’s father, who spent years with his family, producers, and technicians gathering footage and material to form the building blocks of the narrative. Syd brought the film to the media group at the Minnesota Historical Society to guide it through the post-production process.

Ohiyesa: The Soul of an Indian has been broadcast on PBS stations nationwide and is available on Amazon streaming. It has screened at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco, and the Maoriland Film Festival in New Zealand.

Role:
Co-Director, Co-Producer. Led staff through the post-production process to mold and supplement footage, guide writing, editing, music, sound design, and color grading to form a compelling one-hour story.
(On staff with the Minnesota Historical Society)

Split Rock Lighthouse is one of the Minnesota Historical Society’s premier historic sites. Now a major tourist attraction, it once played a crucial role in guiding ships through the often tumultuous waters of Lake Superior. This 13-minute introductory film draws on the drama of storms and shipwrecks on Lake Superior — in particular, the great storm of 1905, which was the impetus to build the lighthouse. Using first-person accounts from newspapers, storm survivors, lighthouse builders, and keepers, the film touches on the industry that shaped the region, the construction of the lighthouse, and the tourism that eventually became the role of the site.

The film features a wide variety of dramatic cinematography and visual effects, including aerial, underwater, storm, and time-lapse footage as well as a computer-generated sequence depicting the 1905 storm. The story is also enhanced with surround sound audio. The Story of Split Rock Lighthouse plays continuously in the site’s visitor center theater, which was revamped with a new sounds system, screen, and projection equipment the year the film was produced.

Role:
Producer, Director, Director of Photography, Media and System Design
(On staff with the Minnesota Historical Society)