Behind the camera: The 16-year-old bringing the city of La Salle’s social media to life

Young people rarely take an active role in municipal government, and they seldomly are offered a seat at the table, especially when they are not old enough to vote.

One 16-year-old La Salle resident, Daniel Duncan, has flipped the script by reworking the city’s social media pages through his passion for videography.

“Back in 2022, I followed the city’s Instagram page and liked some of their posts,” Duncan said. “[La Salle Deputy Clerk] Brent [Bader] had seen and asked if I wanted to help out with some videos about the city’s new garbage service.”

Duncan later was asked if he would like to “help out” with tourism and social media as a summer intern.

“I’ve always been into photography and videography,” he said. “It’s just really interesting to me, and I wanted to help the city out.”

Bader said he was “dabbing” with Instagram and other social media when he noticed Duncan was engaging with the city’s posts.

“They don’t get a whole lot of interactions,” he said. “When I clicked on the profile and saw he did photo editing – YouTube tech reviews or something like that – I was like, ‘This is wild. This kid is engaging with us on Instagram.’”

As a videographer, photographer and video editor, Duncan has documented events from family vacations and day-to-day activities, and he’s worked with local documentarian, videographer and photographer Matthew Klein.

Klein said Duncan is the youngest videographer he knows, and without a doubt, he’s one of the best.

“His passion for quality video production, dedication for continuous learning and perfection are always evident,” Klein said. “His work demonstrates a level of skill that rivals seasoned professionals. I am always looking forward to seeing Daniel’s next project.”

After reviewing his profile, Bader reached out, and Duncan began interning for the city last summer. Bader and Duncan created three videos to start, all of which went over well. Bader said engagement was up.

“I think people liked some sort of professionalism brought to a social media video,” Bader said. “Social media was not at the forefront, and you can see why that is for municipalities, but it should be. It’s a major way to connect with people nowadays.”

After the success of the first project, Bader said he kept thinking of other video opportunities and how the city could use Duncan, and then the city received a grant for a new website.

“I naturally started thinking about Daniel’s assistance and how we could do something really special with it,” he said.

Throughout the year, Duncan has been behind the scenes bringing to life the city’s social media pages with live video from its most memorable events, such as Live it Up La Salle, Celebration of Lights and Officer Santa.

“It’s great being able to give back to my community and help people figure out what there is to do here,” Duncan said. “I know that for some of the things that we were recording a lot of – Rotary Park, the new disc golf course, fitness courts, the lake – I didn’t know any of it existed.”

Bader said the videos created at events such as Celebrate La Salle are multifaceted – not only are they used on a daily basis, but the real core aspect is marketing the city.

“If you’re looking to travel somewhere, like a day-trip, you can go on Facebook or online and you’ll see these videos detailing all the different things to do in the area,” Bader said. “No municipality around us is really doing that right now.”

Duncan hasn’t stopped at highlighting La Salle’s events or recreational activities. He and Bader have begun highlighting the city’s unique and niche businesses by showcasing them on the city’s social media pages.

Peyton Lamps, owner of Petals by Peyton in downtown La Salle, said the videos that Duncan has done for Live it Up La Salle brought nothing but positive vibes to her shop.

“I have nothing but amazing things to say,” she said. “He was friendly, knowledgeable and talented. The quality of the videos were phenomenal, and I was extremely impressed with his work, especially for being so young.”

Lamps said her customers noticed when the video was posted and that it was getting a lot of shares from local residents.

Duncan is not done yet. He said he has learned a lot from his time interning in La Salle, such as working on a deadline.

“I hope that [the videos] help other people that live here and also from out of town … figure out there is a lot to do in La Salle," Duncan said.

He said he doesn’t know what the future holds, but he will continue to edit and film videos.

“Honestly, I’m open to anything,” he said.

To check out more of Duncan’s work, visit imdanielduncan.com.

To catch up with the city of La Salle and check out small-business spotlights, visit facebook.com/liveituplasalle.