Community of Elbert Plays Backdrop for TV Series
Production shows off unique scenery, county support for film and video
While Elbert County's residents already know they live in a picturesque location, having a professional confirm it is nice. So, when County Manager Sam Albrecht received a call from Colorado Springs-based filmmaker Nathan Blair requesting information about a film permit in Elbert, he quickly put his staff to work figuring out how to support it.
"Nathan is a small production filmmaker, so it wasn't exactly Hollywood coming to us. But we knew it was an opportunity to showcase Elbert that we shouldn't pass up," said Albrecht. "We put our Economic Development team on it as a natural extension of their outreach in the community and advocacy for business here."
County Economic Development Project Manager Eric Larson set up an initial call and meeting with Blair to understand the film requirements in Elbert. Blair mentioned he really liked the Elbert Main Street but would also need to find additional locations in Colorado for other scenes. "I needed a school gym, an interrogation room, a TV studio, and a playground. Oh, and a dirt road in a forest."
As the writer and director at Kingdom Sight Studios, Blair's eye was initially drawn to the town of Elbert because this project, a continuation of his "Fragment" series, needed a church in a small town as a backdrop for a key scene.
"I drove through Elbert in early spring as I was writing the script. I looked up from my drive, saw the classic white steeple of Elbert Presbyterian Church, and knew I wanted that as my backdrop."
This wasn't the first time Elbert County was recognized for its possibilities on the screen, though it is the first time the county has been involved in turning a filmmaker's vision into reality. Two Colorado Office of Film, Television, and Media representatives visited the county in fall 2021 and noted the wide-open spaces and mountain backdrop as film-worthy. The commission also mentioned proximity to Denver International Airport as an important "box to check" for filmmakers considering the location. Being less than an hour's drive to DIA is just one example of Elbert County's unique access to the resources and scenery of the entire Front Range, making it an ideal location for everything from an 1880s western to a 2020s thriller.
After a quick walk along Main Street under a mid-April sun, Blair and Larson toured the Elbert School with Superintendent Kelli Thompson. Blair knew he had found his "additional locations" at the school. "Finding one place with all of those makes my job as a filmmaker much easier – it means I have all of my equipment and cast in one place and can move from shot to shot without tearing down and moving." Time is extremely valuable to a filmmaker when a shot can take 15 minutes to set up for just 15 seconds of useable footage.
Blair finally set to filming at Elbert School on May 12, while school was in session. In a follow-up conversation about the evening filming at the school, Superintendent Thompson said, "It was fun to welcome them to our campus, and it was great for the students to see some of the inside work into how movies are made. For those that stuck around and got to play a role in the gym scene, it was really fun!"
After some additional coordination, filming took place on Elbert's Main Street on May 26. The Elbert Woman's Group allowed Blair's cast and crew to use the Mercantile Building as their staging area. Blair also requested and received support from the Elbert County Sheriff's Posse. "The scene involved our actors exiting the church, pursued by armed agents, a car rescuing our heroes, and a brief gun battle," Blair described. "The Posse helped us with traffic control and were on-scene in case someone saw people running with guns and called 911. It just made sense to have them assist us." He paused to laugh, "All this coordination takes a while, but it helps us avoid the situation we had filming a few nights ago in another town when bad communication with local law enforcement almost got us all arrested."
Blair expected filming for the series, including at other Front Range locations to finish by mid-June. The next installations of "Fragment" will then be released by late summer or early fall on the streaming platform Pureflix – which features positive and inspiring films and shows for a Christian audience. Elbert County residents can already see some of Blair's other work on the service and check out previews from Blair's various films at kingdomsightstudios.com and the Kingdom Sight Studios channel on YouTube. Blair closed the conversation by saying, "The support we've received from the school, County, and Town of Elbert have been amazing. We are going to show our 'thanks' by showing off the (Elbert School) Bulldogs logo in an episode. Watch for it!"
For more information about film, TV, and video production in Elbert County, please contact Marc Dettenrieder, Economic Development Manager, at marc.dettenrieder@elbertcounty-co.gov or (720) 595-3617. Visit the Elbert County Economic Development website at elbertcountyworks.com.