Compass College staff and students shoot full TV series here in West Michigan

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan – The next time you sit down to enjoy an entire season on TV, you might find yourself enjoying a series that was shot right here in West Michigan. Compass College of Cinematic Arts staff and students recently completed production of an initial 8-episode series of a show called The Watchers.

The series was written and directed by Compass in-house director and alumni Aaron Greer.

Greer had originally written and directed a pilot episode of the series in 2019, using some of the same actors who would later bring them back for the entire season.

“You don’t have to be in New York, you don’t have to be in LA, you can be in West Michigan,” said Jay Greer, president of Compass College.

“You can do a TV series in West Michigan.”

And that’s exactly what they did – finalize the scripts for the series and reach an agreement with Vision Video, a Christian content distribution company, to help fund and distribute the episodes.

“We received funding, both in part from Vision Video and from donors who donated to the campus to support the shoot,” Jay Greer told FOX 17.

Compass prides itself on bringing real industry experience to its students and showing them opportunities to work in film, even if they want to stay in West Michigan to pursue a career.

“There are so many ways that students can actually be on this shoot and it will be shown forever,” said Jay Greer.

The production was even able to fly in several actors from the Los Angeles area to film.

“I think the people here are friendlier than they are in Los Angeles,” said actor Kevin Porter.

“Things are a little more passionate and a little more appreciative of the opportunities here, and I love that.”

Actress Ciera Foster, also from the Los Angeles area, said she was pleasantly surprised with the atmosphere on the set.

“I don’t want to sneeze on other sets I’ve been working on, but by far this was the set I was most comfortable on,” said Foster.

Actor David Gries calls Michigan home all year round.

“I actually live in this area in Zealand… So there aren’t, I don’t want to say, not many possibilities to do such things, but it feels really good when you can do it,” said Gries FUCHS 17.

There was a time over a decade ago when big productions kept coming to Michigan. Since 2008, the state has been using tax credits to lure companies here. The incentives changed in the years that followed and were finally completely abolished in 2015.

Production of the episodes was completed towards the end of May. Now comes the post-production process, with an expected release date in early 2021.

“I hope this is the first of many, many projects we’re doing here in West Michigan, and we’re doing it in partnership with the college because I think college is a natural place to find talent,” director Aaron Greer told FOX 17.

“We approached this season as if we already knew there was a second season to come. We wrote the story that way, we shot it that way. “

You can find more information about The Watchers on their Facebook page.

source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/compass-college-staff-and-students-shoot-full-tv-series-here-in-west-michigan/