Local Filmmaking & State Incentives
A local film production company that’s still trying to sell its first film to festivals nationwide will be working on a second one soon.
Brook Trout Productions is the company behind the recent film “The Ice Brigade”, shot in Gwinn last winter.
The company has a small office space in the former Gwinn Middle School.
And it’s working on the early stages of a Halloween film called “The Pumpkin Brigade”.
Before directing “The Ice Brigade”, Beau Chaput had already worked in the film business for years as a camera operator and director of photography for many different productions.
He even once had a hand in directing the newscasts here at ABC 10 and CW 5 for a time.
Chaput says “The Pumpkin Brigade” will be a follow-up of sorts to “The Ice Brigade”, with the same concept of a cast local to Marquette County.
He says Brook Trout Productions is still gathering financing for the film but will be doing test shooting this fall to find locations to use in the finished product.
The financial incentives for filmmakers who choose to locate in Michigan have attracted a lot of attention this year.
Some groups have asked state lawmakers to eliminate the incentives.
But Beau says the incentives were a major reason why he chose to move back to Gwinn a few years ago.
He says they’re very much needed if Michigan wants to land film and TV productions.
He also says the U.P. has a deeper talent pool than most people around the country realize, and he wants to have a hand in developing that talent.