Heroes Reborn creates epic film shoot
Finding the perfect location to film complex scenes featuring explosions, dry ice and ideal wind conditions surrounded by a particular style of building can be difficult. When a location scout for Heroes Reborn contacted the City of Kitchener, it was in part because the location manager had heard from others in the industry that Kitchener has a unique approach to accommodating difficult requests – an approach that focuses on reducing barriers, providing a seamless experience and making connections. This approach to creating a welcoming environment for creative industries to do business with the City of Kitchener is a major contributor to the city’s burgeoning success as a destination for large scale production. Word is spreading that if you want a smooth experience on your production, Kitchener is the place to make it.
For Heroes Reborn, more than 100 crew members took over Kitchener’s downtown for more than a week – building sets, directing and filming – and ultimately entertaining hundreds of onlookers who came to catch a glimpse of the action, and be part of the experience. With the help and support of the city’s special events division, who liaised with regional police and internal city staff to close streets and ensure all safety requirements were met, the week of filming went off without a hitch – creating exciting buzz downtown and building a sense of civic pride.
Large scale productions like Heroes Reborn deliver both economic and social impact to cities – immediate dollars are invested in local hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues as visiting production teams set up camp, and smaller local artists reap the benefits of access to city space site plans as a result of the initial investment made by larger companies – creating greater access for small, independent artists that may not have big budgets to match their equally big dreams. In recognizing the value of a strong film and music identity, the city is placing renewed emphasis on marketing itself as a great place for film and production while also creating a new role for a music and film officer. These concentrated resources can only strengthen the city’s brand as a leading destination for film and music production – on any scale.
NBC’s Heroes Reborn mini-series chronicles a fictional world where people with extraordinary powers up the ante in the pivotal battle of good and evil to save the planet. Heroes Reborn continues the story of the original TV series, Heroes that starred Hayden Panettiere, Jack Coleman and Milo Ventimiglia.