Why Buddy Found Its Home in Cleveland

Last week, Buddy officially hit theaters. And after nearly two years of watching this wonderfully weird movie go from an idea to a fully realized feature film, it’s been a wild ride.

So, let’s rewind.

Almost two years ago, filmmaker Casper Kelly came to Cleveland with an idea for a movie about a giant monster unicorn who goes a little crazy on the set of his children’s television show.

Yes, you read that correctly.

The world of Buddy called for something very specific. At the center of the film is a colorful children’s television set that feels straight out of the ’90s, dripping in neon, pastels and nostalgia. Think Barney, but through the wonderfully strange mind of the creator behind Too Many Cooks.

And then there’s the world outside the show. Without spoiling anything, we’ll just say things get considerably more... psychedelic.

Bringing both worlds to life meant finding a production home that could handle a lot under one roof.

Finding a Home for Buddy

Early in the development of Buddy, we invited Tyler Davidson, President of Cleveland-based Low Spark Films, to tour TRG and see if the studio could be a fit for the project.

It was.

Low Spark helped finance the film, and with Buddy requiring significant stage space, extensive sets, custom props and virtual production, TRG offered many of the resources the production would need in one place.

As Casper explained when we sat down with him:

“My movie needed a lot of sets and a lot of props, so it seemed like a natural fit to work at TRG.”

Around the same time, Adam Wilde, Geoff Yaw and Ryan Kelly were building Substance, TRG’s original filmmaking arm, with a focus on developing and supporting original film and television projects right here in Northeast Ohio.

Buddy became an opportunity to put that mission into action. Through Substance, Adam, Geoff and Ryan worked alongside Low Spark and the film’s production team to help support the project and make Cleveland its production home.

From there, things moved quickly. Production began that summer and wrapped by the end of August, with an extensive external crew of filmmakers, artists, fabricators and production professionals coming together to bring Casper’s wonderfully bizarre world to life.

Building a ’90s Kids’ Show Gone Wrong

One of the biggest production needs was creating the physical world of Buddy.

The primary set needed to feel like the ultimate 1990s children’s television show: bright colors, oversized scenery, playful props and the kind of cheerful, artificial world that feels instantly familiar to anyone who grew up watching kids’ TV during that era.

That meant Buddy needed more than an empty soundstage. It needed room for an ambitious production to build, fabricate and continually transform the world around its characters.

For Casper, having so many of those resources available in one place was a major advantage. Between stage facilities, fabrication resources and virtual production, TRG became what he described as an “amazing one-stop shop” for Buddy.

But not everything in Casper’s world could, or should, be physically built.

From Soundstages to Virtual Production

When the movie ventures beyond its television-show world, things get a little stranger.

No spoilers here, but the bright, nostalgic world of the show eventually gives way to something much more psychedelic. For a large portion of those scenes, the production moved into TRG’s Virtual Production Studio, using the LED volume to bring those environments to life.

That combination became one of the advantages of shooting the film here. The production could utilize traditional soundstages, fabrication resources and a virtual production volume within the same facility rather than piecing those capabilities together across multiple locations.

For a movie as visually ambitious, and unusual, as Buddy, having those resources under one roof made TRG a natural fit.

Why Cleveland?

Casper is no stranger to established production hubs. He’s worked extensively in Atlanta, where much of the film and television industry has built a major presence.

But shooting in Cleveland offered something different.

When we sat down with him after the film wrapped, he pointed to the people first: great crews, a strong local film community and a city that’s simply easier to move around. Less traffic doesn’t hurt, either.

And Buddy is far from the only production to discover what Northeast Ohio has to offer. Films including White Noise, Eenie Meanie and Shelby Oaks have all spent time filming in the region, adding to a growing community of filmmakers, crew and production resources here.

There were smaller practical advantages, too. Less air traffic around the studio and strong sound insulation made capturing clean audio easier, while having so many production resources in one facility helped keep an ambitious shoot moving.

But facilities only go so far.

Casper also made a point to mention the people who work here.

And, naturally, the TRG dogs.

We consider that last one a major competitive advantage.

A Cleveland-Made Kind of Weird

There’s something fitting about a movie as unconventional as Buddy finding its home here.

Cleveland might not always be the first city people associate with film production, but there’s a talented filmmaking community here, along with the stages, technology, fabrication capabilities and production resources needed to support ambitious projects.

It’s also exactly the kind of opportunity Substance was created to help foster: bringing original stories to life while continuing to build a home for filmmaking in Northeast Ohio.

For Buddy, all of those pieces came together to help turn an idea about a giant monster unicorn and his increasingly unhinged children’s television show into a feature film.

Nearly two years later, we finally get to watch audiences experience what was being built behind our studio doors all those months ago.

And trust us: things got weird.