Perry was the location Tuesday for filming a scene from “TubeLords,” described by its creators as “the story of some people well into their 30s who still trying to make it big with a YouTube video.”
“TubeLords” is being produced with a $50,000 grant from the Greenlight Grant program of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. The grants are administered by the Iowa Arts Council on behalf of Produce Iowa and are open only to filmmakers who are current Iowa residents.
Greenlight Grants aim to “support home-grown Iowa film and digital media productions that benefit Iowans and small businesses in the state,” according to the program’s website. “Eligible projects must be ready for production, contain excellent content that advances Iowa’s brand and demonstrates public value.”
“TubeLords” Director Justin Norman, Script Supervisor Sean Ross, Camera Operator Eric Allan and several other members of the production team filmed a scene with actors on the roof of the Hotel Pattee Tuesday. On Monday they filmed at the High Trestle Trail.
The filmmakers are associated with Des Moines-based DEFT Productions, a public relations and brand development company, and Shrieking Tree Productions, which describes itself as “a multi-disciplinary creative team focused primarily on creating short films, commercials, mini-documentaries and web series.”
In recent months, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs has distributed some $923,372 in CARES Act emergency relief and another $178,000 in humanities grants to help Iowa cultural organizations rebound from the financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and $30,000 in a Chairman’s Grant for Disaster Mitigation from the National Endowment for the Humanities for derecho relief.
