25 Days of SFF: Day 3 – Top 5 Filming Locations

  Recently I’ve done several poll on the SFF Facebook group to determine the Top 5 of lots of different things. For the 24 days leading up to the 25th Anniversary (and the day itself, of course) I will be posting a new Top 5 list each day, using the highly scientific and unbiased results from those FB polls. I’ll try to make these posts short but I’m pretty long winded and like to talk so…they’re probably all going to be pretty long. Enjoy? 

 Top 5 Filming Locations 

Today we're going to explore the best places where we have filmed, whether it's because the place looks cool or feels like home these places are our favorites.  

#5 happens to be a tie between two fun locations were we did a lot of filming.

#5 - The Virginia Theatre

The Virginia Theatre is one of the most beautiful buildings in Champaign, IL.  It was first used as a location in Destiny II when the upper lobby was converted into Queen Lavinia's Sitting Room. It was used again the following summer for Destiny III.  The small building/office next door served as part of Balthazar's abode in Destiny III, the stage itself was another room in his palace.   The Long Take, a short film, was also filmed in the upper lobby.   

In 1999, I decided to use the theatre as the main rebel base in Pandora's Box and almost every episode had at least one scene filmed there. Many rooms were used including the balcony in the theater, the main lobby, concessions area, and the dressing rooms in the basement.  We even filmed a scene in the women's restroom and let me just say huge mirrors are hard to film with and not get the director/camera operator caught in the shot!

This was a wonderful location, a fantastic building, and I am so glad we were able to film in it as much as we were.  Special Thanks to John Ebby who let us film there.  If you're ever in Champaign you should stop by and catch a movie or a show.

For more information visit: http://www.thevirginia.org

#5 - Fort De Chartres

Fort De Chartres is one of the most awesome places I have ever filmed.  A recreated fort from the 18th Century, Fort De Chartres is an ideal location for historically set scripts. Peter Normand first introduced me to this amazing place in the winter/spring of 2001.  I intended to film the majority of Episode 5 of The Curse at the fort, but that episode was never filmed.  It wasn't until The Gift Bearer that I finally got to film there.  I specifically wrote Episode 3 and 4 of GB to be set in Fort D. and utilize as much of the grounds and rooms as possible.  We later filmed several scenes from Episodes 9, 10, 18, 19, and 21 in the Chapel, Officer's rooms, courtyard, and the Powder House.  

The fort was also used as the abandoned castle in the Sorcerer's World in Episodes 5 and 6 of Dream Chasers.  That was also the first time I got to see the fort in the snow.  It was beautiful, but very very cold.  Unfortunately I haven't been back to film there for any SFF production since Dream Chasers but I hope to film there again one day - maybe with the children of the actors who first filmed there with me as the main cast. That would be awesome.

Fort De Chartres is open to the public: 

http://www.fortdechartres.us/

#4 - Wesley United Methodist Church

Finding rooms that look like the inside of a castle in central Illinois is not easy, being allowed to film in them for free is even more difficult.  Luckily there is the beautiful Wesley United Methodist Church in Urbana.  With the several rooms including Tudor-looking hallways, comfortable lounges, wood paneled cafes, and the magnificent Great Hall, Wesley was perfect.  Almost all of Destiny II, and a large number of scenes in Destiny, Destiny III, and Destiny: Mini-series were filmed here.   Many thanks to all the staff at Wesley and Bonnie Lacey Taylor for allowing us to film in their beautiful building.  

For more information please visit: http://wesleyui.org/

#3 - Allerton Park & Retreat Center

The first day of filming for Destiny, the first Sine Fine Films production, had most of the scenes filmed at the Buddha Pavilion and Fu Dog Garden at Allerton Park.  Since that day in 1996, Allerton Park has been a regularly used location, especially when scripts called for palace gardens or an enchanted fairyland. 

10 productions have been filmed at various places all around Allerton Park: Destiny 1, II, and III, The King of Elflin's Daughter, Destiny: Mini-Series, Pandora's Box, Day Dreams, The Gift Bearer, Eidolon, and The Cursed Destiny of Pandora's Gift Box.

 

The script for The King of Elflin's Daughter was written specifically to have as many scenes filmed at Allerton as possible, simply to explore the various spaces that could be filmed.  The park is over 1500 acres - all manmade except for the river - with over a dozen different manicured gardens filled with classical statues.  Every tree except two of them were planted which is really hard to believe when you're standing in the middle of a forest.

I filmed in various sections of the park long before I was able to film inside the mansion itself.  The mansion is primarily used as a conference and retreat center and also hosts receptions and such, so it's not easy to get permission to film inside. However, I was able to in the spring of 2000 to film the flashback scenes for Episodes 4 & 5 of Pandora's Box.  

When I was looking for a place to film the exteriors (and some interiors) of the Silverstone Mansion in The Gift Bearer, I naturally thought of Allerton again. I was able to secure permission once more and filmed there in the fall of 2001 and the spring of 2002.  We also stopped by there for some interviews and photos at the 15th Anniversary Reunion in 2011, and I hope to hold a reunion there in the future.  

The Robert Allerton Park and Gardens is one of the most beautiful places in Illinois, and is located outside the town of Monticello, IL and is owned and operated by the University of IL .

For more information on this FANTASTIC place please visit:

http://allerton.illinois.edu/

#2 - The Homestead

The Homestead, also known as the Stasheff Residence, was the most widely used location second only to the MacLeod Farm.  Of the 23 productions filmed between 1996 and 2006, 16 of them had at least one scene filmed somewhere in the house.  The Homestead had over 20 rooms and numerous nooks and small spaces that could be transformed into everything from an old book shop to a space ship, from an Edwardian Tea room to a secret lab.  

Almost every room in the house was used for at least one production and many rooms were used in multiple productions.  One room had 12 different sets over the course of 9 productions.  Because it had lots of very different rooms it became the default location for anything indoors, and even the exterior of the house was used in a few productions.  Most importantly, however, the Homestead served as the base of operations for ten years.  

The house was sold in 2007, so it was no longer possible to use it as a location, and obviously visitors are not allowed. However it's still one of the best and most loved locations in SFF history. 

 

On one wall in the basement there is place where people who have owned the home (or visited) have been signing their names since the 1920s.  Before we moved out I signed the wall for my family - and of course included Sine Fine Films.  I have no idea if any of the owners over the years have covered it up or gotten rid of it, but I really hope it's still there. 

#1 - The MacLeod Farm

The MacLeod Farm ties with the Homestead as the most used location in all of SFF's productions so it's no surprise that it's everyone's favorite. There is a beauty and serenity to the farm and after we finish filming there we'll often hang out around the fire pit and roast marshmellows or go for a long walk down the country road late at night.   

16 of the 48 productions have scenes filmed at the farm: Destiny, Destiny III, The King of Elflin's Daughter, Destiny: The Mini Series, Pandora's Box, The Gift Bearer, Eidolon, The Cursed Destiny of Pandora's Gift Box, Quatrain, Twisted Tales: Hulde and The Stranger, Fortunate Ones: Faerie Tale and Only You, The Gift Bearer: Time After Time, and The Villains' Workshop.  Unlike the Homestead it's a place were we continue to film and will hopefully do so for many years to come. All three Anniversary Reunions - the 10th, 15th, and 20th - were all celebrated at the MacLeod Farm. It's become something of a tradition.

The best thing about the MacLeod Farm -- apart from the fantastic and amazing MacLeods themselves -- is the diversity of locations in one place.  A road, fields, trees, a fairy fountain, a barn, a tepee, two houses, and a ship are some of the places we've filmed.  Unfortunately it's not open to the public, so if you want to see the farm you'll have to watch SFF videos or join us for a film shoot.  

A huge thank you to the MacLeod family for letting us film there anytime and all the time since 1996!