A major annual production like Skull Squadron was being filmed here because Coldstream City, on Nephi's coastal highlands, was one of its most important film and television production bases. Around the city stood sets representing every historical era the Alliance had passed through, from the Interstellar Republic to the Motherworld Monarchy, spanning nearly ten thousand years. It was also a major base for historical dramas.
What's more, the city was more than three thousand kilometers from the coast of the Fallen Star Sea. Land prices weren't too high, and it was still on the Motherworld, after all. So Universal Group had acquired a huge tract of land in Coldstream City and built the largest studio in the galaxy. Even in the Industrial Age, its scale would have made it an architectural wonder.
However, the Skull Squadron production wasn't filming in the studio in the city. It was shooting at a scenic spot fifty kilometers from the urban area.
It was late spring in northern Nephi, with a refreshing chill in the air, broad meadows, and fresh air. It was truly a beautiful vacation destination.
For a trained cinematographer, almost every frame here could be turned into a wallpaper. And for a trained director, it was naturally a wonderful place to shoot on location. No accomplished filmmaker would believe that post-production compositing in a studio could completely replace real location shooting.
Of course, Colonel Fina Li, director of Skull Squadron, was a skilled, well-trained filmmaker who had even won the Yagemi Award at a young age. But she was also a practical person. A crew of more than a thousand people needed to be fed and housed, and even traveling a few dozen kilometers out of the city would incur huge expenses. If the studio could do the job, why go