Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1533577
3 8 P E R S P E C T I V E M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 2 5 Almost everyone is dead. All but five percent of the world's population has been annihilated by unknown creatures who erupted from massive, anthill-like openings around the Earth three years ago with a single mission: to kill everyone. Not eat them, but kill them. An elevation of eight thousand feet marks the limit of their range, so what is left of humanity hastily crawls up to the top of any mountains they can find to survive. One group finds a small fictional town called Lost Gulch, and this is where Elevation starts. Director George Nolfi and the production team started scouting for locations high above Boulder, CO. We were looking for what would appear to be an isolated mining town to shoot the movie. Lost Gulch would be an outpost for what was left of the human race, surrounded at the 8,000-foot mark and delineated by white stones and branches to remind its inhabitants of the limitations of their world. Location manager Miranda Canessale showed us many small villages in the mountains, some with populations as few as one hundred people. Understandably, some locals seemed uneasy as our small motorcade—twenty people in dark clothing, carrying clipboards, taking pictures, and measuring everything—descended upon their town. I saw many shades being drawn and skeptical glances from the locals; no doubt, they had been talking to each other on their phones as we scouted. "Who are these city folk invaders?" On one of the scouts, the team stopped for lunch in Gold Hill, Colorado—it was a small town perfect for our needs (with only two hundred forty people). I recall on our official tech scout we all had lunch at the Gold Hill Inn restaurant beer garden. It had a small stage, and during lunch all the children of the town put on a recital for us (with costume changes). Lots of singing children, all perhaps with hopes of being discovered by George our director? Who knows, but it was very sweet! In Elevation, power is nonexistent—no modern conveniences, no internet and no vehicles. The only way to get food is to grow it yourself or to trade and barter with your neighbors. In the evacuation, people brought very little, so food and other items and materials are extremely scarce. The town has one general store. In addition to the basics, behind the counter the proprietor locks up some coveted goods such as a single pack of Marlboro cigarettes, two boxes of mac n cheese, three unopened beers, one deck of cards, a bottle of hot sauce, a few chocolate bars: rarities at the end of the world. The Gold Hill store also served as a small production office for a while and I recall they served a wicked rustic grilled-cheese sandwich that I will never forget. T h e E v o l u t i o n o f E L E VA T I O N B Y B I L L B O E S , P R O D U C T I O N D E S I G N E R Art Department alien scales, altitude sickness, mines, singing children and surviving the end of the world on Gold Hill.