If you look close enough, there might be familiar faces and places in the Netflix Top 10 movie “The Bad Guardian.”
The Strategic Communications and Marketing Mixed Media television studio served as a filming location, and Joe Webb, director of Mixed Media Productions, made the final cut — appearing in the movie for “about two seconds” as cameras panned an adjacent audio room.
Four Reed School of Media and Communications students also participated as extras, gaining firsthand experience on a professional set.
WVU connections ran deep behind the scenes.
Brad Stalnaker, senior multimedia specialist, created custom motion graphics for the film and was on site for the shoot.
Other staff members, including Webb and retired team member Tim Cummins, opened the facility at 5:30 a.m. and remained through wrap at 7:30 p.m., while Multimedia Specialist Dan Hamilton and Rodney Swisher, multimedia systems engineering technical manager, helped however they could.
Led by West Virginia residents and Fairmont natives Bob Tinnell, the owner of local production company Allegheny Image Factory, and producer Bob Wilkinson, owner of Art Pop Life, the project, which filmed in February 2024 and first aired on the Lifetime Television Network, brought a full professional crew to campus, including Larry Dowling, a Morgantown-based lighting director, Chuck Kleine, a West Virginia native location manager.
Over the course of a single day, the team captured eight scenes using high-end equipment, coordinated lighting and sound departments, and a full cast — including lead actress Melissa Joan Hart.
For Webb, the day offered a rare behind-the-scenes look at filmmaking and a meaningful takeaway.
He said multiple members of the production team, including the director, director of photography and executive producer, repeatedly praised the WVU studio as organized, professional and exceptionally clean.
“That was really gratifying,” Webb said. “Some of these team members are based in California, the cinema capital of the world, so it was exceptionally rewarding to hear these compliments. They were equally complimentary about the support from our team members. It validated that we’re doing things the right way.”
Webb’s team, Strategic Communications and Marketing Mixed Media, works behind the scenes on many of the University’s biggest outreach efforts, including digital signage and large-scale production events like Commencement.