Bat Bridge Entertainment is based at the Historic Carriage House on downtown Seventh Street. The crew includes (top, from left): Mindy Sheldon, Laura Annalora, Marla Quintana; (bottom, from left) Jody Wingrove, Jeff Keels, Stephen Germer, Pat Kondelis and Matthew Wallis.[/caption] A new Austin-based film production company called Bat Bridge Entertainment has hit the ground running with its first project. The first episode of "High Profits," Bat Bridge's eight-part television documentary series about a legal marijuana retailer in Breckenridge, Colo., debuted April 19 on CNN as the No. 1 cable news program in its time slot. Five networks expressed interest in purchasing the series, said Jeff Keels, Bat Bridge co-creator, creative director and executive producer, but his company's dream scenario was always to air the show on CNN. He credits Bat Bridge's three-minute series preview—dubbed the "sizzle reel"—for helping attract so much attention to the Austin-based company. "It vaulted a brand-new company into having some of the highest buzz in the industry," Keels said. "'High Profits' was the sizzle reel of the year last year, and part of that was because nobody had ever heard of Bat Bridge."

"'High Profits' was the sizzle reel of the year last year, and part of that was because nobody had ever heard of Bat Bridge." – Jeff Keels, Bat Bridge co-creator, creative director and executive producer

That attention has helped give Bat Bridge momentum as the company prepares for its next seven projects, said Stephen Germer, Bat Bridge co-owner and executive producer, including at least one show that will feature "great Texas stories." "Our agent told us, 'To have a show that multiple networks are fighting for on your first show out of the gate is like catching a 12-pound bass the first time you cast a fishing pole,'" Germer said. "We hope this brings more attention to us and the great people in Austin." There are no other Austin-based production companies doing such large-scale projects, Garmer said, allowing Bat Bridge to handpick the best local talent. "High Profits" helped employ 28 people from Austin, he said. That includes Pat Kondelis, a senior producer for "High Profits" who helped Bat Bridge establish itself as a production company that uses movie-quality cameras instead of low-tech equipment. He said his company has been validated by CNN's selection of "High Profits." "When you're doing a documentary, people have expectations of seeing the shaky cam, but when you can tell an authentic story in a very cinematic way it helps bring the audience in," Kondelis said. In addition, no timelines were altered during the "High Profits" editing process to create drama that did not actually occur, Germer said. In total, the docu-series tracks its Breckenridge, Colo., sources for one year, he said. "We roll the camera for eight hours hoping to find maybe four minutes of something interesting that will make the final episode," Germer said. New episodes of "High Profits" air at 9 p.m. each Sunday on CNN.