Maclain Nelson graduated from Brigham Young University in 2003 with a degree in theatre arts studies. In 2013, Nelson worked with Garrett Batty as co-producer of The Saratov Approach, a dramatic thriller film about a 1998 kidnapping of two Mormon missionaries in Russia. At the 2014 Filmed in Utah award show, The Saratov Approach won awards for Best Sound Mix, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Feature, and Best Screenplay. In 2015, he was the writer, director, and executive producer for the Girl's Camp Movie Once I was a Beehive. The film was screened at the 2015 LDS Film Festival and opened in theaters across Utah in August that year. Just recently he Co-Produced​ the movie My Time Traveling Brother which happened to be the 25th movie of his career.