By Aleasha Sandley
PENDLETON — On County Road 900 South, just south of Pendleton, a white picket fence surrounds a quintessential small-town American home.
The only giveaway that something out of the ordinary is going on in the home’s backyard is the line of cars parked out front. But a quick trip through the house and out the back door takes visitors from small-town Pendleton straight to Hollywood.
Indiana-based production company Kingdom Pictures Inc. used the home at 4414 W. 900S as the backdrop for its newest film production, “Taylor Made,” a short film bound for film festivals around the country.
Kingdom Pictures president and “Taylor Made” director Guy Camara is shooting scenes for the movie in Pendleton, Noblesville and Westfield.
“I wanted it to look like picture-perfect America,” Camara said. “This is like the ideal American home. Shooting outside Indianapolis in these small towns has just been a godsend. As soon as I saw the streets and sidewalks, I thought, ‘This is perfect.’”
“Taylor Made” is about a married woman, Amanda, played by Indianapolis resident Erin Light, who is pregnant and faces a difficult dilemma on the fate of her unborn child. In true Scrooge-like fashion, Amanda has a vision of her life both with and without the child, leading her to a decision.
“Pregnancy is such a personal experience that has gotten politicized,” Camara said. “You can see the dilemma between is it her choice or is she responsible for another life? It’s not that simple.”
Light enjoys the struggle she must portray in her interpretation of Amanda.
“The way she tries to handle her emotions is very admirable,” Light said. “She’s basically trying to figure out what’s the real answer here.”
Camara, who has 10 children with his wife, wanted to explore the connection between a mother and her unborn child with the film. He got the idea for the film about four years ago and finally got the go-ahead when he and producer Sam Gaw received a grant for the project this year.
The film is set to be ready for a screening by the cast and crew and their families in January before it comes out on DVD, and Camara will send it to film festivals in the spring.
Camara’s mission is to teach high school and college-aged students — particularly those who are home-schooled — about movie production. His cast and crew is made up of a mixture of high school and college students and professionals. He and Gaw want to start an academy, Kingdom Pictures Academy, in Hamilton or Madison County to show students the ins and outs of the movie business.
“His heart is really teaching young people the art of filmmaking and giving them hands-on experience,” Gaw said. “Most of them are very well equipped and very professional and want to do this for a living.”
The cast and crew of “Taylor Made” include 10-12 teens, all home-schooled, most of them from Indianapolis and Hamilton County, Gaw said.
It is Kingdom Pictures’ first time filming in Madison County, Gaw’s home. A native of Anderson, he brought Camara and the production northward of their usual shoot locations in Indianapolis and Hamilton County.
“I wanted him to experience this area,” Gaw said. “I definitely want to, as much as I can, film up in Madison County. Anderson being my hometown, I want to try the best I can to bring money in and get talent from Anderson, to do my best in coming back to my hometown and highlighting it.”
Gaw, who owns Indianapolis-based Flashpoint Media Inc., has been working with Camara for two years. The two plan to shoot a feature film next year based off the book “My Life as a Doormat” by Rene Gutteridge and still are looking for locations to shoot.
Lead actor Light, 23, was featured in the trailer for “My Life as a Doormat” and has worked with Camara for about two months.
“Working with him’s just been a joy because he’s made my acting 10 times better,” Light said. “He sees things; he literally internalizes stories.”
For Light, the opportunity given by Camara has helped her pursue an interest she might not have gotten to otherwise.
“I try to take advantage of those situations,” she said. “Being on stage, being in front of the audience, that’s just what I’m drawn to.”
-----------
‘Taylor Made’
Parts of short film “Taylor Made” shot in Pendleton
Director: Guy Camara
Producer: Anderson native Sam Gaw
Filmed: Aug. 8-16 in Pendleton, Noblesville and Westfield
Cast: 10 actors, 30 extras, 14-25 crew members depending on the day; 10-12 teens on crew
Showing: Screening for central Indiana residents in the fall, released to DVD in the winter, sent to film festivals around the country in the spring
