Putnam County’s Lonnie Welch, who is a studio mechanic, and Bryana Ferringer and Sasha Stapleton, who play the parts of abductees, wait between takes for AME Production Group Producer/Director Chris Donaldson to call them to action.

By Shannon Sneed
The Eatonton Messenger
March 8, 2025

The Enterprise Aluminum Plant in Eatonton is seeing production again – this time for the film industry.

Once the site of a thriving household aluminum products manufacturing company, established in 1914 according to The Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the location lay desolate for several years.

That is no longer the case as the facility was recently abuzz with activity inside the former warehouse, now production studio.

Each space of the now-Tytan Pictures studios location was being utilized Feb. 24 as Chris Donaldson, of AME Production Group, continued to film the pilot series “Angel.”

The whirlwind of a drone, operated by Eatonton-Putnam Chamber of Commerce Membership Manager Tommy Cook, who was using the mini-aircraft to get highflying shots of the scenes, could be heard during each take. That drone buzz would be cut out during the editing process using Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR), Tytan CEO Jim Stone advised.

During that day of filming, Donaldson was making a “scratch track,” which is clean (no background noise) re-recorded dialogue sound editors use with voice dubbing.

With nearly 30 people scattered around the set doing various jobs or watching the action, Tytan Executive Producer Roxy Stone, of Shots by Roxie, moved silently around the facility getting snapshots while some of the actors starring in the production were being interviewed.

Surrounded by a warehouse full of props, such as chairs, sofas, an old car and even an army truck, Donaldson explained to spectators the proper etiquette on a film set.

Noting the importance of remaining quiet on the set while filming is taking place, Donaldson said also there was no personal (smart phone) filming allowed. He advised that the network media doesn’t want to see anything about a production on social media before they were ready to market the film. “You can get pictures afterward of the new talent,” Donaldson said.

As AME production group continues to use local talent for the production, Eatonton Police officer, Lynn Stanford, who has already been filmed in some scenes, was joined by Eatonton Police officer Johnny Campbell and nearby neighbors Bryana Ferringer, of Macon, and Sasha Stapleton, of Augusta.

Putnam County resident Lonnie Welch, who is a Motion Pictures Studio mechanic with Atlanta Union 479, was also on the set and explained some of the procedure. “They have to take shots from several different angles,” said Welch. “And you have to take the shot several times to make sure you have everything when it comes time to edit.” And taking shot after shot of the same scene for several hours is what the film crew did. “Let’s have fun with it,” said Donaldson as the crew hurried to their places to begin filming a scene where police officers sped into camera range in marked squad cars followed by detectives in a sleek, black, unmarked Dodge Charger.