The SAU Tech Multimedia Technology program began shooting a script from Film and Video Instructor/writer and director Scotty Morrison.
A year later, on Oct. 27, students will debut "The Murder of Alexandria Stevens" at the college.
"We started the last week of October, and we finished at the end of November. But we didn't shoot constantly," Morrison said. "We would shoot on the weekends and then a couple of nights, so we shot for 18 days."
The film is an homage to the slasher films of the 1980's and features the titular heroine pursued by a masked killer.
"Leonora Resendiz, she's the star of this movie and she's from Texarkana, which had a pretty prolific serial killer, 'The Phantom Killer,'" Morrison said. "She did amazing; she truly, in every way, carried this movie, from the moment her character is introduced until the ending. She carried it. She did amazing."
Unlike modern horror films, which often rely heavily on gore and elaborate kills to scare audiences, "The Murder of Alexandria Stevens" is more of a slow burn, according to its creator.
"There's not a lot of blood in this movie. It's more of a long, drawn out suspense than anything, because that's what scares me -- you never know if someone is watching you, " Morrison said.
Every step of the process, from pre-production to filming to post-production, was done at SAU Tech by students enrolled in the program.
Marissa DeStefano plays Lilly in the film, but she also was the head of lighting, makeup and special effects for the production.
"I'm just really excited for the movie to come out. I've seen it a couple of times, but I'm just so proud of what our program was able to make," DeStefano said. "I learned so much through that program, because I came in with no concept of film at all and I had a camera in my hands and I was encouraged to do make up."
According to the college's website, the Multimedia Technology Film and Video Production program was "designed to provide a strong hands-on and applications-based technology curriculum." Graduates are meant to be prepared for careers in film production, including operating cameras; functioning as grips; designing lighting, props and makeup; editing film; and marketing.
"Work for it. You know, it's going to be exhausting some days. I'd get up at 6 a.m. and drive an hour and I wouldn't leave school until 9 at night," DeStefano said. "If you really love film as much as I do, work for it, because it's really going to pay off in the end."
Another student who praised the experience of making a feature length film was Douglas Mitchell; he served as the film's first assistant camera and his duties included switching lenses and taking care of the equipment used to shoot the film.
"My biggest dream is to become a director and writer, so being on Scotty's left side, it really helped me see what I lack in it. I know that currently I lack authority and experience, and it really helped me get that experience. I know what to look at now when I go back into directing," Mitchell said.
He said he chose SAU Tech because he'd heard that a lot of graduates were able to immediately break into the film and TV industries.
"When I was looking for colleges, I heard that Tech had a lot of people that come out of it and go right into work, so I heard that some people are already working on really big TV shows. After going there and taking a tour, I realized it was really a school I wanted to go to," Mitchell said.
Morrison, DeStefano and Mitchell all said that the production wouldn't have been possible without the help of SAU Tech Chancellor Jason Morrison, who even loaned his home as a shooting location. All three said Morrison was instrumental in helping with the film and the program itself.
"The Murder of Alexandria Stevens" will have a special screening on Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 6 p.m. at SAU Tech in the Tech Engineering room TE100.