3-Day Horror Movie-Making Intensive

Love Horror Movies?Make One in 3 Days.

Script to Screen | LEARN ON-SET


Spend three days making a real horror short with working filmmakers beside you. You make it. We finish it for a spring screening.

When
Dec 28–30, 2026
9 AM–3 PM
Spots
Only 15 available
Who
Ages 15+
All skill levels
Save $300
Enroll by 11/15/26
Where
Fairfield County, CT
Reserve Your Spot →

Presented by

CT Story Labs — A #FareLife Training Initiative
A DP films an actress holding the slate at the start of a take on a CT Story Labs set
Only 15 spots

What This Actually Is

One Movie. Three Days.

1Day 1 · Pre-Production

Plan the Film

  • Table read
  • Script breakdown
  • Blocking
  • Coverage & shot lists
  • Directing decisions
  • Visual storytelling choices
  • Production-design & prop planning
2Day 2 · Production Begins

Gear Up & Roll

  • Equipment prep & camera setup
  • On-set safety meeting
  • Then the cameras roll
  • Direct the actors
  • Rotate crew roles
  • Work with a professional DP
3Day 3 · Production Wraps

Shoot to Wrap

  • Shooting from call to wrap
  • Cover every scene
  • Keep rotating crew roles
  • Push the performances
  • Wrap the horror short

By the end of Day 3, you won't just understand how movies get made — you'll have spent three days actually making one. From there, CT Story Labs takes your footage into post-production and finishes the film for a spring screening. You'll have lived it.

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Get On The Crew

This Isn't a Workshop
Where You Sit and Watch.

This is a get-your-hands-on-it experience. Students rotate through real film-crew departments as the day moves from scene to scene — so you don't just try one job, you work several parts of a functioning set.

A student booms a scene beside the DP operating the camera on set
An instructor directs a student holding a boom mic in the hallway on set
The student crew gathers around the monitor to watch a take play back
Two students laugh together on set in front of the camera and monitor
Hold the slatePull focusShape the lightRecord the soundDirect the actorsCall the shot
DIR
Director
DP
Cinematographer
AC
Assistant Camera
GAF
Gaffer
GRP
Grip
SND
Sound
PD
Production Design
AD
Assistant Director

Yes, The Students Direct

The Students Are
the Directors.

Students make the creative calls that shape the film.

Block the ScenePlace the CameraDirect PerformanceChoose CoverageBuild SuspenseShape the Story

The cast performs the roles; the students direct them. Professional instructors and a pro DP teach, guide, supervise, and handle the technical complexity when needed — but the creative decisions stay with the students.

My favorite role was directing. CT Story Labs gave me the opportunity to work with a team. If you want to get that experience, go for it and don't be scared — because everyone is kind, and it's going to be okay.
Rithza SHigh School Graduate

Beginners Welcome

Never Been on a Film Set?
You Belong Here Too.

Never made a movie before? You're welcome. Already making your own films? You'll have room to stretch.

  • No Experience RequiredLearn the craft in real time.
  • Mixed Skill LevelsBeginners and experienced students work side by side.
  • Pros Right Beside YouGet guidance when you need it, without having the experience taken over for you.

Why Horror

Horror Is a
Filmmaker's Playground.

Horror is one of the best genres for learning how filmmakers control what an audience sees, hears, expects, and fears. Every tool in the kit gets a workout.

LightingSoundFramingBlockingPacingRevealsSuspenseProduction DesignAudience Expectation

The project is built for a PG-13 teen filmmaking environment. Genre conventions like fake blood, slasher beats, monster elements, and suspense may be involved — nothing extreme or adult-level.

A bottle of stage blood and blood-dabbed prop paper on a countertop
Ben Nye stage blood & PG-13 practical effects on set

Love Movies? Want to Make One?
You're in the Right Place.

Beginners welcome. Experienced young filmmakers welcome too.

Reserve Your Spot →

Prepared On Purpose

We Prepare the Production So Students Can Spend Their Time Filmmaking.

Three days goes fast. So before students arrive, we handle the pieces that would otherwise eat up the intensive.

  • Script ReadyNo spending Day 1 writing pages.
  • Cast ReadyNo scrambling to find actors.
  • Gear ReadyProfessional equipment is already on set.
  • Pros ReadyExperienced filmmakers are there to guide the process.

Students start exactly where a real film crew starts: preparing the production and making the movie.

After The Intensive

The Movie Keeps Going
After December 30.

When production wraps, our work continues.

  • Professional Post-ProductionCT Story Labs takes the footage into editing and finishing.
  • A Finished Horror ShortThe scenes students planned and shot become a completed film they can actually watch and share.
  • A Spring ScreeningThe finished short is planned to screen alongside #FareLife at regional libraries.

You don't leave with an exercise. You leave having helped make a movie.

A Film Crew, Not a Crowd

15

Only 15 Filmmakers.

The 15-student cap isn't just scarcity — it's how the experience works. On a small crew, every student rotates through departments, gets real time on the equipment, takes part in actual decisions, and receives meaningful attention from the instructors. Nobody disappears into a crowd. It's a film crew, not a crowd.

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What's Included

Everything You Need to Make the Movie.

  • 18 Hours of Immersive Filmmaking
  • All Professional Filmmaking Equipment Provided
  • Professional DP & Filmmaking Instructors On Set
  • Pre-Written Horror Screenplay & Pre-Cast Actors
  • Hands-On Crew-Role Rotation
  • Real Directing, Camera, Lighting & Sound Experience
  • Professional Post-Production & Finished Horror Short
  • Planned Spring Screening
  • Ongoing CT Story Labs Creative Community Access

No camera to buy. No actors to find. No screenplay to write. No experience required. Just show up ready to make the movie.

Please note: students may be asked to bring simple props or production-design items identified on Day 1.

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Meet The Filmmakers

Experienced Pros, Right Beside You.

Brian Tyler, lead instructor

Brian HOGAN

Writer | Director | Educator

Writer, director, and filmmaker whose credits include cinematography work with Adam Lambert and The Pussycat Dolls, plus script consulting for writers at HBO, USA, TBS, and ABC. Brian helps students turn story ideas into clear directing and production choices on set.

Tyler, editor and post lead

Tyler STIRLING

Editor | Educator

Award-winning director and editor with experience across commercial and digital media, and a guest lecturer at Sacred Heart University. Tyler leads post-production after the intensive, shaping the students' footage into the finished horror short for its spring screening.

Allie, instructor

Allie O'BRIEN

Producer | Educator

Producer and educator with five years of higher-ed experience teaching advanced filmmaking. Allie specializes in pre-production, logistics, and production planning, helping students understand how creative ideas become organized, workable film sets.

Nyle, director of photography

Nyle HIGGS

Director of Photography

Filmmaker and IATSE Local 600 camera professional whose credits include The Gilded Age, And Just Like That, The Morning Show, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, and David Byrne's “Everybody Laughs” music video. Nyle brings real professional camera-department experience directly onto the student set.

Together, the team brings real-world filmmaking experience into a structured, supportive environment for students.

What People Say

Voices From the Set.

“Going into this I had a feeling that I wanted to do film, but I wasn’t totally sure. Heading to college, CT Story Labs was what was gonna help me understand if I wanted to do film, and I was like, ‘This is exactly what I wanna do.’ It made me so confident.”

Ava G, rising seniorAva GRising senior

“CT Story Labs really helped me work with a team. Definitely more confident. Definitely do it — it’s worth it. Tell your friends to sign up with you, or just be confident enough to make friends when you get there, because it makes it so much better.”

Michaela C, CT Story Labs studentMichaela CRising junior

“This camp proved how I saw filmmaking. I thought it was something fun...It’s hard work! But not the kind of hard work that makes you exhausted and never want to do it again. It’s the hard work that reminds you, ‘Oh, it’s hard because I’m actually doing something I love, and it shouldn’t be comfortable if I’m progressing.’”

Carlos A, rising juniorCarlos ARising junior

See CT Story Labs In Action

Real Sets. Real Equipment.
Real Creative Responsibility.

An instructor and two students smile at a monitor while reviewing a shot together on set
Reviewing the shot
A student works on set dressing at a decorated locker between setups
Production design
A student booms a scene while the camera operator frames the shot on set
Behind the camera
The full CT Story Labs student crew and instructors pose with the slate by the blue lockers
The whole crew, on wrap
Students sit and watch a scene during a table read and rehearsal
Watching playback
Students work through script pages at their desks during pre-production
Learning the gear

Tuition & Registration

Three Immersive Days.
One Horror Short. Only 15 Filmmakers.

I feel pretty confident. I realized you don't need to be a genius to make a movie. You can be a guy with a camera, and you still make a good movie. It's a lot more collaborative than I thought.
Doug GRising Junior

Reserve Your Spot

Get On the Crew.

Early Rate$597$897Register by Sunday, Nov 15 · 11:59pm — then $897

Claim one of 15 crew spots and get ready for three days on a real production. Fill out the quick enrollment form below, then continue to secure checkout.

We'll email you enrollment details for the intensive. No spam — unsubscribe anytime.

Questions & Answers

Before You Reserve.

How are students supervised during the intensive?

Students work in a structured production environment with adult instructors and professional filmmakers present throughout the intensive. The team guides the filmmaking process, supports students in each department, and steps in whenever technical or safety oversight is needed.

The goal is real creative responsibility with experienced professionals close by.

My student is a complete beginner. Will they be able to keep up?

Yes. No previous filmmaking experience is required.

The intensive is designed for mixed skill levels, so beginners learn the process in real time while more experienced students can take on deeper challenges. Students do not need to arrive knowing how a film set works. That is part of what they are coming to learn.

What if my student is shy or doesn't know anyone?

That is completely fine.

Students work together as one film crew, which gives everyone a clear role and a shared goal from the beginning. Film sets need many different personalities and strengths, and students do not need to be outgoing or already know the group in order to contribute meaningfully.

Will every student actually get hands-on experience?

Yes. That is one of the reasons enrollment is capped at 15.

Students rotate through filmmaking departments and take part in real production work rather than spending the intensive watching a few advanced students or instructors do everything. The small crew structure is designed to give students meaningful time with the equipment, the process, and the creative decisions.

How graphic will the horror content be?

The project is being created for a PG-13 teen filmmaking environment.

The movie may use suspense, fake blood, practical effects, monster or slasher conventions, and frightening situations, but the goal is not extreme gore or adult-level material.

Horror is being used as a filmmaking playground for lighting, sound, framing, pacing, performance, production design, and suspense.

Do students need to bring filmmaking equipment?

No. Filmmaking equipment is provided.

Students should bring their own lunch and water, along with anything specifically requested for the production. Simple props or production-design items may be identified during Day 1 for students to bring on the following production days.

What happens to the movie after the intensive?

After production wraps on December 30, CT Story Labs takes the footage into professional post-production.

The film is edited and finished into a completed horror short, which is planned to screen in the spring alongside #FareLife at regional library screenings.

Students get the rare experience of seeing something they helped create move from the set to a finished film.

What kind of student is this experience best for?

The intensive is a strong fit for students who love movies, want to understand what filmmaking actually feels like, are curious about directing or working behind the camera, or simply want to create something with other young filmmakers.

Some students may arrive having already made films. Others may be stepping onto a set for the first time.

Both belong here.

Lights. Camera. You.

You've Watched Horror Movies.
Now Make One.

Three immersive days on a real set, turning a horror screenplay into a real short film — on the crew, in the director's chair, with pros right beside you. Grab one of the 15 spots. The $597 early rate ends Sunday, November 15 at 11:59pm.

Dec 28–309 AM–3 PMAges 15+$597Only 15 students
Reserve Your Spot