It all started in 2020 when he was driving around Provo. With the film in mind, he noticed the 90-year-old school’s concrete exterior.

“This school is terrifying,” Wolfe thought to himself. “This is a gem, we need to turn this into a movie at some point.”

That began a four-plus-month process of trying to sit down and meet with the school’s principal to see if they could use Dixon as a filming location. The administrator was more than willing, Wolfe said, with school out of session. Now, Wolfe is joined by Cameron Holdaway, producer; Sofia Guadarrama, director of photography; Elizabeth Castillo, gaffer/key grip; along with actors and extras during late nights, wandering through the school and making “Just One Look.”

Wolfe and Castillo are both UVU graduates with degrees in film. The two met while making Wolfe’s senior capstone project. After graduating, Wolfe knew we had to turn his idea into a reality.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald file photo

“I decided I wanted to make a short film, I wanted to make it here, hopefully have something done by around Halloween,” he said.

The film plays off traditional horror tropes and ideas with a classic tagline — “A group of thrill-seeking adolescents breaks into an old school at night to discover its secrets.” For now, though, everything is a work in progress.

John Anderson, the school’s principal, sat in his office until just past midnight one June evening as the group of aspirational filmmakers wandered the barely illuminated halls. Room by room, with every footstep echoing past tile and drywall, Wolfe would get a sense of the locations and how they’ll work for the film.

For the first time, Guadarrama and Castillo took in the surroundings firsthand, ordering their shots and finding angles they can use when filming begins. Every moment became a learning opportunity for the crew as they faced expected difficulties.

“Especially the lighting, when you’re making something scary it’s hard to have that line where it’s, like, cheesy and then it’s also scary,” Guadarrama said.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

Castillo brought a still camera to replicate how shots will translate with the full video equipment. She wanted to see exactly how dark the school would be through the lens, at night. “The answer is very dark, pitch black. Especially when we went into the gym I was like, ‘How am I gonna light this?”

Still early in the journey, the most difficult parts of the production have been mental. Castillo is mentally running through every possibility for how she can utilize the space in a visually interesting way that allows Wolfe and the actors to tell their story.

Wolfe said the most difficult part, for him, is allowing the production to move forward without second guessing himself. As the writer, director and producer, he said he has developed a less-than-useful habit of allowing his “producer brain” to comment on the writing and vice versa.

There has been one physical challenge, though, that has taken up Wolfe’s time and energy. Money.

“We have a strong vision for what this is going to be and the unfortunate thing is after we’re done with it — and it’s so cool — then everyone’s gonna say, ‘Oh, that was so rad.’ But the thing is, once everyone thinks it’s cool, after we make the movie, we can’t go back in time and have them give us money,” Wolfe said.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

A crowdfunding effort for the film has, thus far, raised over $1,500 from 19 backers with a goal of $5,000. The group will also host a concert to try to raise additional funds.

The five-band show will be held at 7:30 p.m. July 22 at Caleb Chapman’s Soundhouse in American Fork. Tickets are $10 apiece with 100% of sales going toward the production of “Just One Look,” Wolfe said.

With different backgrounds and life experiences, Wolfe, Guadarrama and Castillo are coming to the set of “Just One Look” hoping to make the same thing happen — the rest of their lives. Wolfe has visions of a sprawling, multi-film epic that can only come after years of paying his dues and growing. Guadarrama wants to be an indie filmmaker and director. And Castillo, telling the Daily Herald she’s “still trying to figure it out,” has a love for filmmaking and wants to work toward her passions.

The end goal for the film is slightly more direct. It will go into everyone’s personal portfolios and the group hopes to enter it into different film festivals, have local showings and make it available for horror aficionados.