The Wild West Film Fest Scare Factor competition held in Lawrence Friday will hold special meaning for many students of Baker University.

Mark Kirk, associate professor of mass media and communication, said he is producing his second movie for the film festival. (Story continued below.)

Watch KNBU-TV's interview with Mark Kirk and a special presentation of his short film, part of Inside Baker.<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/KNBU" target="_blank">Inside Baker.</a> <br/> Inside Baker.

“It’s the 40th anniversary of the zombie film,” he said. “We’re making one in the old Romero tradition.”

Kirk said the film is a traditional film paying homage to the old George Romero movies like “Day of the Dead” and “Night of the Living Dead.”

“Romero’s films were political allegories done in the form of zombie stories,” Kirk said.

This year’s film is titled “Living/Dead.” The zombie film is a new venture for Kirk.

“Last year our film was ‘Never Ride With Strangers,'” he said.

Kirk said the movie was about a woman hitchhiker who gets picked up one night by a serial killer. The movie ends with the woman reading a note apologizing for the mess and seeing the bathroom filled with bodies and blood. Kirk said this year’s movie is an adjustment from last year.

“It’s supposed to be a scary film without being graphic,” he said. “It’s about survivors hiding out in a deserted farm house surviving the night.”

Kirk said the movie was filmed at a house outside of Baldwin City and neighbors were warned that the noises they heard were all part of the making of the film. He said some noises were noticeably absent from the shoot.

“We were supposed to have a gun in the movie,” Director of Photography Nate Swihart said.

He said the gun was removed for the purpose of fulfilling competition rules.

Kirk said the rules for the contest are very strict, only allotting 48 hours to shoot, edit and return a five-minute short film.

“It’s a test of creativity and time management,” he said.

Swihart said along with the time limit, there were certain requirements that posed a problem for filming.

“This year was particularly difficult,” he said. “The planned script had to be thrown out. The rules for the contest said no knives, no blood, no guns and no sound effects. Nothing could be used in the movie.”

Swihart said when the crew was informed about the requirements, everyone began to brainstorm new ideas for the script.

Kirk said despite the problems encountered while filming, this year’s experience was an improvement from last year.

“Last year we were operating out of the back of my van,” he said. “Having an indoor location was invaluable.”

Freshman Stephen Webb said the idea of a movie pieced together by students and a professor should appeal to many people familiar with the film festival.

“The students coming together with the professor would make it pretty unique,” he said. “Their ideas would be pretty creative.”

Kirk said he’s pleased with the film and the students’ efforts, whether they receive recognition at the event or not.

“We know it’s going to be good,” he said. “Whether we make it into the top five winners, we don’t know.”