Senior Chloe Grimes stood over the production schedule taped to the wall as she crossed out another scene. Behind her, the clapper snapped shut while the cinematography team checked lenses under the soft glow. Students called out shot numbers as others dragged light stands across the floor. It was one more shoot in a series of long workdays, and every minute counted.

The Communications Magnet seniors are producing a fully student-led extended short film called “Special Delivery” and are on track to become the first group since 2019 to complete the project.

Communications magnet teacher Brent Morton chooses which senior class to give this project to. About 12 classes have attempted the extended short film, and only 2 ever finished it.

“We just had a bigger and more dedicated class,” Phipps said. “Other years had people drop out, but everyone stayed committed.”

Unlike the smaller projects the magnet usually produces like short PSAs, commercials, or five‑minute films, this one mirrors professional filmmaking with strict deadlines, specialized crew positions and months of weekend shoots.

The project began last year when Morton challenged the seniors to return from summer with enough material to prove they deserved the opportunity to create an extended short.

“They came back after summer with four ideas and a whole slideshow,” Morton said. “They really wanted to take this on, and they proved it.”

The class selected senior Trinity Phipps to direct and made her in charge of the pacing and creative decisions. On set, she works with the cinematographer to decide how each shot should look, guides actors through blocking and makes final calls on whether a scene feels right before moving on.

The film follows two teens working for a delivery company that hides illegal operations behind normal packages. When one discovers a gun and hidden drugs inside a delivery, he teams up with an undercover partner to uncover the truth.

“I wanted crime, mystery, and a kind of buddy story,” senior Stephanie Phan said. “The characters changed, but the heart stayed the same.”

Phan wrote the initial version during the summer. Phan said classmates looked to her because she had already proven herself as a writer in past projects, and she was one of the few willing to spend her break drafting a full story.

“It is crazy to see something I came up with in my room turn into a real production,” Phan said. “It means a lot that everyone wanted to bring it to life.”

Once the cameras rolled, the seniors realized how intense the project would be. Shoots stretched from early morning into late nights, and weekends were often filled with back-to-back scenes.

“We filmed from seven in the morning to midnight one day,” Grimes said. “My job was keeping everyone on schedule and making sure the crew stayed focused.”

Grimes said the crew had to adjust constantly because plans changed every week.

“Locations dropped out, actors dropped out,” Grimes said. “One dad canceled five minutes before he was supposed to be on set, and we had to replace him right then.”

Many students took on multiple roles like senior Eagan Cook, who’s the lead actor and handled sound design along with props.

“I try to help wherever I can,” Cook said. “We all hold each other accountable, and that helped us get this far.”

During busier weeks, the pressure built up as deadlines grew closer. Grimes said she dealt with the exhaustion of juggling multiple responsibilities when crew members were absent.

The script went through multiple rewrites as characters were reimagined, scenes were rearranged and entire roles evolved. Phan said she changed their stoner guy character into a sarcastic, smart girl and recast the villain from a huge man into a cold, calculated woman.

Reshoots became common as the class worked to fix details such as lighting changes, missed close-ups or lost audio.

“We had to fix little things,” Morton said. “A close-up we missed, a line someone forgot, lighting that changed.”

Morton said as the seniors gained confidence, the pace accelerated. Sets were built faster, shots were planned quicker, and the crew moved like a real production team.

“They ran like crazy for a month,” Morton said. “They shot forty-seven pages in a month.

One of the biggest days came when the seniors filmed the warehouse climax. Grimes said the scene was packed with dialogue where the story’s secrets finally came out. It required multiple camera angles, long speeches from the actors and careful lighting to capture the drama inside the cavernous space.

“We were exhausted, but when we finished that scene we knew the hardest part was over,” Grimes said.

Morton ended up joining the cast when the seniors wrote a character for him. The seniors had imagined him as a gruff detective, a role that matched his voice and presence.

“I am better behind the camera, but they thought it would be fun to put me in,” Morton said.

One of the most exciting filming locations was the private jet hangar where the students shot the opening scene. The film begins with the characters stepping out of a sleek private jet to establish a high production value from the very first shot.

“When I saw the cut of them walking out of the plane, I thought it looked really cool,” Morton said.

The students also built a collection of funny moments, including bloopers from long filming days. Grimes said the inside jokes carried them through the grind of filming.

“We have funny bloopers and inside jokes,” Cook said. “We even have production stills that captured some pretty funny moments.”

Grimes said from filming the extended short, she learned how to organize meetings and keep a production running, and Cook said the project proved how much everyone depends on each other.

“We all learned how much we rely on each other,” Cook said. “You cannot make a film alone.”

For Morton, the highlights were watching his students take control of the set and operate without being told what to do every step.

“My favorite moment was when I could walk in, do my lines, and get told I was wrapped,” Morton said. “They were still working after I left. That is real.”

The class will continue working on editing and sound design until December, and they plan to hold a cast and crew screening once the cut is complete.

Phipps said for the first time in years, a communications magnet class is reaching the finish line that almost no one else has crossed.

“They can say they made a real film,” Morton said. “That is something no one can take from them.”