My first project in the Bay Area Cinema class was to make a short film inspired by film noir. This was my first formal film class and I had no clue what film noir was. However, after watching a couple film noir movies at the Castro Theater with my classmates (one of my favorite face to face outings) and doing some research at home, I caught on to a common theme: shadows. In particular, I watched “Number 17” by Alfred Hitchcock for his use of shadows to create suspense.

I call my short film, “The Shadow,” after what I was inspired most by. I shot this film on a Canon camera (I can’t remember exactly what the model is right now). Want to see what happens when you’re home alone with only shadows as company? Watch “The Shadow” here: