The Artist's Vision — The Tide

In the School of Filmmaking, stories come alive through the collaboration of visionaries behind the camera. In this behind-the-scenes look, student filmmakers share how they brought "The Tide" — a psychological horror film set at the end of World War II — to life, transforming a single train car into a world of memory, fear and haunting beauty.

Written and directed by students, "The Tide" follows a group of young soldiers traveling home when they encounter a mysterious fog that begins to mimic the voices of those they’ve lost. Beneath its eerie surface, the film explores male vulnerability and the lingering trauma of war.

From lighting to sound design to color grading and visual effects, every creative choice the team made contributes to the film's tension and atmosphere. Students designed and lit the confined train set entirely from the outside, engineered the infamous “death tube” that delivered waves of fog and balanced war-film realism with genre-film surrealism. The result is a chilling fusion of craft and emotion.

"The Tide" is a glimpse into what’s possible at the School of Filmmaking: a story shaped by hands-on work.