TikTok horror: CCM Acting alumnus and students create scary short videos

Spencer Lackey. Photo/Provided.

Lackey's short-form video content makes us shiver and jump in fear, so watch at your own risk on his TikTok, Instagram or YouTube channels (content warning: horror). He's currently working with CCM Acting students to create their own vertical short-form horror content in CCM's Acting for the Camera Class, which is held at UC's Digital Performance Lab.

Directed by CCM Acting Professor D'Arcy Smith, the Digital Performance Lab is a hub for the creation, production, research and training in digital performance. Its mission is to bridge the gap between industry and academia, creating new work and investigating ways to advance how performers and technology interact.

"One of the goals of the lab is to train actors to make their own work in digital mediums in as affordable way as possible," Smith says. "Spencer is giving the students a behind-the-scenes look at how he creates his TikTok videos, his process of story telling and secrets to his gaining over six million followers. Students will then make their own shorts under his guidance."

Lackey and students are figuring out how to capture audience attention in a medium that is overrun with content - social media. "Generally speaking, this means developing a good hook, a strong, tension-building sequence and a payoff," Lackey says. "In other words, a beginning, middle and end."

CCM Acting students are trained in acting for the camera, voice over work and motion capture. In today's entertainment landscape where casting decisions are partially based on an actor's following, it's also important to train students on social media platforms and how to produce their own work.

Lackey humbly says that he got lucky with his TikTok success. He posted a jump scare video that hit the platform's algorithm just right and took off with viral views. The video's success inspired him to continue making horror videos. "The endeavor as a whole opened doors into the industry that I never would've thought were available to me," he adds.

"I've been a horror nerd ever since I saw The Shining TV mini series at the ripe age of 10 and traumatized myself," Lackey says. "I think everybody who's obsessed with horror has this experience. 'I was X years old when I saw Y, and it ruined me, but I've been chasing the feeling ever since.'"

The videos created by students under Lackey's mentorship are still in development, but they are guaranteed to be a scary good time for horror lovers.

"If you want to make stuff, do it!" Lackey shares his advice for students and creators. "Gone are the days that require many thousands of dollars to make a short film. You can shoot a video, a short film, or even a full length movie on your phone! You can post it on to YouTube and get a ton of attention (if it's good, that is). The trick is to make things you're passionate about. For me, that's horror."