While many folks were getting ready to end their work weeks on Friday, July 12, the film crew in the Hastings building in downtown Port Townsend was fully engaged in a shooting schedule that was due to take them through the weekend, from sunup to sundown through Sunday, July 14.

The Port Townsend Film Festival’s winning short screenplay, “Glampire” by screenwriters Jordan Lucas and Winda Benedetti, is being taken from text to film, not only by director Amy Hesketh and producer Aaron Drane, but also by a crew of roughly 30 performers, production people and behind-the-scenes busy-bee workers.

Bremerton’s Taniyah Elmore will be starting her second year at Olympic College, and “Glampire” marks her fifth onscreen film role, although she described this production as being both “more challenging” and “really fun,” especially given that the spectrum of experience, among those with whom she’s working, is a bit broader than some of the student films she’s taken part in.

“Everyone I’ve been able to work with has made this a great experience for me,” Elmore said. “I love acting because you can tell an entire story, just by using your face and your body language. When the camera zooms in close, the smallest shift in your eyes can make a big difference.”

Craig Downing, a film instructor at Olympic College who’s working as part of the crew on “Glampire,” praised Elmore for her talent, work ethic and positivity, while also touting the value of productions such as “Glampire” for helping schools such as Olympic College furnish film students with the sorts of experiences in the field that should help their careers flourish.

“All our film students develop so many skill sets from working on productions like this, which will further enable them to get into the industry,” Downing said. “Programs and connections like this are why I’m willing to do a one-hour commute to teach at Olympic College.”

Los Angeles-based Steve Johnson is the sort of makeup and special effects legend whose career could serve as the basis for several books of cinematic history, since he’s worked repeatedly with directors like John Carpenter, and on films including 1984’s “Ghostbusters” — for which he created the green ghost “Slimer” — and 1987’s “Predator,” as well as two installments each of the “Blade” and “Species” franchises.

Fortunately for the production of “Glampire,” Johnson has known Drane for several years, respects Hesketh’s work as a director, and enjoys traveling up to the Pacific Northwest, whose “vibe” he appreciates.

Johnson laughed often as he described the “light-hearted” mood on set in the Hastings building, where he and his special effects assistants, Spencer Cox and Naomi Mechem-Miller, mapped out the stages of the vampire’s onscreen evolution into “glamorization,” and beyond.

While this does involve prosthetics, Johnson noted how much of the vampire’s appearance leans on skillfully applied facepaint, which he likened to Vincent Van Gogh paintings.

Nonetheless, Johnson acknowledged the difficulty of making such makeup applications work now, since improvements in filmmaking technology have actually worked against certain aspects of in-camera special effects.

“In the last 10 years especially, cameras have become so high-resolution that, if you used techniques that were taken for granted 10 or 20 years ago, your film would be laughed out of the theaters today,” Johnson said.