Josh Lumsden looked up at the giant screen and slouched in his chair, trying to be hidden from view. He gazed around as the crowd attending the Texas High School Short Competition at the South by Southwest Film conference fixed their eyes on the screen before them, waiting for the next part of their evening to begin.

Suddenly, Lumsden is on the giant display and the words "Texas Mental Asylum Institution" appear at the bottom left corner. He's strapped to a gurney as the music video for his song, "Guilty," begins.

"I had the whole cast there, and we were crossing our fingers," he said. "I kept thinking, 'Don't show it, don't show it.' It was kind of nerve-wracking."

Lumsden wrote and recorded the pop/dance–style music and filmed and edited the footage himself, all on a computer. About the only thing he didn't do was lay out the dance choreography.

The one-man production crew is a student at Crockett High School and a percussionist and snare player in the school's band. But he has a knack for film, according to Crockett High School film and media teacher James Dirkes.

"It was surprising, but not at the same time because I've seen his work," he said. "It's a big deal, it's pretty prestigious just to go and be part of it, if nothing else."

Lumsden said that the pause after the viewing seemed to last forever, but that it was followed by a healthy applause. He talked about the wide-eyed stares at seeing the video as if he enjoyed the shock value.

"It's weird, scary, creepy and very dark. It's about people who are inside a mental asylum, who are trying to escape. I'm really big into shock art," he said. "The kind that can draw attention and be unforgettable. Interesting and shocking can help you remember that video for a long time, and that's what I strive to do."

The young director and musician has a passion for horror films and models his style after the dark, creepy and suspenseful. The sophomore said he didn't expect his music video to be selected for screening at SXSW and didn't know what he accomplished until he got there.

"We entered it, and I was thinking, 'This is not going to happen, but let's try it out,'" he said. "It was a big deal. It was like, 'What? Is this real?' It was very surprising. I didn't realize how big it was until I went to SXSW."

The video was shot in one day in two locations. Lumsden said that the most challenging thing about directing and producing the film was the actors.

"I had people my age acting," he said. "They can get very distracted, and it's hard to bring everyone together and find days when we could all shoot. I can think of ideas very easily, but actually executing it really challenging."

He said that the Internet has made a convenient instructor when his classroom instruction is out of reach.

"Whenever I don't know how to do things, I usually look at YouTube and do research on the Internet," he said.

The 15-year-old said he is going to start classes at Austin Community College, eventually hoping to get into a film program after he graduates. He said the challenge is experimenting with genres outside of his comfort zone.

"I have this dream of becoming a famous singer," he said. "But, I'd like to do full-time film as well and maybe do a full-length film. So, if my dream doesn't pan out, I could see myself as a director."