A ghost and a Wichita State photographer make up an unlikely team for the local short film, “A Ghost to Walk With.”

“‘A Ghost To Walk With,’ is a story that revolves around two characters, Cameron and Cole,” said cinematographer Kyle Offutt, a senior engineering student at WSU. “Cole, a solitary photographer trying to make his way through life, has a very unexpected encounter with Cameron, who is a wandering ghost trying to make it through the afterlife.”

Cameron Lawrence and Cole Campbell are the actors in the film, which takes place in Wichita. Lawrence and Campbell, childhood best friends, have dreamed of making films for years. After producing a short horror film last year, they are ready to advance the quality of their next film by asking for donations from willing students.

“We’re going to use that money to get film and audio equipment to really improve the quality,” Campbell said.

He said the team set a goal of $4,000.

“Film equipment is very expensive,” Offutt said. “For projects in the past we have made a lot of DIY equipment like stabilizers, sliders and tracks out of PVC pipes. We really want to make a quality film so we are raising money to buy things such as microphones, boom poles, cables and camera lenses.”

Donations can be made through an Indiegogo account, an online host for campaigns, under “A Ghost to Walk With.” More than $1,500 have been collected so far, and donations will be accepted through the end of the month.

“We also have some cool unique perks for different donations that allow supporters to interact with us and be a part of the film and the entire experience,” Offutt said.

As with all films, the team’s goal encompasses more than merely entertaining an audience.

“I think [the project] means so much to us because we feel like we’ve all been there when it comes to a rough time in our lives where we really need somebody to talk to and help us,” Campbell said. “The goal of the film is to show people that no matter how different you are from somebody else you can really help a person when they’re going through a tough time.”