In the short film "Text," two young women are terrorized by mysterious text messages. When they hit reply, it only leads to more dread from an unseen, supernatural force. The film was written by Ryder Page, based on a story from Yuri Chavez. "Text" not only explores the fear of what people can do with technology, but what technology can do on its own. Ryder Page explains below how he works with Rosco’s LitePad LED technology and how he was able to use LitePad Axioms to light his film.
One of the key technologies for lighting Text was the Rosco LitePad Gaffer’s Kit. Due to scheduling, the crew only had four shooting hours a day, which is much shorter than most productions. This meant a great deal of work was compacted into short bursts of time over several days. The fact that the LitePad Axioms inside the kit produce such a flattering, soft output and are so easy and quick to set up, made it easier to shoot quality footage in the short time frames the crew had available.
The best example of the LitePad’s versatility is showcased in the final scene. When the lights go out, the only light on Zoey, played by actress Ashley Campbell, is her "cell phone." However, the actual phone just didn't put out enough practical light for the scene, so the production used one of the 3”x6” LitePad Axioms to light her.
Instead of holding the phone, she held the LitePad. This provided the right amount of stylistic visibility needed to see her face and the directionality of the light comes from exactly where her phone would be.
"Text" will be showcased at the 2015 Las Vegas Film Festival. Ryder Page is a Las Vegas-based filmmaker at the College of Southern Nevada. To see more of Ryder Page's work, visit his Facebook page or watch his demo reel.
