By Glorianna Nichols

   It was a typical shift for Garrett at the convenience station, dealing with rude customers and getting annoyed by his friend, until a stressed woman walked in and asked if she could use the store’s telephone. Garrett approved for her to use it and she stepped outside.

   Once she was returned, Garrett noticed that the call didn’t help her calm down. In fact, she seemed to be even more upset.

   “Is there anything else I can help you with tonight?” Garrett asked with concern.

   The woman hesitated before turning to him.

   “Yeah, do you guys sell roadside kits?”

   This scene is from “Night Shift,” a film produced by senior Jackson Riley in an abandoned ATM center over winter break for the 2023 UIL Short Film competition.

   The plot revolves around Garrett, an employee at a roadside convenience station, working through his shift. But instead of his normal night, he decides to help a random customer with an act of kindness.

  “I’ve always had this idea in mind and was mostly inspired by my own experiences working,” Riley said. “I think it’s important to remember that the customers you’re helping are people too rather than just an inconvenience.”

   By Jan. 18, each school was able to submit three movies under four categories: Narrative, Documentary, Computer/Digital Animation and Traditional Animation. Riley’s 7-minute-long narrative film was the only one created for the school. The filming and set production, inspired by “retro futuristic film sets,” took up the majority of Riley and his volunteers’ winter break.

   “My favorite part was actually getting to film on set for the three nights it took us to get it all done,” Riley said. “But, the entire process from writing to editing was great. I love the collaborative effort that goes into filmmaking. So many talented people can work on a project all at once, and I think that’s a great thing.”

   Jackson credits these students for “being super helpful” with the process of creating the movie: Caleb Irwin, Hannah Hillis, Ben Jeter, Zjay Wright, Tate Eller, Xandra Tanner, Sam Connelly, Mallory Wildman, Kelsie Patterson and Owen Horn. Long time friend of Riley and senior Caleb Irwin played the main character of “Night Shift.” He enjoyed showing off his skills at “sighing and being dramatic” in the film.

   “He’s mentioned a short film several times,” Irwin said. “We had auditions in class one day, and I ended up getting it. The cast was amazing, and it was great to work with friends. Jackson did a great job of writing good characters with clear motivations.”

   Senior Tate Eller worked behind the scenes as the editor for the film. He hopes that “Night Shift” inspires viewers to “be creative in their own ways” and apply the message of it into their own lives.

   “People should watch this film and understand that friendship and kindness are very important,” Eller said. “Sometimes giving can lead to receiving something you never expected.”

   Eller credits the audio-visual class he’s taking at the LIFT for helping him learn how to edit videos. For Irwin, being in theater has helped him understand the difference between performing on stage and for the camera.

   “The stage requires a lot of big physical movements,” Irwin said. “It’s a lot of vocal performance in terms of how you say the lines, and it also helps in terms of understanding how you’re standing or looking in a scene.”

   Riley, who’s acted since he was in preschool, is heavily involved with theater, having appeared in shows like “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” and “The Spongebob Musical.” He enjoys “the community that is built around theater” and applies what he knows as an actor into his films.

   “I wouldn’t have been able to complete ‘Night Shift’ without the help of my friends in theater,” Riley said. “Acting has helped with understanding a lot of different elements that go into production like lighting, blocking and directing. Although the stage and cameras are very different, it still helped a lot.”

   Riley plans to pursue filmmaking once he graduates to produce more inspiring movies.

   “I want to thank everyone for the support for ‘Night Shift,’” Riley said. “The opportunity to submit it to the UIL Short Film competition is amazing, and I think that we should promote the competition more in the first place. Having Abilene High represented with multiple films rather than just one would be an amazing way to show the abundance of creativity we have here.”

   “Night Shift” can now be viewed on Riley’s Youtube channel.