Every morning at Sierra Vista High School, teachers play the morning announcements to inform the entire Vista family of the day’s events. Providing the daily news, Vista Station News focuses on the different aspects of the Mountain Lion agenda. The process of creating news broadcasts involves multiple student-involved aspects.
To produce the announcements, multiple students must assign themselves to different roles and complete their jobs. The broadcast must use the “work of at least 10 students if not more, and multiple classes work on each show,” Mrs. Noll, the video production teacher, explains. “One or two students create the script, which involves updating the information to reflect current announcement requests, club meetings, sporting events, and lunch menus. One student edits the previously recorded show, and the remaining students work in the studio at various jobs or are reporters who interview students and staff for news packages.” The graphics students create appear in different segments of the announcements and give students the information they need for the day.
The organization system maintains the punctuality of each broadcast. The announcements are “recorded two days in advance of airing, so this requires a high level of organizational skills for the students to ensure the information is factual and all elements of the broadcast are in the correct Google Drive folder,” Noll describes. Each student must upload their different graphics to the respective folder for the show that airs on the corresponding day. Without the elaborate system, graphics would end up disorganized.
Before becoming part of the crew to produce the announcements, students must take Video Production I, open to freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. The class demonstrates “all of the steps of the production process which includes using cameras and Adobe Premiere Pro editing software. They learn how to write scripts, create storyboards, speak on camera, and craft open-ended interview questions,” Noll illustrates. Students drive their new skills towards making skits as assignments to practice the different steps, such as filming and editing. Without the mastery of the procedure, broadcasts would not keep a professional direction.
The skills acquired in the Video Production class provide students with an array of essential skills most required by potential employers. Students use their new capabilities outside of the classroom “to be more confident in social situations and public speaking, create their own content for social media channels,” Noll notes. “Even if they choose not to go in a media-related field after graduation, all professions require some of these skills for an employee to be successful.” Students can utilize their skills learned in Video Production for real-life experiences including job interviews and maintaining a healthy environment outside of school. The curriculum builds “a great way to interact with students and staff, getting to know peers through interviews and skits,” Emma Alonzo (11), a student in Video Production II, explains. Vista Station News prioritizes an inclusive approach to broadcasting, ensuring to represent the whole student body.
Each broadcast of Vista Station news not only enlightens students about the plan of the day, but also celebrates the hard work each member of Video Production puts towards the broadcast. Without the effort from each student, the announcements would not give the authentic, yet professional, feeling.
