Students find their niche at Calhoun HS
The CHS video production classes teach students how to produce and edit videos and live stream sporting events, putting their individual skills to work.
On Monday mornings at Calhoun High School, the upper level video production students arrive to school early to record the morning announcements prior to homeroom. In fact, these students arrive at school early every day for this very reason.
Around 7:50 a.m., recording begins, with two student news reporters sitting in front of a green screen at a table decorated with pompoms, sports trophies and a football helmet.
Andrew Barber and Matthew Turner, Monday’s hosts, begin reading aloud from a teleprompter after the introduction song plays the theme song from “The Office,” with a montage of CHS videos and snippets of the crew. Once the count down from the cameraman reaches a silent zero, the hosts begin their morning routine.
“Good morning, it’s February 11
NICHE,
and it’s a gold day,” Turner, a CHS senior said, introducing himself and his co-host Barber.
The hosts talked through the campus’ announcements, discussing deadlines for dual enrollment applications, standardized testing dates and sports team updates. And though the two were reading the script, they added bits of humor into their roles.
When they talked about the weather, a rainy background popped up on the recording, which Turner said was fitting for that day’s weather. Barber announced the high percentage of rain for Monday, which initiated a few off-script comments.
“This weekend wasn’t bad, I’d say it was mediocre, so we’re moving toward terrible,” Turner said with a dry sense of humor.
The room next to the actual recording studio was where the magic was actually happening. Freshman Carter Johnson and Sophomore Noah Jones were managing the technical production of the recording, uploading it online and sending it to teachers and staff members.
There were also students working behind cameras, managing the teleprompter, providing technical support and making sure everything went smoothly. The teacher of the video production class, Bill Long, was present at the recording, but served mainly as a hands-off supervisor: the students were running the production entirely by themselves.
“He gives you a list of things you can do and you have to go out and do them,” said Johnson, who said he prefers to be behind the camera. “He lets us do our own thing.”
Something different
Following the production, Jones also commented that through this class, he’s been able to learn how to work with other students on a team, how to work some of the equipment and how to better communicate with others.
“It’s hard sometimes, but it’s worth it in the end,” Jones said.
One of their other behindthe-scenes workers, Thomas Peña, said while he doesn’t see video production in his future, he enjoys the freedom the class gives him and he likes being able to work audio for the various projects he’s involved in.
Barber and Turner also had a chance to chime in on why they picked to take this class out other available electives.
“For us the biggest part is the social skills,” Barber said, motioning toward his co-host. “I feel like if you can talk in front of a camera, you can talk in front of a bunch of people. And it’s helped me in other classes.”
Agreeing, Turner said his interest in production doesn’t extend far beyond the class, but he understands how it appeals to others.
“The funding for this program shows how much they really care about it and it’s important to us here,” Turner said. “And being able to talk in front of people is huge.”
Both of the hosts also said that the CHS program is unlike anything at other schools. They feel fortunate to be attending a school that supports the program and encourages them to reach outside of their comfort zone.
“There’s not that many high schools that have this opportunity to make such high-quality videos,” Barber said. “And we’re lucky to have Coach Long, as well. He does a great job with our class.”
Students take
control
Long, who pointed to the students when questioned about the projects he supervises, teaches the video broadcast production class, but once he sees students know what they’re doing, he backs off and lets them do all the work.
“It’s not for everyone,” Long said, “but some people get in here and find a place where they can contribute.”
Long said he tries to find a place for everyone’s different talents, and actually finds that a majority of his students don’t want to be in front of the camera. Yet, over time as students grow to be more comfortable with working with the cameras, set and equipment, they are able to find skill sets they didn’t know they had, he said.
And as two of his main teaching mechanisms, Long said he teaches students through what’s already been done in the production field and lets them research and discover how to produce what ideas they have in mind.
“Our textbook in this class is YouTube,” Long said. “I’m the teacher but I also bring experts into the building from across the planet through YouTube.”
Long said he has no problem letting students take control of their own learning and pitch him ideas for projects.
For his classes, students must participate in a certain number of events, which may or may not include the morning announcements. Other alternatives include live streaming, covering athletic events, filming or helping with lighting for plays, working on backgrounds for announcements and working on longer marketing videos for the school.
His students’ hard work has also earned the program some recognition on not only a state level, but the national level as well.
A winning formula
In 2017, CHS Video won the National Marketing Award from the National Federation of State High School Associations Network, and in 2016, the live streaming production crew was recognized as a finalist for Best Original Programming by the Network.
Long said he’s also had students nominated for the Southeast Student Emmys for their short film “Joni’s Harbin’s Journey,” some of his students have been nominated for individual production NFHS Network awards and the program as a whole has also been contacted by schools across the country asking for advice and help with their production program.
“The only way to get better at being in front of the camera or behind it is to actually do it, and that’s what we do in our classroom,” Long said. “They can be creative and come up with their own ideas. It’s an art.”