Ten students from Middletown High School's Blue Tube Club recently attended a five-day Student Television Network (STN) Convention in Orlando, FL. More than 1400 students from across the United States gathered to learn new skills in TV and video production. "We had a great experience of going to a competition that wasn't about athletics, " commented Marcus Alcindor.
In addition to a number of seminars that taught filming skills such as Sports Highlights or Shooting Skills/Camera Angles, each attending school could register for up to three different competitions during the week. Blue Tube decided to compete in the "Sweet 16" contest (students had 16 hours to plan, film and edit a video given a specific title), a commercial contest, and a movie trailer contest. While the club didn't place in any of the contests, only 3 of the 10 students had been to the convention previously, and it was only MHS's third year attending the national convention. Club Advisor Lauren Pszczolkowski commented, "What was really impressive was how the students worked together for 16 hours straight [on the "Sweet 16" competition]...they cooperated in ways that most adults couldn't do." Club member Ally Rusowicz agreed: "The best part about the trip was how we worked together and really bonded."
Rusowicz also submitted a written summary of the trip for this article:
The STN convention taught me many things about video as well as the importance of teamwork. The first competition we entered in was the sweet sixteen. I had plenty of concern about this competition since I figured that all of our personalities and filming styles would conflict. However, to my surprise, everyone worked together extremely well. Each of us assumed our designated roles. Together, we came up with a story line, names, and camera angles. After our storyboard was finished, we set out filming. Everyone fit their part perfectly. Our second competition was creating a trailer for a fictional comedy movie entitled, "The Mistake." We enjoyed filming and editing the trailer and ended up with a video we were really proud of. Overall, the STN competition was an amazing experience. It taught me not only aspects of filmmaking, but helped me get to know my classmates and learn to work alongside people within a deadline.
Blue Tube is already excited about next year's convention in Dallas, and club members are talking about what they need to do to place in competitions they compete in. Several of the club members plan to pursue careers in filmmaking, and they already make a huge contribution locally by filming Board of Education meetings, the Spotlight on Education shows, and drama productions and athletic events at MHS. For club member Nick Torres, though, the best part of the whole trip was "meeting new people."
As we head into a difficult budget season, let's not forget the value of clubs and extra-curricular activities for our children. This is where our kids get to try out their wings, and we should do everything we can to protect and promote these opportunities.
FYI: The Board of Education meets this Tuesday, April 12, at 7pm. The location is listed as the BOE Central Office, Room #1. I'll repost if this is wrong. The Mayor's budget is public and it looks as if the BOE won't get the funds it has asked for. Stay tuned for an update...
No comments:
Post a Comment