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Reflections On My Year In "A/V Production" by Isabel Arrellaga

I remember just over a year ago when I was figuring my choice sheet out as a freshman and thinking, “what electives am I going to take next year?” I didn’t know much about video and media production at the time but after watching K-ahs the whole year, I was hooked. The show looked like it was a lot of fun to be involved in. The students on the show always seemed to be laughing and having a good time. I immediately signed up for the intro to media class and hoped to one day make K-ahs and have as much fun as they were having. Now looking back on my year in intro to media, some things were what I expected and others were not.

I had no idea we would be actually filming, editing, and producing video packages and intros and that they might even have the chance to be on K-ahs. I loved being able to experiment with the equipment in my own way. Intro to Media is a very flexible and fun class. The students are trusted with the equipment and in return are expected to create high quality productions. I imagine this is what its like in the “real world” where people go out on assignments and are expected to get the story, this is exactly what is happening at Austin High in the Intro to Media class.

Overall my year in intro to media has been a success. I had a great class where I made many new friends, learned how to produce and film videos, learned a lot about video programs on the computer, and many other useful things. One of my favorite experiences this year was when we were assigned a group and told to create an intro and that the best intro would air on K-ahs. This project allowed a lot of creativity. We could make an intro about anything as long as it linked back to K-ahs. Although my group’s intro didn’t make K-ahs we still had a lot of fun thinking of an idea, shooting it, and editing it to our liking. Having the freedom of choosing to make an intro about anything we wanted was a really cool experience.


Isabel Arrellaga - A/V Production

Hands-On In The Media by Blair Barnes

This year in Gil Garcia’s Intro Media class, students were able to learn with a hands-on approach. This worked really well for my learning style, and I think that more classes should have learning experiences that are taught this way. Although a lot of work goes into the final product and there are many things to learn along the way to truly understand the concepts, I learned valuable things that I will never forget. One of the skills that I learned was how to use Final Cut Pro. This is a software program that is used by actual movie producers and editors to make movies come together. I learned how to sequence clips, add music, and incorporate special effects. It was exciting to actually get into the program and try it out for ourselves on our own projects after the lessons. We also were able to learn how to use the camera. Mr. Garcia taught lessons in the classroom about camera use, but we were then able to use the cameras to practice what we learned. For example, I now know how to shoot various angles to get the best shot for a scene. Rather than just learn about the different perspectives in film, we were able to try them out and learn by DOING. This is really important for kinesthetic learners or people with ADHD, like me. I realize that not every class is as conducive to hands-on learning as Intro to Media, but I know that every class has more opportunities for students to learn while doing. By diving in and getting our hands wet, my classmates and I walked away with a greater understanding of the concepts being taught.


Blair Barnes - A/V Production

The Intro Class from the point of view of an Intro Kid. By Kaitrin Swinford

I’m an intro kid. not a K-AHs kid, an intro kid. I know I’m not as cool as a K-AHS kid, and this is why I have the Intro Blues. the Intro class is cool, it’s fun, and it’s why I want to be on K-ahs next year .but, when you show up to class, walk into the door labeled media studio and sit in the K-Ahs class room . You can’t help but feel a little sad about the fact that your not that cool yet.

Yes, we do a lot of the similar things that the “real” K-AHS kids do, we make intros, construct B-Roll , and write screen plays. but we all know that we are not K-AHS were the intro kids. That's why we have the Intro Blues , any kid in Intro will tell you, we want in K-AHS. Until then were just nobodies on the path to coolness .

Now you might be asking what makes a K-AHS kid so cool, and what makes a Intro kid not as cool. Well the coolness of a K-AHS kid comes from being able to say that they have a part every day in the show that we Austin High and Intro kids see every mourning that makes are day so much better. the awesomeness of being in K-AHS might come from the nifty badges that these cool kids have. This badge states freely the greatness of a K-AHS kid, it says “look at me I’m so cool , I have a Get out of class free card and since I’m so cool i get to pass go and collect two hundred dollars as well.”

What do we Intro kids have? FCP test, lessons and a wish. I’m pretty sure that test have no coolness in Austin High. No, i Know for a fact that test are not cool here or any school in the USA . lessons are not cool, i mean if your into learning there cool but not really. wishes are surly not the cats pajamas , disney princesses wish, Pinochio had a wish. where did that put him? In a puppeteers cage , and on some island filled with lame little boys. that is not what Intro kids want to be.

So that is why I am informing you why The K-AHS kids are so cool and why us Intro Kids have the Intro Blues.

Kaitrin Swinford - Intro to Media Tech

Next Year by Gil Garia

Next year we are changing the structure of our classes due to the block schedule. We are also changing the names of the classes. below is a breakdown. In order to maintain a daily show without double blocking the class I have decided to split up the 20 seniors into two classes of 10. I am then going to put 10 juniors in each of those classes thereby turning it into a stacked class (a class period made up of two different classes).

So on "A" day there will be a class of 10 seniors producing the show while ten juniors work on their projects to support the show. The same thing happens on "B" day, just with different kids. I will have four intro classes. I have posted applications for each class online under the handouts section of www.mrgarcia.org there is also a rubric posted for the intro to av production class on there too. I will be making decisions on who makes it to the advanced class soon after the fourth six weeks is over, I will be making decisions about the practicum class by the end of March, and I will make decisions for the intro class by the beginning of March.

As the application states, next years seniors are being ranked based on 4 things, the average grade of their packages, average grade of produced shows, their fall semester exam and a final cut pro test that will cover every one of my FCP tutorials. This test will be given on Friday March 26th. I still have two more lessons to post but there is plenty to get started with. The test will not be open notes. There is a link to the tutorials on the right of this page! how convenient! or you can click here

PUT DOWN THE CLASS YOU WANT ON YOUR CHOICE SHEET NOW!

I will tell the counselors who makes it and who doesn't, so put an alternate too.

Digital Filmmaking: (intro) AUDIO/VIDEO PRODUCTION.
Grade Placement: 10-11 Credit: 1.0
Prerequisite/Comments: Application must be filled out in case of overage, Weighted credit, see Gil Garcia Room 334. This is an introductory digital filmmaking and broadcast production class. Students will learn screenwriting, camera, sound recording and editing to make short films, music videos and news packages. This is a prerequisite for the K-AHS classes. Counts for college credit at ACC.


Digital Filmmaking: ADVANCED AUDIO/VIDEO PRODUCTION
Grade Placement: 11-12 Credit: 1.0
Prerequisite/Comments: Weighted credit, see Gil Garcia Room 334
This is the first year K-AHS class. Students will work with more advanced cameras, lighting, sound and editing equipment. Students make intros and news packages about events in school and the community that air on K-AHS, the school TV channel. Counts as tech credit and college credit at ACC. This is a prerequisite for the practicum class.


Digital Filmmaking: PRACTICUM IN AUDIO/VIDEO PRODUCTION
Grade Placement: 12 Credit: 1.0
Prerequisite/Comments: Weighted credit, see Gil Garcia Room 334
Second year K-AHS. The focus is on studio production and making short films and intros. This class anchors the daily K-AHS show. Students enter and attend The Austin Film Festival. Students may also get Final Cut Pro Certified. This is an extremely valuable certification, a $1000 value. This course counts for college credit at ACC.

-Gil Garcia - Digital Filmmaking Instructor

Austin HIgh Wins Teen Dating Violence PSA Contest!, By Sean Haugh

Sean and Lee working in class

Students at Austin High, and even members of the “K-AHS class” itself, often seem to forget that there is more than one side to our curriculum. It is, in fact, formally referred to as Media Tech, a course whose purpose is, from a purely educational standpoint, to confer upon its students a familiarity with the media arts and the means of their production, information which would certainly be useful should someone intend to follow a career in the entertainment industry in the years following high school graduation.


Trinity and Lee prepare to tape the announcements

Although the majority of our time is spent filming the Austin High morning announcements, B-roll for the Austin High morning announcements, or introductory shorts for the Austin High morning announcements, we do occassionally receive opportunities to work on other projects. Examples include Spence Howden's “SportsCenter,” short “extended announcements” advertising international tours, and news packages that we are assigned semi-regularly. Last semester, students in both advanced Media Tech class were also given the opportunity to participate in the Travis County Teen Dating Violence PSA competition, wherein they were asked to film 24-second public service announcements concerning dating violence. The contest is sponsored by the Austin Film Festival and is the biggest competition during the year.

With this in mind, I, Sean Haugh, and my good friend, Lee Mendez, began brainstorming ideas for a short which would demand the attention that dating abuse so rightfully deserves. Frequently this topic is swept hastily under the rug, and rarely do its victims, who are already so fragile in their formative years, speak out against it. It is often months or years before a person is willing to admit that they have been raped or abused, and after such a great length of time it is nearly impossible to hold anyone responsible for what can ultimately lead to fundamental change in a person's demeanor and personality.



Lee presented me with a simple idea – the image of a single girl, standing alone in a hallway, with no distinguishing characteristics or features that would elicit curiosity of relationship abuse. And, as she stood there, looking perfectly like any other girl one might find at our pleasant little school, if not slightly more depressed, hundreds of student would pass by, indifferent or unaware of her trauma. Our service announcement, aptly titled “Recognize the Signs,” would target this group of people; the passersby, the unaware or unconcerned.

As we began our work, we first outlined scenes that would be ideal in maximizing the impact of our piece. Vignettes would create an unsettling ambience, further abetted by erratic, often dizzying, shifts in the speed of the students in the background. These two elements would combine to generate a sort of visual “white noise,” in order to elicit a disconcerted response. To create the time shifting effect, we had to first film our actress, Emily McGee, in front of a green screen, so that she would not also be subject to sudden changes in the perception of her movement. Having filmed and edited these two elements, our piece needed only to be resolved by a simple voiceover and a series of “signs to recognize.”



As recently as our first week back at Austin High, Lee and I were informed that our public service announcement received first place. I was extremely pleased, and presumably so was Lee. This experience – to see the work that is necessary in producing industry-level work – has been both extremely educational and extremely humbling to me. Ultimately, I am both proud of our work and proud to represent Austin High as one of the creative minds selected to receive this award.

see the PSA here


Sean Haugh, Junior - Advanced Field Production

"The Making of Twilight New Moon" by Samantha Mercer

When the first twilight movie came out there was a mix between joy and disappointment between the fans. However, when K-AHS came out with their K-AHSlight intro, everybody loved it. So with the sequel to the Twilight movie out, we decided that a sequel to the K-AHSlight intro was necessary.

We started out watching several trailers for the movie, picking out the scenes that we thought were the funniest and most rediculous. We also really wanted to empahsize the lack of shirts in the movie, so we decided right at the beginning that whenever possible, all shirts would be off.

We tried to really emphasize certain characteristics of each character, i.e, the constant distressed look of Bella (played by Grace). We even rubbed sparkely blueberry lotion on Nick (playing Edward), to try and make him sparkle in the sunlight. We probably rubbed half the bottle onto his bare chest, but unfortunately, the sparkles did not show through the camera.



We went into the greenbelt in travis country to film, and at one point some bikers rode past, giving us very confused looks. For the bike scene, Grace rode her mini bike while Christina drove and i sat in the car next to the bike holding the camera out the window. At one point, we were getting ready to start when i looked over and there was a group of about eight children all staring directly at us. Then, as we began driving, they began following us, until eventually they got tired of watching the same scene over and over again.



Overall, filming took about four hours and then editing took almost everyday after school for a week. However, i really enjoyed working on it, and i hope you enjoyed watching it. You can see it again here



Samantha Mercer, Junior - Advanced Field Production