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

"Not just a class, but a lifestyle!" by Joanne Troutner

Stacy films her christmas story intro

It’s not just a class. K-AHS becomes a lifestyle, a truth that I have discovered over the past semester. A teeth grinding, nail biting, foot tapping existence, where the highs are high and the lows are low. It’s a rat race. It’s a scramble for top anchor, top producer, top student; a constant battle to prove oneself as most creative, most innovative, best. A class where one of the main topics discussed is who will make it for next year, whispered predictions of Gil Garcia’s favorite students… and least favorite students.


Megan counts down to showtime

Most of the kids in k-ahs express unrelenting passion for the class, spending hours laboring for the perfect show. In actuality, it is just a high school news program, similar to most other schools across the nation; bringing news and broadcasting announcements to the students and faculty. But for all the kids in k-ahs, it is something entirely different. This show is unique in the eyes of a k-ahs student. It comes with a full dose of pride, which you probably have sensed if you have a class with any k-ahs student. Who grin and beam if the K dash A- H- S is muttered through anyone’s lips. Who make a speech after every show during 2nd period, explaining the technicalities of that particular day. Who, when with fellow k-ahs members, can usually not be persuaded to talk about anything other than k-ahs. We are labeled as irritating know-it-alls, swollen with pride, students with very big heads.


Lea frames up a shot for the Mac vs PC spoof with Calzada

All of these accusations are, in a way, very true. But we don’t care. We have become media junkies, and are hooked on the stuff for good. Both the audience and the crew know that it is just a show. Yet the audience does not know the sweat in the studio from the scorching lights. Or the panic of producing. Or the relief of Gil’s approving nod (or conversely, the despair of Gil’s disapproving sigh). Or the apple eights, F10s, shift z’s, option r’s. The lock-it-downs and the five, four, three (two, one)’s. All this effort to give Austin High a show that looks skillfully effortless. And through it all, through all the labor and the stress, every k-ahs student anticipates class to arrive. They count down the minutes with enthusiasm to rush to the k-ahs room, and start the frenzy. Scrutinizing a project, running back and forth from studio to control room, volunteering for every new assignment Gil thinks up, it’s all just a part of the victorious accomplishment.


4th period all dressed up for the Westlake game

Just like any achievement, k-ahs kids get a rush from success. The teeth grinding, nail biting, foot tapping existence at the end of the day is a joyous triumph. Behind a cloud of competition and panic and pride, we grin at one another with appreciation for the work achieved. That is what I’ve learned over the past semester, a semester that flew by. I’ve discovered the lifestyle, there is no return.


-Joanne Troutner, Junior - Advanced Field Production