Project 1: First Draft
High school students have the attention span of a doorknob. This is the most relevant piece of information manipulated by my high school film club - BraddockTV - to achieve the reach we desired. A weekly news show at an undistinguished public institution may not seem like it could touch and influence the entire student body but my team is determined to innovate for the uninspired, to produce for the unproductive. Nearing roughly fifteen minutes each week, our video newscast is able to transform moods and sway opinions through bits of local and national news, humorous skits, and personal spotlights. The effect the production has on the students is undeniable, powerful, and often, even disruptive.
When most teenagers turn on the television to a news channel, they scramble for the remote to bring the mundane reporters to an immediate halt. Being stemmed in an educational environment, the program’s main duty is to inform and teach, despite the tempting draw of producing strictly for entertainment. Although our least-enjoyed segments each week, the news pieces we publish receive attention and consideration due to our strategic selection of what to cover. Aside from obvious major reports, like the election or the Zika outbreak, our news is catered to local students, providing scoops regarding the neighborhoods they all come from.
One of the greatest demonstrations of the widespread impact we have on the students surrounds one of the school’s largest scandals. Over the weekend of prom, two students, intoxicated enough to create footage of their actions, are shown violating an unconscious female with an umbrella handle and cigar. As the school’s prominent source of information, it would be a distasteful cop out and blatant lie of omission to not, at the very least, address the controversy on the show. After a heavy meeting with the principal, it is determined that the script should be entirely objective and lack the gruesome details, so as to calm the commotion among the students. Surprisingly enough, our clearing up of rumors manages to settle the gossip in time for the trial, impressing not only the principal but ourselves as well.
Anticipated in every show is the comedy skits BraddockTV uses to carry interest between our less colorful segments. From recurring sketches to spoof game shows, these are the pieces most recognized and celebrated. In a way, these are the foundation of our audience’s intrigue and dedicated viewership as they target situations relatable to most of the students. While these bits can range from juvenile to parodical to cynical, they frequently double as announcements or contain significant underlying messages.
Albeit their whimsical and playful nature, these videos, like a bit entitled “That’s So Straight,” attempt to alter the way that students view certain aspects of the diverse and changing teenage society. The aforementioned segment is one that, with cooperation of the gay/straight alliance, raised awareness about the use of homophobic slurs and phrases in daily conversation. Being from predominantly hispanic, conservative backgrounds, our students grow up thinking these jokes and outdated insults were the norm. The video is inspired by a commercial starring Wanda Sykes called “That’s So Gay,” where she mentions the concern with using ‘gay’ as a derogatory adjective. We take the frequent use of term and adjust it to lightheartedly poke fun at people and referring to their negative qualities and actions as being “so straight.” While it may appear childish or comical to some, it succeeds in bringing attention to the issue of misusing queer terms as criticisms.
Although students receive enjoyment from simply watching the broadcast, they covet those ten seconds of fame offered by a spot on the show. Imagine, for one moment, a teenager’s longing to have their thoughts voiced and aired to their 5000 peers. Sometimes students are granted an entire two-minute segment if their story is moving and compelling. A senior that works as lifeguard is featured after saving the life of a four year old boy and shares her tale of courage and the value of CPR training. These unattainable appearances on the show are too hard to reach for some of the less patient of our fans. This desperate need for attention births the art of student interviews, our most perfected work on the show.
While most news bits include student interviews regardless, a larger population wishes to be featured on our less conservative pieces. “For a Dollar” is a segment that has lasted over three years in the program, becoming increasingly popular with each episode. Students are randomly chosen from hallways and courtyards to answer trivia in return for one dollar. Although consistently silly and immature, most students feel honored to be embarrassed by our interviewers, editors, and cameramen as it entitles them to an instant of prevalence among everyone. Within a semester of our debut during my sophomore year, we are being hollered at and begged for interviews as we walk the halls with our equipment. Not only did this boost our reputation as a club but increased viewership as it catered to the selfish nature of high school students and their insatiable thirst for popularity.
Although our TV production club juggles a variety of genres and media formats, our weekly newscast truly plays a vital role in our purpose to inform and amuse the student body. The use of this particular genre is almost solely responsible for the success of our program and highlights the importance of connecting to an audience to achieve an effective, rhetorically appealing composition. Hopefully, the show will continue to leave a lasting impression among students and faculty alike, drawing together comedy and knowledge for the benefit of the school’s varied community.