In the past decade, advancements in technology have given high schools the ability to send off their seniors in a more memorable way than a classic yearbook: senior videos. Pennridge High School’s Media Production class creates a senior video to highlight the graduating class and some of their favorite memories. The group of students in the class work tediously for months, filming and editing countless clips to make an unforgettable video for the seniors. The video uses clips from past events such as Mini-Thon, April Showers, senior nights, prom, and other activities. It incorporates sports teams, friend groups, and students cheering, laughing, and smiling with the people they grew up with. This year, the Media Production class at Pennridge is looking to create a new and exciting video.
Jeremy Friedman teaches Media Classes I and II at Pennridge. The class is most known for its “Daily Ramble,” which is played every morning during first period instead of the normal announcements. The students who are a part of the class get hands-on experience in order to learn about what a career in this field may look like. For example, senior Sawyer Russell is one of these students. In the Pennridge community, Russell is well known in the area for his camera work. He says the class has inspired him to continue his photography and create a career. Russell aspires to work with a college athletic media team in the future. However, the class is welcoming to students who do not want a career in media. Friedman’s classes work both in front and behind the camera, as well as lots of effort put into planning. His classes are a popular choice when it comes to class selection.
Last year’s senior video began with an elderly couple driving to a park. At the park, they sat down to look at their childhood yearbook, which transitioned into a collage of video clips. The clips were mostly pre-planned. Small groups of students gathered together to wave or smile at the camera. The video contained moments throughout the whole year. In the last scenes, the seniors danced, representing a cheerful end to their time at Pennridge. The video was lengthy enough to feature almost all the students but short enough not to bore the viewers.
Friedman’s class is currently preparing to film the 2023-2024 senior video. Sophia Trumbower is a part of the team working to create it. She says the idea for this year is “to make people feel like they are kids again by bringing together memories that we all share from our childhoods.” This year’s video will contain more action and events rather than people standing stationarily. A Signup Genius has been published to allow the senior class to sign up and be a part of the video. Most students are eager to participate. Alondra Garcia-Sanchez, a senior at Pennridge, is one of these students. She suggests that as an adult she will watch the video and reminisce on her high school time when she is older. The preparation for this year’s video is bringing excitement to not just the students in the media class, but the senior class as a whole as well.
High school is widely regarded as the best and worst years of people’s lives. As the time winds down at the end of senior year, the preparing graduates often lose motivation in school, and schoolwork becomes harder to complete. The senior video is a way to create joy and allow a few last memories to be made and documented. It creates a positive remembrance of students’ teenage years that will last a lifetime.
Sources:
https://stageclip.com/the-rise-of-new-trends-in-personalized-videos-for-graduation-ceremonies/#:~:text=Preserve%20Memories%20%E2%80%93%20Graduation%20videos%20serve,ceremony%20brings%20everyone%20closer%20together.
https://stageclip.com/the-rise-of-new-trends-in-personalized-videos-for-graduation-ceremonies/#:~:text=Preserve%20Memories%20%E2%80%93%20Graduation%20videos%20serve,ceremony%20brings%20everyone%20closer%20together.
https://www.filmandmedia.pitt.edu/undergraduate
https://www.tri-c.edu/programs/creative-arts/film-and-media-arts/index.html
https://as.vanderbilt.edu/cinema-media-arts/undergraduate-courses/
