It has been a long Spring Break for the members of the television productions class. On March 27, the group flew to Anaheim, California, for the 14th annual Student Television Network (STN) convention. The home of the Disneyland resort hosted one of the most important events for television. Har-Ber was among the best high schools in the country at the competition.

The students competed in different areas to show their skills, and that allowed them to work in groups. The contests could vary in group size and time limits. Our TV group also participated in a competition called “Crazy 8,”  in which they had 8 hours to shoot either a film or a news package, based on a specific prompt. Then each of the students picked one more contest in which to compete.

They could not prepare for the competition, besides practicing at school throughout the whole year doing packages and films. In fact, the themes for the contests were given out just at the beginning of the competition. After all, Har-Ber students used the general theme, “Tell a story,” to infer what they might have received. Right before starting their tasks they received a main prompt to follow, and later they had a limited time to write, shoot and edit their packages.

“The coolest part was being surrounded by people that shared the same passion as us, it essentially felt like a home away from home. I loved every part of this experience, and it feels good to have all of my hard work pay off,” senior Ashlyn Brothers said.

Even if the competition was tough, according to some members of the group, each of them gave everything they had and worked to the best of their ability. They also learned why time management and teamwork is important. They learned the skills necessary to succeed and to compose themselves professionally, but more specifically they learned the importance of responsibilities, respect of the others’ work, and to be able to develop and express their own opinions in a creative way. They supported and helped each other when needed, and they worked together as a team to come up with ideas and to figure out the right places and techniques to use.

“I love my team so much! We have amazing cinematographers, directors and reporters. Mr. Sherman has helped us all year, by teaching us all the ropes and the little tricks that he knows,” junior Diego Escobar said.

The TV group had fun in California team building; the competition was good for the students that represented our school, and even though they didn’t win, they still learned new skills and had experiences they will be able to use in their future.