A routine Thursday afternoon in the television studio on the campus of Pacific Beach Middle School. The camera operator is in place. The teleprompter is ready to roll. The student broadcasters (typically referred to as ‘the talent’) are in place at the desk.
“Quiet on the set,” director Taj Azoulay calls out, “5…4…3…” Tommy Ratzin drops the slate, “2…1.”
The teleprompter rolls. From behind the camera Azoulay signals to this week’s on-air talent, Alina Toliver and Adriano Escobar, and starts to record the content for the Monday morning, Nov. 27 edition of the PBMS News Student Bulletin.
This edition included announcements about “best friends pictures” for the yearbook, students receiving an Excel Library Card through their English class, various student club announcements, Ocean Beach’s Dec. 2 beach clean-up day, and the opportunity for PBMS students to receive community service hours for tutoring elementary school students.
Every Monday morning students and staff are greeted with a pre-recorded series of announcements that serves as the weekly bulletin for PBMS students. This student-produced and recorded feature is just one aspect of the yearbook/media class taught by Don Wood, who has been teaching at PBMS for 20 years.
“I was a student on this same campus back in the day, seventh through ninth grade from 1976-1979 when it was Pacific Beach Junior High School,” Wood said. “Originally, the video class was an after-school club. For the last 10 years, we have been able to offer it as an elective class paired with the yearbook during the school day. The yearbook /media class is open to seventh and eighth-grade students. It is popular. There is usually a waiting list.”
Eighth-grade student Isai Mcinnis credits the class with helping him be “more comfortable on camera and speak more clearly on camera.”
Eighth-grade student Ben Levine says the most interesting part of the class for him is the filming and the editing. “I have learned a great deal about the technical aspects of the job and photography. I can see media as a career goal in my future,” Levine said.
Kenton Lau, also an eighth-grade class member, credits the class for greatly improving his photography skills. “In this class, I learned the rule of thirds: contrast, lighting, and framing when photographing scenes and setting up shots.”
Azoulay explains his favorite place is in the studio. “Being in the studio is the best part of the class. This class has helped improve my camera-readiness photography skills and directing skills.”
In addition to the weekly news bulletin broadcast, the class develops and records several other productions each week. Every Tuesday, the class will broadcast the “PBMS News Admin Update.” In this feature, the students and staff hear a weekly message directly from Principal Kimberly Meng and Associate Principal Tim Depue.
The final production each week is “Friday Features.”
“Friday Features is a favorite production of the students and includes a variety of stuff the students put together,” Wood said. “This is where we announce birthdays for the week. We have a sports reporting team that does a field report on lunchtime sports, district-wide middle school athletics, and anything else sports-related.
“Friday Features is where we put in student-created videos, fun skits, as well as commercials for our yearbook. We have also done promotional videos for the PBMS Music Department and community service projects. If someone approaches me with a special project, we will put together a team of students who can practice their skills and creativity and get the job done,” Wood added.
