BVA media team putting students in charge of broadcasting school activities
From left, BVA media team members Christian Murphy, J.J. Hartman, Joe Sabolek and Derek Thomas broadcast a BVA girls basketball game.
Mark Soroka
Mark Soroka
BVA staff members Jeff Adams (left), Heath Curran (second from left) and Emily Marburger (right) give camera tips to BVA student J.J. Hartman.
If you can’t make it to Belle Vernon Area High School (BVA) to catch a football game or watch a musical, you can still keep up with all the action, thanks to the BVA media team.
Now in its third year, the BVA media team features student-produced videos of sporting events, performances and other student activities that are posted on the school’s YouTube channel.
“These broadcasts have created a buzz of excitement for students, parents, alumni, boosters and other members of the community,” said Heath Curran, a BVA high school English teacher who was one of the team’s cofounders. “No matter where they live, people can follow the great things our students are doing at Belle Vernon High School. More importantly, the Media Team is giving students from the ninth through the 12th grades an opportunity to learn and grow in the fields of journalism, broadcasting, sportscasting, video editing, photography and video production.”
According to Emily Marburger, who serves as a faculty sponsor along with Curran and Nancy Golio, the media team is engaging more students who want to express themselves in a variety of different media.
“For many years, our school newspaper has done a great job of keeping students informed about BVA news and events,” said Marburger, a graphic design teacher at BVA. “But we realized that print media isn’t the only way to disseminate information. Video is also very popular with young people today. We decided to form a Media Team and invite students to take part in workshops, video and photos shoots, newspaper work sessions, sportscasting and announcing, regardless of their prior experience.”
Starting with a crew of six students, the media team began videotaping BVA’s home high school football games in 2016. The team also started to live-stream morning and afternoon announcements for students.
“We kept things simple initially,” said Jeff Adams, a computer technician who works in BVA’s IT department. “Our students produced their videos using an iPad, microphone and a video streaming app called The Cube. Then the videos were streamed via Wi-Fi to our school’s YouTube channel.”
Adams said the media team has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Today, the media team comprises 20 students who share a wide range of production duties, including announcing, camerawork, audio, editing and graphics. The media team also uses multiple cameras to capture action from many different angles. In addition, students are starting to experiment with video and audio mixing effects.
Last fall, the media team covered all home football games as well as one away football game. This year, the media team is also broadcasting home basketball and soccer games, plays and musicals, the prom grand march, high school graduation and interviews with students. Both live and pre-recorded videos can be viewed at www.youtube.com/bvatv. Short video snippets are also posted on Twitter.
While the media team occasionally experiences some minor glitches during productions, it has never missed a broadcast.
“There have been a few small snafus before we went on the air, such as computer restarts and Wi-Fi issues, but for the most part things have gone amazingly well,” said Adams. “And I credit that to a team effort. Everyone is working together and stepping up to make sure the videos get done.”
Curran said that the media team’s videos have gone viral and attract viewers from all around the world.
“We’ve been getting an enthusiastic response from viewers who live as close as Belle Vernon and as far away as Australia,” said Curran. “Many of our viewers are BVA graduates who want to stay in touch with their alma mater. They have thanked students for keeping them informed about BVA’s many activities.”
BVA’s business community has also been a strong supporter of the media team.
“Bee Graphix was kind enough to donate shirts for everyone on the media team,” said Marburger. “Several boosters and anonymous donors also paid the WPIAL rights fee so we could broadcast last year’s football playoff game. In the future, we hope to get more contributions from businesses so we can buy more equipment.”
Besides gaining extensive production experience, students from the media team are also developing strong personal skills, Curran pointed out.
“Students are learning skills such as leadership, teamwork, communications, problem solving and professionalism,” he said. “These skills will serve them well, no matter what they do with their lives.”
Joe Sabolek, a senior at BVA, was one of the students who helped to launch the media team. He has enjoyed the experience so much that he plans on studying communications and education at Waynesburg University next year.
“I always liked public speaking, so it was an easy transition becoming one of the media team’s play-by-play announcers,” he said. “I want to learn more about announcing when I go to college. The media team has been a great experience. I’ve learned a lot of useful hands-on skills.”
Added Bailey Parshall, another BVA senior, “I like interviewing people because it helps me in real-life situations. I have learned how to become a better communicator.”
Curran expects the media team to add more students in the future.
“We are reaching out to as many kids as possible,” he said. “Whether they want to work on a video production crew, try their hand at photography or learn more about print journalism, there is a place for any of our students on the media team.”