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Schools

Sachem's TV Club Provides Real Life Exposure

Students film, produce and edit for public access channel.

Students at Sachem High School North have the rare opportunity to star in their own television show. Run by the Sachem North TV Club, Sachem North TV airs every month on Public Access television.

The TV Club features faculty and the student body in each of its episodes, which are focused on the activities at school, such as pep rallies, homecoming, and March Madness. Other episodes include spirit week, blood drives, and bake sales. Most importantly, each episode relays a sense of school spirit to its viewers.

"The TV Club offers a great opportunity for students to get on TV, use cameras, edit for TV production, conduct interviews, and create a finished product," said Jon Weston, the club's advisor, who also serves as an English and journalism teacher at North. "The students at Sachem North really do benefit, being given this once in a lifetime opportunity to use professional equipment and to see themselves on TV."

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Running for its third year, the TV Club is kicked off every year with an exciting meeting open to all who are interested in trying the journalistic activity. Quickly, the club usually narrows down to 20 dedicated members, but random students often show interest throughout the year.

The excitement begins during the filming process. Selected members are given cameras and assigned to certain events during periods that pertain to their school schedule. This way, events are captured from all different angles making it impossible to miss a beat. At this time, interviews are also conducted between a member of the club and either a student or faculty member pertaining to one of the events being filmed.

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Once enough footage is captured, the cameras are returned to the advisor and the tapes are given to selected members for the editing process. The clips are turned into segments and titles are added. When the episode is completely edited, it is then ready to be taken to the Public Access studio at the Town of Brookhaven facilities in Farmingville. The episode is aired several times throughout the month and copies are kept on DVD.

Both Sachem High School East and North offer classes in broadcast and print journalism and there is a broad study of editing offered in media arts. The TV Club is a must for anyone interested in TV production.

Angela Cilluffo is president of the TV Club at Sachem North.

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