Clarke students top state with video production

Jessica Cossett, 16, a junior at Clarke County High School, and senior Zach Bartosiewicz, 18, review a video made by their Video and Media Technology class.

Clarke County High School video and media technology students Matthew Lohmann, 17, videographer/editor; Dane Duncan, 17, director; and Ben Williams, lead actor, represented the class and went to Williamsburg to accept the high school division first-place award for the first Virginia School Boards Association video contest. (Photo by Ginger Perry/The Winchester Star)

BERRYVILLE — Students at Clarke County High School were recognized at the state level this month for their creativity in video production.

Fifteen students in the school’s video and technology class placed first among high schools throughout the state in the Virginia School Boards Association’s first-ever student video contest.

Students were asked to create a 30-second video around the theme, “There is no app for that.”

Clarke’s video begins with senior Ben Williams asking his iPhone, “What do I do with my life?”

Soon there is a concert of overlapping student voices asking their phones the same question.

At the end of the video, teacher Ed Novak espouses the theme of the video when he lectures to the class that:

“Technology is a useful tool, but it can be unreliable. To prepare for the future, remember, ‘There’s no app for that.’”

“There is no app for success,” Novak said about the video’s overarching theme.

It took the students about 15 classes to tape and edit the movie, with Novak lending a guiding hand.

Videos were judged on how well they addressed the theme, their production quality and the depth of thought and creativity. The contest was open to Virginia public school students in grades kindergarten to 12th grade.

All the students in the class brainstormed the idea, while senior Matthew Lohmann served as videographer and senior Dane Duncan as director. Twelve of the 15 students appeared in the video.

“It was supposed to be about the technology age, so we used an iPhone because most people have one and can relate,” said Lohmann. “We were surprised we even got top three. It was pretty awesome.”

Senior Bradly Braithwaite said Novak gave the students creative license.

“He let us kinda run loose with the project and let us decide what to do,” he said.

Placing second and third in the high school category were Arlington Career Center and Radford High School, respectively.

For placing first, the students won a gold “Oscar” statue and “bragging rights for at least a year,” Novak said.

To see the video, go to youtube.com/watch?v=2TkToRsxvVc&feature=plcp&noredirect=1.

— Contact Rebecca Layne at rlayne@winchesterstar.com