Behind the Lens: The Editors Who Tell MHS’s Story

By CAITLYN MELITE 

The Tower  

MANTECA-Athletes are often given most credit for events on campus, but what many do not notice are the editors who spend hours on end advertising it, bringing it to life.  

From athletics to multi regional events, Manteca High School hosts all kinds of unique functions. Because most students spend a lot of time on social media compared to checking their email, Manteca High School has begun to use that to their advantage.  

“For sports specifically, you can’t post things a month or even a week later because it just doesn’t make sense.” Student editor: Raclif Figueroa states.  

 Posting media on social media helps gain a larger platform and bring attention to current activities. What viewers often don’t realize is the time and effort editors put into this eye-catching media.  

Mr. Burns’ multi-media class worked together to both film and edit 4 music videos based on a unique topic and vibe for each grade. Freshmen did LA, California; sophomores did Vegas, Nevada; Juniors did Nashville, Tennessee, and Seniors did Miami, Florida.  

Manteca High senior: Raclif Figueroa says “As a videographer, I took a lot of inspiration from music videos I have seen” Student editor and videographer continues to explain, “Because we chose kind of a part vibe, we took inspiration from that night club stereotypical vibe.” 

Each part of the media produced for homecoming took lots of time, effort, and resources. During this event, student editors spent countless hours planning, filming, and editing projects to bring the entire experience to life, bringing interest to the topic. Editors do not just edit but go above and beyond to make sure everything runs smoothly throughout the entire process.  

Figueroa is one of the few student editors who spends hours taking photos for events and athletics and is still willing to go home and stay up all night editing to get it all out there on time. 

“To be honest, I am very unorganized” Failing explained “I feel like it is the best way for me to get things done.”  

All editors have unique styles of organization, time management, and even the editing itself. What separates one editor from another is just that, their willingness to spend time and effort on every project they work on.  

“When we first had the idea, I put a couple of clips on my spam account on Instagram to see how people would react.” Figueroa explains enthusiastically “I ended up getting lots of good feedback. It’s nice to see that our work as multi-media is appreciated.” 

“A skill that really helps with being an editor is knowing how to talk to people, if you're very awkward, it's hard, because talking to people is really our main focus.” Student editor, Cailin Failing explains. “With talking to people, it's important to have good communication and collaboration skills.” 

Failing explained that she has been part of burns’ classes for the past 3 years and was one of the few returns this year because many have graduated. She has been one of  a small group of people who willing to put in the work to be successful overall which is a special trait that necessary in editing. 

Creating these high-quality videos took lots of time and materials. Multi-media is full of well dedicated students and athletes, so what looks like a lengthy deadline for most is not so easy because of practice, games, important exams, etc.  

“One of our classmates Kylie Anderson let us use her car and boat to get the vibe we were looking for.” Further explaining, Figueroa says “Going with the Miami scene, we went to film near lots of palm trees.” 

Students were able to allow the group to borrow some materials which helped the video fit the vibe they were looking for. 

Figueroa explained the urgency of filming by stating “Everything was filmed pretty last minute, but everything fell into place in the end.”  

Most people give credit to actors seen in the media, but what they do not see is the effort given behind the scenes which brings the entire project to life.  

Student Editor, Videographer and Photographer: Raclif Figueroa 

Student Editor, Cailin Failing