School is about to be out in 9 days and the seniors are leaving really soon! Let’s see what seniors Sharon Chen, Desiree Castell, Jun Ahn, and Alex Tran have to say about their Baron Broadcast journey.
Sharon Chen is a BBN veteran and joined quickly after finding out about the class after freshman year. Prior to joining in eighth grade, she says that she “became more outgoing, and ultimately broke out of [her] shell. [She] decided to pursue acting at this time, and even took weekly classes, always with this goal of possibly going into film acting in the future”. Finally, in freshman year, she came across BBN and was intrigued by it. “Film has always been a huge passion of mine for as long as I can remember, and knowing that there was such a program offered on campus, pushed me to take the chance and apply despite my lack of experience (because, obviously, thinking about it and actually doing it are two very different distinctions). By taking part in BBN, not only could I dabble in some film acting, but I also had the chance to learn how to create that so-called ‘movie-magic.’ Learning how to edit, film, record VOs, and apply special effects were all points I aspired to accomplish, and at the time, I felt that BBN was a place where I could flourish in that respect,” She explains.
Throughout her years in BBN, her skills in videography quickly transformed from no experience to even becoming member of the month and soon becoming the sports producer. As many people, she joined without much knowledge for filmmaking but after a year, she has “accomplished more than [she] could have ever imagined”. She got this far by “spending five hours in the classroom every day, and familiarizing herself with editing techniques, as well as honing her own filming style”. She also noted that in the future, she would like to pursue similar activities.
Sharon says that her favorite things about this class are that how “it’s been an amazing opportunity to form new friendships and bond with like-minded people who also express a profound passion for film,” and how “BBN offered a safe, comfortable, and fun environment to nurture and develop her filmmaking aspirations, and for that, she am absolutely proud to say that joining BBN has been the best decision she has ever made in her high school career”. And of course, in addition, it allowed her to utilize her interest and skills in editing and videography.
From being in this class, she has improved her editing skills vastly, especially using Adobe After Effects. Starting from the bottom, she “gradually explored more advanced techniques, such as incorporating split screens in her videos, as well as adjusting certain images for color correction”. Not to mention, she explains that “it was wonderful to witness her own learning curve as she started out as someone who knew absolutely nothing about the video production process to a well-seasoned video veteran and mentor for the underclassmen”.
For this season, her favorite video has been from episode 13, the “Don’t Cheat” video because it was not only “fun to storyboard and plan, but it was an incredible experience working with four of the most hardworking members in BBN– producer Chloe Dinh, Geovanna Escobar, and Desiree Castell.” Through hard work, they all produced this video here
Alex Tran is also a BBN veteran and joined in junior year. He explains that “filmmaking has always been an interest for him. Back in freshman year, he had to make some videos for his English projects and found it really intriguing. After seeing the BBN episodes on his projector, he knew that this was something he definitely would want to pursue.” He wanted to exercise his prior skills in this class and after getting his acceptance letter, he says that “everything just escalated from there.”
Before becoming the assemblies producer along with Jenny Do, he had to learn many new and unfamiliar things. Because amateur English projects were his only true videography experience, he had to “ask the veterans all about editing and sometimes even forgot how to export his packages. From all of those times, he learned quickly and even downloaded premiere pro on his own laptop. By doing this he got a lot more practice and it helped out his group with their videos. Also, he “was interested in the assemblies A-project and got promoted to producer in a year” to this date, he says its one of his greatest BBN achievements.
Alex’s favorite things about this class are the fact that everyone is so closely knitted with each other and how it helped him learn so much more about his passion. “Before joining, he was kind of intimidated of all the new people but he realized that there was no reason to be afraid. Everyone was so friendly to him and even went out of their ways to help him when he needed it”. He hopes that new incoming members will experience same the joy he had from all these unforgettable moments.
His favorite video from this season “would have to be Hot Ones because he always wanted to make a high-quality video and it was an interesting way to feature Cody Do.” Watch the video here!
Desiree Castell is new to BBN and only joined the class her senior year. She joined from the interest of storytelling the mysteries of our school and how she could share those. “I was interested in filming and editing a video, just as I used to with my sister when we were younger. Watching the videos bi-weekly kept me motivated to apply because each episode was done so creatively,” she says.
Only joining as a senior, she definitely regrets not joining BBN sooner. She says that if “she did apply earlier, it might have given her a chance to open up more and become accustomed to the class”. However, despite this, she still has enjoyed the year she spent in the class.
She has enjoyed the environment of the class. She feels as if “this class is totally different from any other class at this school. BBN is more open and hands-on. She loves being able to express my ideas, especially through the videos”. BBN is truly a special class and it allows everyone to utilize the videography to express their ideas.
From her year spent in this class, Desiree learned the usual filmmaking techiques such has “using Adobe Premiere, various angles, and how to storyboard”. But more importantly, she “built close relationships with people in the class and learned how to manage her time (because everything in this class must be done on time)”. Even through the hardships, she still describes her time being here as a wonderful experience.
From this season, her favorite video was the “March for our Lives” package featured on episode 14. She liked making this because “it gave her the opportunity to be active in the community and go out to the event to get footage. It was awesome to see people from FVHS getting involved as well, like Ms. Acosta and Mr. Diecidue”. Watch the video here!
Jun Ahn is also new to BBN. He found his passion for video making all the way back in elementary school, fourth grade. He has always liked making videos and “always had his passion for film since then”. By joining the class, he got to put this passion to the test and learned many new things from being here.
Because he joined in his last year of high school, he does “regret a lot for not joining sooner because he met so many amazing people and learned different skills that are valuable”. To him, the class overall impacted him a lot and he wishes he had joined earlier.
Along with other new things he had learned one thing that especially stood out was that “one’s work can influence the audience in many different ways”. He learned from the videos that he and his classmates made and by receiving the feedback from his classes, he realized that it is impossible for everyone to like the content you push out, but the fact that it can influence the audience is what makes it powerful.
From the season, his favorite video he had made was the “Slowciety” feature in episode 13 because “his group took a new route for a feature video through this package”. Watch the video here!
