Lights. Camera. Action. Remaining six feet away from her classmates while wearing a face mask, Tina Moran, Advanced TV and Film student sets up her shot and hits record. Despite several Covid-19 restrictions in her way, Moran and the rest of South’s TV and Film crew have stayed optimistic as they have been able to take on more projects during Covid-19 than they have before, she said.

“[The TV and Film students] are very fortunate that as long as we wear our masks and stay outside, we are allowed to keep the same [curriculum] that we always do,” Moran said. “Now, we’re [even] gaining more [projects].”

One of those projects includes the Variety Show, which the TV and Film crew have recorded live in the past. This year, they are going to composite all of the acts into one video and premiere it online, Moran said. Some TV and Film students will record many of the acts on South’s stage, while other acts will be recorded elsewhere, Julie Benca, broadcasting teacher and director of South TVand Film, explained.

“There is a filming weekend where students will be in-person and have an assigned time where they will come in [and] perform their act, and my students will film it a couple of times,” Benca said. “[But] there are some acts which are a video [and] won’t be on stage, but [ultimately] all those different pieces will be put together to create the Variety Show.”

Similarly to the Variety Show, the Fall Play was also recorded on South’s stage and aired online, Moran said. While the TV and Film crew have experience filming the Variety Show live in the past, the concept of editing everything and putting it all together is completely new and different, she explained.

“For plays in particular this is all new, making it virtual and editing it,” Moran said. “[While] the process of a live crew is something we’ve done in the past for V-Show, we’ve never put a play together and aired [online].”

Another challenge posed this year was The Glenbrook South Report, as the TV and Film crew switched from producing a weekly episode to a monthly one, Benca said. Because of this, the crew was able to cover more information in a monthly episode, as well as provide a window into the activities going on at South for all students and staff, Benca explained.

“That was our vision, to provide a window into the school,” Benca said. “[Although] some students weren’t in person, they [could] still see what was going on at Fall Fest or with the Fall Play, or with the Glenbrook Symphony Orchestra (GSO) [when they] did a virtual concert.”

The advanced technology available to the TV and Film crew made all of this possible, Asha Bilimoria, Advanced TV and Film student, explained. While it was hard filming with all of the restrictions, the technology they were able to use made all the difference, Bilimoria said.

“It’s definitely challenging, but we’ve made it work because [of] the technology that we have,” Bilimoria said. “The access to that technology is at our hands and we’re able to take advantage of that.”

The online technology allows all of the TV and Film students to still be able to share their ideas and input their thoughts on the group projects they work on, even while online, according to Bilimoria.

“Even if one person has the editing computer at their house and they’re editing the entire video, we’re still texting back and forth or FaceTiming to say, ‘Do you like this part?’ or ‘Should I add this?’ or ‘What about this music with the audio?’” Bilimoria said.

Despite all of the technology available to them, the crew’s hard work and dedication is what truly led to the high quality of their projects, Benca explained.

“I’m very proud of all the work they’ve produced this year,” Benca said. “When [I] look at their work, [I] wouldn’t know that a pandemic is going on. They’ve really worked on striving to produce the best products possible and we’ve had some really fun, interesting [and] creative projects produced this year.”