Scope of Histech reaches beyond the lenses, switches, and buttons
For every past Friday since school began, the rally court has been bursting with sound as music blares from the speakers. Whether it is at Octagon’s Pie Toss or the annual Club Day event, speakers are rolled out into the rally court and gym at our school. But who stands behind them? And what’s behind the people who flick the switches, turn the knobs, and just make it all work? Histech.
Histech, formed when the Leadership class was created, edits, produces, and sometimes even writes rally and promotional videos for ASB, commissions, and various clubs on campus. They’re also the students behind the booming speakers whenever they’re rolled out. They’re the workers behind the projectors, computers, and technology. But more importantly, they’re the people behind our entertainment. The reality is, there’s far more to Histech than turning a few volume knobs and adjusting bass in the background of some lunch-time activity.
“You don’t join Histech to stand behind a pair of speakers,” Histech leader senior Ashwin Singhania said. “I [applied] when someone told me that they make the rally videos. I like making videos, so I applied.”
Histech not only serves the technical necessities of MVHS but also goes through an entire creative process in their videos, like script writing and editing.
There is a lot of work put into the short air-time of rally videos. Script writing, filming, and editing all absorb a lot of time, effort, and creative energy. A standard rally video can take two to three weeks to complete, through daily filming and editing. Some take longer.
About a month before the Homecoming rally, ASB gives Histech the Homecoming theme. A meeting is then held to put together a script and plan the filming days. The hardest part about the videos, Histech says, is managing the times when everyone can meet and where to meet.
“The Homecoming video has Homecoming court, which means 12 different people we have to film in two weeks,” said Singhania. “That one’s really tight for us, the toughest part. The rest is pretty simple.”
Besides recording, Histech is involved with other aspects when creating rally videos. Along with the energy required to manage formalities, a lot of thinking goes into creativity and the final product. It isn’t all just pushing buttons.
“I like it when people say that it was a really good video,” senior Nicki Yee said. “So this year, we’re trying to do videos differently and away from the stereotypical video.”
“We’re trying to work it so that its not just an administrator saying the crown’s missing, go find the crown,” Singhavi said. concerning this year’s homecoming video. “We want to do something different.”
They’ve also worked on adding new effects, including the blue screen used throughout the welcome rally video, placing our ASB officers in various scenes around the world.
And not only is the innovative juice flowing in school, but many Histech members also make films for fun, and some even plan on film-making at college and beyond.
“I like everything [about film making],” said Singhania. “It’s a hobby.”
Singhania, along with senior Anvay Ullal, another Histech member, have been working on an Octagon parody, “Decagon,” which will be showcased at Histech’s Film Festival in May. They plan on also having a second video in time for the festival.
“I think it was just a good idea,” Ullal said. “We found it really funny.”
Yee is contemplating working on films at college and beyond, including animation. Over the summer she attended classes at the San Francisco Academy of Art to learn more about the process.
“I like editing and directing videos,” Yee said. “It’s a lot of fun because you get to make your own masterpiece, like an art.”
