Behind the scenes of YTV’s holiday feature
From day to day, students can see that the YTV morning announcements follow a general routine of “Good morning York!” followed by “Have a nice day!”
But once in a while, there is a little twist thrown in the mix where students can depart from the old routine and dive into something new. These twists are the Friday Features.
This year, four students traveled to downtown Chicago to film the 2015 Holiday Feature. Now you can take a behind the scene look at this year’s production, a project weeks in the making.

As the semester draws to a close, students work around the clock to meet their deadlines. Here, the YTV equipment room lies relatively empty as students check out equipment in preparation for the final features.

For most Friday features, students are confined to filming inside the school. However, for the 2015 YTV holiday feature, students traveled to the city of Chicago to film. “My proudest moments as a teacher are when students show not only teamwork, but a desire to go above and beyond,” said YTV teacher, Brendan Chambers. “It’s awesome that they were able to plan this trip to the city to improve their final product.”

Jake Pardue, senior, frames a shot in the famous Christkindlmarket of Daily Plaza. “The city lights inspire me to be the best me I can be,” he said.

Seniors Jake Pardue and Reed Morley along with junior Mike Mancini enjoy a fun laugh after filming in Millennium Park. “Working with Mike Mancini is like a box of chocolates,” said Morely. “You never know what you’re gonna get.”

On a Friday night, the streets of Chicago proved to be bustling and crowded offering prime filming conditions. But the lack of light does require the group to think a bit differently about their shots.

The final phase of creating a short film is known as post-production. Here, the team searches for music to use in the final product. Music is a crucial component of a feature of film as it can drive the audience’s emotions.

“I think as a group, these guys took a lot of initiative to get the feature done to the best of their ability,” said Eric Rzeszutko, a fellow YTV member. Post-production includes extensive editing in the YTV Lab. Here, the final touches are being added and edited before the premiere.
To see the final product, go to the video page or click the link below!
https://thisisyork.org/6844/video/ytv-holiday-feature-lost-for-the-holidays/

Jack, senior, is currently in his second year as part of the YTV crew and first year as part of the York-Hi staff. When not stuck doing homework, you can...