Capturing Childhood

By: Cody Finnegan

In the Television Production classroom, a major project was underway. “We’re filming a large-scale promotional video for the CTE programs at ACC,” said Wakefield senior Kiara Epps. “So we need to get footage of as many programs as possible.”

One group was filming the daily activities of the Early Childhood Education department. Entering this wing of the building felt like looking through a kaleidoscope: it looked chaotic, with many of the kids running around and squealing happily, but somehow everything seemed to function together. This is fantastic for the TV students as it provides ample opportunities for filming. “We need eye candy,” said Yorktown senior Alejandro Ortega.

Unfortunately, as often happens with filming projects, the group ran into technical difficulties: the beginning of the class period was largely spent trying to format the SD card of the group’s highly specialized, professional camera. By the time the group gave up trying to format the card, nap time had started for the youngest kids, meaning the majority of all the children were peacefully tucked away in other rooms or receiving direct instruction—activities that generally can’t be filmed.

This predicament induced some stress over the timing and deadline of the project, which was “around halfway done” with only a few days left to complete, including editing.

Being around young children seemed to make the TV students reflect on life: “What if we do nothing with our life and then we’re really sad?”