There are a multitude of ways to get involved in film.
And while many of these programs had been previously offered at Cal High through theater and band, there is room to inspire students with a passion for creation through a new film class called video production.
Video production was introduced as a class at Cal this year, and new teacher Srisha Radhakrishnan was brought on board, taking on this new challenge by utilizing her past experiences in other schools.
“I enjoy watching students’ film,” said Radhakrishnan, who also teaches computer graphic arts. “It’s much fun for me.”
Radhakrishnan initially taught art at elementary schools across the district and, most recently, at Dougherty Valley High for three years. During her final year at Dougherty, she taught video production.
Radhakrishnan was initially hesitant to teach video production because of her more traditional art background.
“Video production is not my cup of tea,” Radhakrishnan said. “Traditional art is my primary medium.”
Lack of student control makes video production a stressful class for her to teach, but Radhakrishnan trusts students will follow her rules.
“It’s hard for me to monitor students when they go out and film,” Radhakrishnan said.
Radhakrishnan grew up in India and moved to the US at age of 25. She obtained her master’s in business administration but decided to pursue teaching art, earning her single-subject credential from Cal State East Bay. She has been teaching art for 18 years now.
Video production is a year-long class where students are taught the basics of filmmaking and video editing in class.
“Everything is art,” Radhakrishnan said. “We go by principles of art and design.”
Radhakrishnan understands that shooting from different perspectives is a key aspect of cinematography.
“We’ve been working on shots and angles,” sophomore Timothy Borukhov said. “We just did a solo project of us recording.”
Having an understanding of composition and where to place subjects and lighting is important for projects.
“I’ve already learned a lot about composition,” senior Matthew Brucker said. “I’m sure there’s a lot within video editing I haven’t learned yet.”
Projects are based on genres of film, such as free film, horror, comedy, and advertisement. Although there’s a wide variety of genres students can choose, Radhakrishnan thought it would be interesting for students to document student and faculty life on campus. Another project idea was having students film promotional videos for different types of art on campus.
“She’s a professional,” junior Layla Mitchell said. “She knows what she’s doing.”
Students form groups and are tasked with different roles to ensure it runs smoothly and everyone is doing their part.
“Some people want to be recorders, some people want to be actors,” Borukhov said. “If you want to be in [a certain area of] production, you have a lot of different opportunities to experiment.”
Radhakrishnan offers a relaxing environment in her class.
“She’s really easy going, she goes with whatever,” sophomore Angelina Eastman said. “She has a lot of trust in us.”
Radhakrishnan understands her students’ struggles with the new material.
“She’s [Radhakrishnan] really calm, she’s patient with us, and she really loves when we take our time,” junior Layla Mitchell said. “She’s not always rushing us.”