RCTV @ RMHS

By Matt McWilliams

Of the many public access shows to air on channels 9, 10 and 22, one differs significanty from the rest. Returning from years of absence, "Inside RMHS"- a show by the students of Reading High is back on the air oin RCTV's education channel, 10. From the school's recently rehabilitated television production course, students in the class are weekly assigned segments for creation.

Teaching proper filming techniques and high-tech editing skills on Apple's Final Cut Pro, RCTV's own executive director, Phil Rushworth, heads the class and show with enthused compliments from the school's the administration. Covering everything from school events (the pep rally and senior auction) to personal interests (movie and video game reviews) the class has engaged many of those enrolled to express their views in a format that not taught in the school for many semesters. Of the many producers, Jhai Sinnatamby of Period 2 feels that he's learned many things about editing: something he has always been interested in but unsure where to recieve instruction on. "How to angle a camera, how to edit on a Mac and how to properly work a camera," he says, "are a bunch of the things [he's] learned from the class." Jhai has been a part of a segment on "Extreme Hack," a popular alternative sport among many of his classmates.

Credit for the class, however, extends beyond just contributing to "Inside RMHS," but can also entail extracurricular shoots, causing Reading residents to come in contact with students doing work for the class. Events such as the Festival of Trees, the Winter Concert and Toys for Tots were events covered by students and aired as seperate shows all their own. This added aspect to the course gives students field experience, as well as making them familiar with the studio where they help produce live segments seen each week.

"Getting kids active in producing shows," Mr. Rushworth says, "is the entire premise behind the course. It's good to see new members, and if they stay with the station beyond the semester they're involved, then I've done my job." And many, it seems, will. "I'm definitely making a show on my own this summer," Jhai promises, "just from what I learned in class."