Digital Storytellers: Media boom sweeps Manteca High

By KAILEE JACKSON
The Tower 

Almost daily, at various points throughout the day, a wave of blue vested students rushes from Room 62 into the halls capturing images all over campus with cameras in their hands.  

They bring all that they wash over back to the classroom to edit, leaving behind beautiful compositions of color and texture.  

Just a few steps away, the creative minds of the media students next door bring stories to life with video and photos.  

Manteca High’s flourishing media program consists of students with many talents under the management of Manteca High teachers James Burns and Carol Creighton. Their colorful classrooms contain all the supplies needed to tell the perfect story. 

This is a glimpse at the media programs at Manteca High told through the lens of three students. 

Hanna Palacio 

Sitting in her teacher’s chair to stay comfortable, Hanna Palacio works on editing personal photos as well as ones for the school’s media.  

With one Air Pod in her ear and MacBook before her, Palacio’s fingers run along the keyboard of her computer adjusting the tones and textures of her images. Remaining quiet, her eyes jump from place to place on her screen as she observes all the components of her image. Any necessary changes will have been made by Palacio by the end of this session. 

She analyzes every aspect of the picture, fixing all the intricate details to display exactly what she’s going for. Lighting. Exposure. Contrast. Curves. When asked by The Tower about an image of a street in Japan Palacio perceives it to be “Comforting and Nostalgic.”  

Every bar she adjusts and the buttons she presses translates the vision in her mind onto the computer.  

No sighs or groans come from her as she works, just pure focus and love for what she does. With other media students surrounding her, Palacio shares some laughs with them as she works. She’s serious about what she does but lighthearted and fun as she works on it. 

Palacio describes photography as a “bad crush.” She says she thinks of photography all throughout the day. 

Palacio has a specific love for sports photography. She saus there is always a story behind an athlete as they play, and she recently did her best to capture those stories in professional athletes as a member of the Stockton Kings media corps. On March 4, Palacio sat courtside with her Nikon pointed at the Kings, an NBA G League team, looking not just for best action but a powerful emotional candid.  

Palacio’s favorite things to capture are the happiness or the focus of a player. 

“I can see when a player is in their head,” she said. 

 Each student has a story, and the ones of athletes always get told in the photos taken by Palacio. 

During her past two years at Manteca High School, Palacio has made large contributions to the media program specializing in sports photography. A student athlete with a busy schedule consisting of her honors classes, practices, games, and relationships at home, Palacio’s agenda may bring obstacles, but it doesn’t stop her flow of creativity.  

Raclif Wilfred Figueroa 

Working on a school computer at the back of Burns’ classroom, Raclif Wilfred Figueroa focuses on a video of the Manteca High boy’s baseball team. Figueroa has many media talents, whether they’re used be behind the camera or computer screen.  

When it comes to video editing, there’s no one better.  

Figueroa whispers to himself as he attempts to “revive” a poorly taken video that is to be posted on the Manteca Media Instagram account. You can tell the job is difficult by the look on his face and sounds he makes as he works. 

Although he is great at what he does, He isn’t afraid to ask for a second opinion. 

“I definitely learn a lot from people,” Figueroa said.  

He lists other students and influences he has gained from working in the Manteca High Media Program. Not only has the program helped him progress, but it is the reason his passion for his work continues and where it all began as well. 

Watching a clip over and over, Figueroa focuses on its color. He adjusts something then plays it again. A continuous cycle with its audio playing on a loop. At the peak of frustration, Figueroa calls over another student and asks for help. Together they work on the video’s color.  

“No, too yellow.” 

They try again. 

“No, he looks dead.” 

They try again. 

With both their input and several attempts, they create a result that they can agree on. 

After the coloring dilemma, he works on the sound effects and things included in the background. When asked about the importance of editing in media, Figueroa states: “If it doesn’t look right people aren’t going to watch it.”  

He makes sure the piece grabs the viewers’ eye and keeps them engaged. Each role that the students have in the media program is just as important as the others. Figueroa uses video to tell a story and edits to enhance it. 

Tyler Watkins-Brooks 

Working on a black top table in the middle of Burns’ class, Tyler Watkins-Brooks works on a boys’ soccer video. He overlays a song and chops up the footage to match. He hums along with the song, synchronizing the beat and lyrics to the transitions between clips. The finished product rolls and almost seems as if the song and video were made for each other. 

Watkins-Brooks switches from focused to fun in a second as he jokes with the classmates around him. As he works, there’s always a way to prevent boredom. 

Watkins-Brooks’ passion rubs off on all those around him and drives others to do great things as well. Watkins-Brooks mentions some things he learns from his mom who he sees as one of his most important critics. 

“She thinks I’m really limiting my business when it comes to just teenagers and not people older than me,” he said.  

It is important that a story can be viewed by all sorts of people, which is why Watkins-Brooks applies his mother’s advice to his projects. He wants his work and the subject’s tale to reach as many people as possible. 

He is a staple in Manteca’s media program, constantly on the scene with every piece they work on, whether he’s working the camera, editing, acting, and assisting his classmates around him. He provides a sense of leadership and a helping hand.  

Principal praises campus storytellers 

The stories told by Manteca’s multimedia, journalism, and photography classes bring connection among everyone on the campus as well as the city. Stories posted on The Tower student newspaper also appear in the local newspaper, The Manteca Bulletin, and students in Advanced Digital Communications work as social media managers for businesses in Manteca and Ripon.  

“I am beyond happy about the digital media boom on campus,” principal Manteca High principal Megan Peterson said. “I hope that we can continue to highlight all the wonderful kids, teachers, support staff, programs, activities and academic successes that we have here at Manteca High School.”  

The information that the program displays on social media brings people to life. Seeing other people’s passions and accomplishments can bring inspiration and appreciation to others. The programs interviews and posts let people know that the work they do doesn’t go unnoticed. The storytellers see things and bring the tales of other people to light.