Last year, students gathered in the Chapel to welcome one of our most esteemed guest speakers, director David Kelley. In his speech, he discussed videography, and what went on behind the scenes in the making of a TV show. But what is videography? For most people, they would probably say that it seems like it is something similar to photography, or something that deals with making short videos on a phone. In fact, videography is defined as the process of making films on a camera. But videography is so much more than just pulling out a phone and taking a video. The beauty of videography does not lie within the camera, but within the person operating it, using their imagination to shoot scenes that they later, painstakingly edit together, in order to create beautiful works of art.
To see this, one does not have to look any further than our very own Belmont Hill TV (BHTV). Founded this year, BHTV puts out videos every few weeks, each one demonstrating a Belmont Hill story with a unique perspective. Articles range from features on the work of Artist of the Issue, Daniel Slakavitz ’24, to stories about the inner workings of First Form Art. Each episode is well worth the watch and makes one feel proud to be a part of Belmont Hill.
Behind the scenes of each episode are hours of shooting, compiling, and editing, spanning over many months. Indeed, while the viewer only sees a 5-minute video, work on the most recent episode can be dated back to 2022, when Mr. Duarte and a handful of students interested in making videos founded BHTV.
Over the course of last spring, Mr Duarte and the other aspiring videographers spent dozens of hours editing clips, paying attention to every last detail in order to make the perfect video on Daniel Slakavitz’s ‘24 incredible talents. The end result: a work of art, something enjoyable to listen to and captivating to watch. The introduction consists of a black-and-white video with calming music in the background, followed by a shot from the perspective of an old film camera with the nostalgic film sprocket on the side. Later on, a grainy shot reminiscent of a film made in the 70s, with a flicker of pale orange light transitioning it seamlessly back to black and white.
However, the best part about videography on campus is not how good the videos are, or the stories they tell, but how much it is growing. Media Club is hosted every Friday in Mr. Duarte’s classroom in Robsham, where each day a growing number of students participate in the art of videography, photography, and more. Over the past couple years, videography has grown from a taboo on campus, one student, Mason Iandorio ’26 said, “I remember 2 years ago, [Garrett Theberge ‘24] was really the only one with a camera, and people looked at him and wondered what he was doing, but now every game we have minimum 5 or 6 people standing around taking videos” Now, however, videography has never been larger, and there is no better time to start. Anyone who wants to hone their skills in videography or editing now has a wealth of knowledge they can tap into by asking other students, as well as a club dedicated to helping people learn more. As Mason Iandorio ’26 put it, “It’s an open environment with no expectations. You come in with an idea and they do their best to help you accomplish it. They’re very open with what they do and don’t know, and are totally happy to learn with you.”
