Each morning at Kalani High School the day starts with the Morning Bulletin, a five minute broadcast of upcoming events. The elective “Directed Studies in Art and Communication” is the class behind the broadcast.

Patricia Pahinag (12) describes the class as small. She says that students spend most of their time editing on computers or going around the school filming. She believes that you will get a good grade if you contribute to the assigned projects and communicate well with others.

“I learned that filming is very collaborative,” Pahinag said. “You really learn how to listen to other people’s ideas as well as take criticism.”

Students are often assigned a different task every single day. They get a choice to get out of the classroom and shoot or stay inside and edit. The class is an outlet to be creative.

“This class tests our patience, attention to detail, and our problem-solving skills,” Pahinag said.

Jalen-Rose Condes (12) likes the freedom of the class.

“There are no assigned seats and the teacher is not constantly monitoring me,” Condes said.

In the class, students make videos for a show called HIKI NO on PBS Hawaii.

“One of the first things we do when we come to class is check the Falcon24 email for feedback on our videos and to see if we have new tasks that we need to do for people and PBS,” Pahinag said. “Every class period we are constantly brainstorming ideas with each other.”

Condes explained that all finished videos go through multiple drafts and edits. However, Condes believes this has made him a better videographer.

“I have learned about how to use camera equipment and how to use video editing programs,” he said. “I learned what makes a video good or bad.”