Only 3 years ago the Highland film program was an afterthought, with many not knowing there was a film class at Highland. That was until we were brought a fresh new perspective in the name of Mr. Clones.
The addition of Mr. Clones brought a new perspective to the program, as he has worked in the film industry, and has also been a teacher for several years. “I worked at a high school before that had a pretty successful program,” Clones said, “I think bringing a lot of my experience from that to Hawk TV will be beneficial to the students.”
The added perspective has been extremely helpful for the program, as there is a brand new look for Hawk TV. Clones notes, “One of the things I try to do to make sure that it’s engaging for students is allowing the creative freedom of the students.” He continued, “I think it can be tough when you limit a person in an art field such as broadcasting or film, so I try to keep options open while people are still getting the necessary information.”

The biggest event of the year for the film program was Chords for a Cause, a charity event that raised money for Winged Hope (an organization that supports victims of abuse/domestic violence). The event has evolved since its origins last year, with Clones saying, “The planning process was pretty extensive… We learned a lot from last year.” He continued by saying, “This year we had pre-production done weeks beforehand, making sure that we had all the equipment, and making sure we had everyone there on time.” He also touched on what the plans are for the next event, saying, “We want it to be bigger and to have more clubs involved… we want it to be constantly evolving year by year.”
Clones also touched on the future of the film program with him in charge, revealing that the film program will be taking over the football live-streaming duties next school year. “I want to continue growing the film program, which is why we plan on taking over the football broadcast for the 23-24’ school year.” Clones ended the interview by stating, “We want to expand the program so students can get the most out of it and get more experience before they go into the film industry after high school.”

The film program has had an incredible evolution, causing students to not only have a newfound appreciation not only for the news broadcast but for the program as a whole.