Many students at Wesley Chapel High School are familiar with the morning shows/news that play during first period. However, they may not be totally aware of what goes on behind the scenes. The school’s news crew is an incredible team of students all run by the teacher, and football coach, Mr. McQueen.

Mr. McQueen has been teaching for two years and is currently teaching Digital Video Technologies 1-6, formerly known as T.V. Productions. Mr. McQueen has worked in tech for over thirty years with various companies, when asked what made him want to go into teaching, Mr. McQueen says “It was teaching in general, because I was the tech for the past ten years on the original tech for the Wesley Chapel Feder Pattern. The impact I had on the students specifically in this class was the reason I decided to become a teacher.”

The students who work on the news all work during first period, after Mr. McQueen acquires all the content from admin, he sends it over to the producers and technical directors for editing. “From there,” Mr. McQueen says, “they take that content and put it into a cycle.” All filming and script writing is completed on Friday, then throughout the week they work during B Lunch on editing the content. 

The impact Mr. McQueen has had on students can be best seen through the news team. Senior Eli Margelowsky, manages the team’s overall production of the show in order for it to run smoothly. Margelowsky says that the class “…gives you a good eye opener on how businesses run in the real world… you learn respect and how to work with a big team.” Eli also shares that the class grants students certifications in various programs such as Adobe Premier, Adobe After Effects and Photoshop, another benefit to the class. 

Another senior, John Paul Baker, more commonly known as J.P., is the Technical Director over cameras and second in editing. J.P. says that the hands-on experience of the class is his favorite aspect of Digital Video Technology. He plans on going into T.V. production beyond college and says that Mr. McQueen’s class has absolutely prepared him for that. 

When asked if he would recommend the course to freshmen, or anyone looking for an elective, he says “If you’re a freshman, definitely go into T.V. 1 and stick with the program the whole four years and you’ll learn so much. You shouldn’t be intimidated, if you don’t know anything about video production that’s alright. In T.V. 1, you’ll learn the basics and go from there, if you have a passion for it, you’ll move very fast and have a lot of fun with it.”  

The Digital Video Technology classes are an incredible opportunity for students. Any student taking Digital Video Technology all share a common interest, and having a teacher who is passionate about their class creates a great environment for anyone. Make sure to tune into the morning shows during your first period classes to see their work pay off!