Lights, camera, action, sports!

The Dartmouth High media department is expanding its coverage of school sports in partnership with DCTV, giving students the opportunity to film, edit, and even commentate live on the air.

The new initiative is part of a broader expansion of the media department under the leadership of media teacher Robert Perrotti, who has put an emphasis on broadcasting events beyond the bounds of the school.

“We’re trying to get them more involved that way — with community media,” he said, explaining that while they have collaborated a little with DCTV in the past, he wants his students to be at every event they can attend this year.

Perrotti said that after having no involvement in sports broadcasting last year, he will have at least two of his students at every game that DCTV films this year to help out while gaining real-world experience.

“I like to think we give them all the skills that put them ahead of their peers, especially at the college level,” he said.

Perrotti noted that one of his former students, Caden Lisa, is currently working at ESPN Harvard while attending Emerson College thanks in large part to the skills he gained in the DHS Media program.

Perrotti said the expanded sports coverage has already begun, with senior Will Bouvier and sophomore Ben Smith commentating on an Oct. 5 volleyball game between Dartmouth and Brockton, with more students working behind the cameras.

Bouvier said it was his first time doing commentary but that it had gone better than expected.

“I was really nervous but I had fun,” he said. “I surprised myself. I thought I would cramp up and do a lot worse.”

Bouvier said that he has been to a lot of volleyball games before, as his sister used to play on the Dartmouth team. Additionally, he said he prepped for the game by watching college volleyball and paying close attention to the announcers.

“I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time, so I knew I had to be prepared when I got that call,” he said.

To make sure the rest of the students were prepared to cover sports, several DCTV staff members visited the high school on Thursday, Oct. 6 to give the students a rundown of the equipment they would be using — including the station’s broadcast truck.

“This is to get them familiar with the whole truck,” said DCTV Director Peter Chasse. “So when they come to film something, they know what everything is.”

The staff members showed students how to set up and run the station’s cameras, the ins-and-outs of the commentary equipment, and gave them the grand tour of the broadcast truck.

DCTV Operations Coordinator Michael Moniz said that the equipment they will be using is professional-grade; the same things they will see if they pursue careers in broadcasting.

“This is a pro truck,” he said. “This is not an amateur truck.”

The students will get a chance to run a full broadcast out of the truck in November when they will be covering the school’s pre-Thanksgiving pep rally all by themselves.

Perrotti said that despite the difficulty of the task, his dedicated students will be up to the challenge.

“We’re looking for kids that are committed,” he said. “This group is really good right now, so it’s awesome.”