Media program takes center stage in New York

Over winter break, 20 students in the Dartmouth High School TV media program traveled down to New York City in a trip three years in the making.

Two years ago, there was an issue with busing and the following year the program chose to travel to Boston rather than pursue a New York trip, but this September, students decided they wanted to try going to New York again.

Robert Perrotti, the high school’s lead business, innovation and technology teacher, reached out to MassHire Greater New Bedford Workforce Board, which found funding for the trip through the state, he said.

“Funding trips like this is important in developing the students’ professional skills and providing valuable experiences that could help them in their future careers,” said Deven Robitaille, the youth program manager at MassHire Greater New Bedford Workforce Board.

Except for finding the funds for the trip, which totaled $5,000, students organized the majority of the trip.

“The students did most of the planning and figuring out where they wanted to go and getting all the permission slips together and getting track of who was going,” Perrotti said.

In New York, students visited the Museum of the Moving Image, toured the sets of “Saturday Night Live” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” visited the Rockefeller Christmas tree and produced their own short films.

At the Museum of the Moving Image, students learned about the history of filmmaking, seeing the original film cameras from the silent film era, the first set of TV cameras and a special exhibit featuring Jim Henson and the original muppets.

“It was really interesting to see where film originated from and the history behind film and what they used back in the day,” said junior Ella Gates. “It was really interesting to see that in today’s time.”

Ben Smith, one of four officers in the program who helped organize the trip, has wanted to return to New York ever since he visited 10 years ago.

“It was great to go back there,” he said.

Smith, who has his own set at the high school, said the Tonight Show’s set was more professional and bigger than his own but not as big as he thought it would be, adding that it “looks much bigger on camera.”

Gates added that besides NBC studios’ professionalism and size, they were just like theirs at the high school.

Being on the NBC sets also brought a “little bit of deja vu,” Smith said. “You watch it on television and like, man, you’re here, the place where all the famous guests who’ve been on the show [have been].”

Students also put a video together about the trip with footage they filmed while in New York.

Perrotti said that while the trip was a great opportunity to learn more about film, it was also something that they would always remember.

“It’s a lifetime memory, and that’s important for kids to have,” he said. “Not only what they do in the program, but a memory like this that they can have for the rest of their lives.”