Thanks to a brand new, state-of-the-art control room installed over the summer, Dartmouth High upperclassmen are putting their media skills to the test. The advanced video production class utilizes skills from previous media classes to produce their own talk shows and news programs.

Across all grade levels, the high school’s media classes enroll a total of about 80 students, with an additional 12-15 students in the after school video club.

“My goal is to bring the program to the next level,” said Unified Arts Teacher Robert Perrotti, who began overseeing the program in September, when he started at the high school. “The students do the filming and editing, and work in conjunction with [Dartmouth Community Television].”

Perrotti said the program resembles a real television studio more than a high school-level class. Students write, produce, film, and edit each of two weekly programs while working on tight deadlines and rigid broadcast standards.

Students’ main projects include The Tribe, a news program devoted to the happenings at Dartmouth High School, and Right After School with Reilly, a talk show hosted by sophomore Reilly Leconte.

Leconte hasn’t taken any of the school’s media classes yet, but she enjoyed creating YouTube videos as a hobby. After hosting a few episodes of Right After School through the after school video club, she has already learned a lot about television production.

“The production process is a long process, and it takes a lot of people,” Leconte said.

The class also took over DCTV projects, including a short segment featuring Principal John Gould.

Perrotti and DCTV have also overhauled the student internship along with the community television studio. This year’s intern, Falin Fagundes, serves as an intermediary between DCTV and the high school, working on both original DCTV programming and high school programming.

Looking ahead to next year, Perrotti plans to continue improving the television studio. He already has a wish list, including investing in a portable setup – similar to what DCTV has with a van capable of conducting on-location filming – and 4K cameras to take full advantage of the high resolution control room.

Perrotti also hopes to enter student-created content in several awards programs, including the Scholastic Art Awards.