Lights, camera, action. Tucked in the back of I-4, Woodside TV Live starts the morning for the 1,600 students on campus, filling them in on all the important announcements and activities going on. But, what really happens behind the cameras? 

This year, the film and communication classes underwent a change in leadership with Film and English teacher Joshua De Bets taking the reigns of the class. Under the guidance of De Bets, Woodside TV Live has produced popular features on teachers, Vox Pops or on-the-street interviews, and music videos. 

“One of the main goals I had this year was to have more news features in the announcements,” De Bets said. “In the past, it would normally be just students saying the daily announcements [and then] you would see a video from leadership. So this year I really push students to get out there.”

De Bets begin his film career at Whittier College as a film major. While there, he received a fellowship to produce an adaptation of the Samuel Beckett play “Waiting for Godot”, an existentialist production about two hobos living a very routined lifestyle. De Bets enjoys implementing postmodern elements into his work. 

“I got a grant for a few thousand dollars and I traveled to Ireland,” De Bets said. “I met all these creative people, and it inspired me to make this film. Ever since then, I’ve just been wanting to teach film and I was fortunate to get the opportunity this year.”

As a film teacher, De Bets has experienced challenges cultivating content for the announcements. Despite this concern, students find that De Bets approach to teaching has given them the creativity to express themselves. 

“I think Mr. De Bets allows us to have a lot more creative freedom,” senior Kate O’Toole said. “There’s a lot less of routine in the class and a lot more brainstorming ideas to try to come up with new shows [that] get people to engage in the announcements, which makes it a lot more fun.”

O’Toole’s interest in film began during COVID-19 following a theater class. Now, she enjoys the class environment and the people she’s gotten to work with in the course.  

“Over COVID-19, I did some online theater and we edited [the videos] into movies,” O’Toole said. “So when we came back from online to in-person school, I thought that trying film would be a cool idea.”

As De Bets and the film students prepare for the second semester, they look forward to developing new videos and learning new skills. 

“If you are interested in storytelling, learning how to edit, or how to create a news piece, get involved in the announcements [and] please look into it film when you’re registering for classes,” De Bets said.