Nearly two months into the new school year, the familiarities of daily math assignments, hall passes, and Taco Tuesdays have returned, but one thing is noticeably different than in past years: the absence of Knightline. The regularly occurring show, starring comedic upperclassmen who entertained homerooms with their school news stories, has now been replaced with a Knightline that produces “commercial products––like ads you seen on television, except [they’re] for math league,” said Knightline adviser Mr. Fran Roby.
A main reason for the transition is the small number of students in the class. While previous years’ classes have had a range of 12-20 students, this semester there are only seven students, made up of five seniors and two juniors. Unlike previous years, there are no “Knightline 2” students, or students who have already taken the class and who “already know how to work the video camera, what the set-up is like. We don’t have [those students] this year,” Mr. Roby said.
However, still expect the high quality productions Knightline has put out in the past. The “commercials” will be approximately 90 seconds long and will feature Knightline students as well as students from the club, activity, or event that is being promoted. Mr. Roby explains that Knightline will actually be reverting back to the original concept of the class “to help promote activities and what’s going on [at BSM].”
With hopes of eventually producing one commercial per week, Knightline encourages all students, teachers, and administrators to talk to Mr. Roby in the main office if they are interested in creating a commercial. The commercial will take about one week to make, with the Knightline team aiding in everything from the commercial concept to the accompanying soundtrack.
Recently Señora Lidibette Rosado-Guzman “has come in twice, working with the class about doing commercials for PRO,” said Mr. Roby. He also said that Knightline is interested in producing commercials for almost anything; from home games and tournaments to fundraisers and mission trips. “We just want to get people involved, to get support,” Roby said.
Come next semester there will be another new class of Knightline students, with space still available for anyone who wishes to transfer. Students can choose to spend the majority of their time either in front of the camera as an anchor or behind it, filming and editing, but they will eventually have to participate in all aspects of the class. Mr. Roby said that “some people think ‘Oh [the anchors] are so outgoing, I don’t want to join, I’m not like that,’ but if they have any interest in video production they should be in this class.”
