Arts & Entertainment

Since 1989 Taylor Allderdice has found another way to encapsulate the memories formed throughout every class’ senior year: the senior video.  Every year, a group of seniors has come together to compile footage from various events and everyday activities to ultimately create the senior video. 

Carl Toleno, the technology Support Specialist for all Pittsburgh Public high schools, comes to Allderdice at least once a week and serves as the coordinator and equipment provider for the senior video project.  Yet even he admits that almost all of the planning, filming, and editing is done by the seniors themselves.  This year’s senior video crew consists of Abbey Farkas, Rachael Shapiro, Emma Stahl-Wert, Chris Suter, Beryl Trauth-Jurman, Chris Carter, and Sarah Tannery.  Senior video is not a scheduled class with regular attendance, so many other seniors outside of this core group often help with production and behind the scenes work. 

Most of this unseen effort comes in the form of “hunting down” seniors to ensure their place in the video.  “We have a list of seniors,” Abbey Farkas said. “Every senior will be in it.”  This task becomes even more daunting when the irregularity of seniors’ school attendance is factored in. 

Rachel Shapiro and Chris Suter have performed most of the filming duties so far.  They hope to finish filming by the end of the third quarter and then hand that footage over to the editing team: Emma Stahl-Wert, Abbey Farkas, and Sarah Tannery.  It is in this stage that the video will begin to take shape and hopefully gain a theme.  The video will be set to 3 or 4 songs, roughly totaling 12 minutes.

The senior video used to be incorporated with the graduation ceremony, but due to scheduling restrictions it is now viewed at the senior breakfast at the end of the year.  It is then that the video will be available for purchase.  So when you see one of these seniors in hall with a camera, get ready for your close up.

Did They Shoot You Yet?

By: Ellen Spolar and Emma Wettstein

The Allderdice Foreword

An Award Wining Publication