Entering the Art of Video class, then-junior Melusine Tenkoff didn’t know these next two years of her life would play the biggest role in determining her future career.
Tenkoff said she had neither background knowledge nor experience of what video production was and what the program did at this high school.
Though she said she initially joined the class after her counselor, Tracey Falleta, recommended it to fulfill her art credit, it led to shaping not only her memorable experiences in high school but also her future college major.
From becoming the director of the video production program, winning two district and two non-district nominations and getting accepted into University of Miami with two scholarships as a motion picture major, she said she experienced the feeling of excitement and belonging she had never felt before.
“From live streaming sports games and board meetings to filming meaningful narratives and directing the “Sunny Side Up” show, the excitement and novelty of being in a course with so much diversity to its content kept me wanting to achieve more,” the senior said.
During her first year in Art of Video as a junior, Tenkoff said she made her way to the position of production assistant by displaying her passion through actively learning the most she could and working alongside director then-senior Grace Spero and video production teacher Daniel Flores. She said she gained experience and knowledge by assisting with producing the weekly “Sunny Side Up” videos and various events throughout the school year.
“My first impression of Mel was that she wanted to learn as much as she could, but she also made sure to balance all her Advanced Placement classes in addition to our video production course,” Flores said. “I think for her, it was a good introduction, and then her growth within the program definitely spotlighted after that.”
At the end of the 2022-2023 school year, she said she applied for the position of director because she wanted to be the leader of the video production team, which requires skills like planning events, producing weekly recap videos and live streaming board meetings.
The interview did not include an interview with Flores but did require one with Spero.
“[The application process] included a lot of advocating for myself, being an effective help and taking initiative throughout the year to gain the trust form the former team and director,” she said. “I feel like a director’s potential should not be judged by a certain piece of work or ability, but instead a collective set of traits and actions.”
Spero notified Tenkoff in person that she was the new director by the end of her junior year.
“There were about three other people running against me, but I am so happy that the former team entrusted me with this amazing position,” she said.
One of the many responsibilities as director entails creating weekly “Sunny Side Up” videos which she said she works on alongside the scriptwriters, anchors and other video production team members to film and assemble the footage during her first period video production class. However, on some days, she said she comes to class during zero period, sixth period, break or lunch to finish the project she has on time.
When choosing which clips will go into the episodes and productions, the director said Flores and she focus on what would be most aesthetically pleasing and clear to understand.
“We make sure all aspects of lighting, dimension, angles, and the one-third rule apply to a clip in order to make it more subconsciously satisfying to watch,” Tenkoff said.
The completed video then gets published on their SHHS Video Production YouTube channel and in the weekly school newsletter.
“I enjoy every moment that I put into the production of “Sunny Side Up,” and I absolutely love being the director,” Tenkoff said. “Getting to lead and work alongside such a talented group of people every day is such an honor, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Aside from the weekly videos, the director said the biggest project she worked on was spending four months planning the Student Film Showcase on Saturday, April 6.
The team contacted Bob Buchi, the president of Paramount Pictures, in January to invite him as the keynote speaker. The tasks at the event included spray painting mannequins and recreating the movie “Back to the Future” scene of Marty McFly teleporting to another place and getting out confused.
“We invited Mr. Buchi because we knew that the scope of production and managerial arts has more to it than just the creative process,” Tenkoff said. “There is a whole legal and financial process before even being able to start filming a project, so we thought that his advice would be able to resonate with our students in a wide variety of ways.”
The director said the showcase allowed schools to showcase their talents and gave the opportunity to get together and enjoy each other’s work.
“I am so proud of how it turned out,” the senior said. “The pressure was definitely there because we had so many people counting on this event and taking the time out of the day to show up, but I am really happy with my team making everything happen.”
During her years in the program, she also had the opportunity to visit the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles and supported the video production program at Sacramento in March by directly appealing to keep production classes for California students.
The event at Sacramento was for North Orange County ROP [NOCROP], which hosted the video production program along with many other courses at Fullerton Joint Unified High School District [FJUHSD] schools. Tenkoff went to lobby for the cause of keeping Career Technical Education for California students.
“We met Oscar winner Kris Bowers, and I got to hold an Oscar for the very first time,” the senior said. “At Sacramento, I got to speak to senators Josh Newman and Tom Umberg and so many assembly members while lobbying for keeping Career and Technical Education for our California students.”
The senior said she had the opportunity to go to Sacramento because she was the NOCROP ambassador, which was a position she got at the start of her junior year by bringing up the idea of starting an ambassador program to the assistant superintendent. She didn’t go through any interviews or applications because this was an idea she suggested.
Along this journey as part of the video production program, Tenkoff said the team faced challenges but always found ways to resolve them.
“Every day, there are certain challenges that we face, whether it be losing footage or more serious things like advocating for new equipment,” she said. “But, for every challenge or problem, there is a solution, so we just keep going and look for the good things.”
In light of all the accomplishments she achieved during her two years in the video production program, Tenkoff was nominated by the ROP Board of Trustee members as an Orange County Artist of the Year on Sunday, March 17, and awarded the FJUHSD ROP Student of the Year after getting selected for a round of an interview on Wednesday, April 24.
“It is such a surreal experience going from barely knowing anything about film and television to getting awarded all these amazing things for doing something that I love,” she said. “Whether it be my teacher, Mr. Flores, my best friend Ishnaa or the production team who make everything happen, they have all been with me every step of the way.”
The video production team’s “Sunny Side Up” episode 10 placed second in the Southern California Journalism Education Association competition and participated in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering Promotional Video competition in December.
“I felt so grateful and honored,” she said. “I have one of the best support teams around me.”
Her final project was the Lip Dub, filmed on Friday, April 26, which was her senior project and production of the Sunny Hills Film Festival, aimed to be posted on YouTube on the week of graduation. She said the project is aimed to promote the school and that the theme would always be “Sunny Hills is the Place to Be.”
“I wanted this to be my senior project because it highlights Sunny Hills, which is the least I can do as a senior for this amazing school before I graduate,” she said.
Though it was production assistant junior Isabella Loarca’s first year working with Tenkoff, she was given many opportunities to learn and grow from her.
“She really makes sure everybody has a position and whatever their position is, they can have full creativity on what they do,” Loarca said. “She’s been giving me a great opportunity and she’s always there to guide me. She really changed my life and pathway because without her, I wouldn’t have known what to do in college or what I want to major in.”
Sports anchor and sports video editor senior Nathan Rauen said Tenkoff’s approach to projects not only keeps everyone on track but also in a coordinated manner.
“She takes charge and gets things done,” Rauen said. “She makes sure everyone knows what they’re doing so the team works well together. She keeps her eye on everyone so everything gets finished in the right order.”
The senior director plans to attend the University of Miami, where she was granted the Ronald A. Hammon scholarship and the Canes Achievement Award. After taking the course that introduced her to video production, she said she aims to be a producer and director in her future career by double majoring in motion picture production and business and actuarial mathematics.
“I decided to go to that university because of the amazing academics, opportunities, scholarships and people there,” she said. “It truly has everything I want and is the best place I could ask to go to for the next four years. For me, that means being aware of every aspect of the industry, whether it be budgeting, risk evaluation, producing or taking part in filming. And, I believe that the University of Miami is the perfect place for me to do that.”
Flores, who has seen her journey in the video program for the past two years, said he noticed her passion for math and film and was glad she decided to continue with film in the future.
“She has such a passion for mathematics and I think seeing her being able to utilize a lot of her math skill sets within video production with her organization skills and setting up all the dates for everybody to film,” Flores said. “I think it is great that she added film into her future plans.”
As of now, she said she wants to create a lasting impact at Sunny Hills for her underclassmen in video production and those who will be joining the program in the future.
“I would like to leave a legacy of optimism and belief in the future while not forgetting where our class came from and the hard work that we have put in to make it as amazing and renowned as it is,” Tenkoff said. “And for those who will join and continue their journey in this program, I want to remind them that a filmmaker’s job is to ignite the spark of imagination in others and leave a lasting impact that transcends the screen.”
