Written, filmed, and produced by students, the Mane Event combines the creativity of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors in a 10 minute video sharing the stories of SJHHS. 

Compared to last year, the Mane Event has increased the amount of effort they put into the making of the show. “This year is more consistent and people put in more effort,” said junior, Gianni Sirgy. There are a lot more lower classmen so “they are more committed and passionate about it.”

“There’s a lot of creative people in there. There are a lot of people that are out of the ordinary,” said sophomore Rylan Macy. As a first-year member of the class, Macy recognized the Mane Event as an exciting opportunity for him to get more involved in school. “Some of my buddies are in there and we make funny videos. It’s pretty fun,” said Macy. 

The Video Production class (the formal name for the Mane Event) is unlike any other class offered at SJHHS. “We go in [to class] and film and edit usually. Mr. Devaney just gives us ideas,” said Sirgy. Brian Devaney, the teacher of Video Production, remains pretty hands-off and lets the students take control of production. Devaney mainly pitches stories for the class to film and helps keep everyone in order. 

Not only is the Mane Event a great way to make friends, but it is also a great way to kickstart a possible future in the film industry.

“I want to have a film career when I’m older so I thought I could learn some basic stuff if I join the class, and I have,” said junior, Jake Paulsen. 

Paulsen joined the Mane Event this year and is enjoying the experience. “You get to meet a lot of new people and in the beginning– before the Mane Event actually starts– there is stuff you learn and there are projects to help you learn everything,” said Paulsen.

Although the Mane Event magically appears on student’s screens during tutorial, there is a lot of effort being put into the creation of each video. The students write and film each segment pretty far in advance. “I could plan a [segment] for April and people would make their stories in advance and then we would film the talents (the three people on the screen) the day of,” said Sirgy. 

The time it takes to film and edit an entire Mane Event varies, but individual stories all depend on the effort put into it. “Mine would probably take a month for like one story,” said Sirgy. 

“We think of what [story] we want to do– it’s first come first serve,” said Macy. “It’s all based on the beginning of the year. If you don’t say it at the beginning then you can’t really do it until the next semester.” 

The Mane Event has been a staple for morning announcements; presenting information in a comedic multimedia video that continues to evolve and improve their style and effort to appeal to their audience.