Last month, McKinley High School participated in the SHOOTS Summit, a three-day filming competition for Hawaii students held at Moanalua High School. MHS entered the Short Story Film, Public Service Announcement, Music Video, and Broadcast News Story Editor categories and got third place for PSA and second place for BNSE and Music video.

On the first day, all the schools had an introduction to the competition. During the next two days, students were given a set amount of time to complete their category, using the prompt they were given. If not in a contest, students participated in lecture seasons from guests, talking about their experiences in the industry or their life. The third day was the award ceremony.

The team that competed for the SSF category were Thomas Chang and Maureen Tortona (both c/o 2024). Tortona was mostly in charge of storyboarding and directing. Chang was mainly in charge of camera work. Both of them worked on the editing. The SHOOTS Summit was Tortona’s first filming competition event.

“It was really fun. I got to learn how to work with Thomas and our skill levels and what we work best in,” Tortona said. “Making up the plan of what to film was really fun.”

Tortona said she and Chang worked efficiently to make a storyboard for the video. When they were trying to find a quiet filming location, it took them three different spots, until they settled on the auditorium.

“Me and Thomas worked really well. I think during the editing part, we both realized that we have certain strengths,” Tortona said. “Because he doesn’t know how to do audio and I know how to dabble with the audio. So I did that mostly and then he adjusted the clips how he wanted it to be.”

Tortona said if she could attend the next SHOOTS Summit, she would. She said she would want to be more prepared and change how she handled things like how she directed the actors’ placements.

“I feel when we were filming, I was just thinking out on the spot of how [the actors] could have been … [The actors] were great, though. They were awesome,” Tortona said. “I think filming got stressful but making up the story was nice.”

Adam Auro, Gavin Simon and Jennifer Li (all c/o 2024) were the team that competed for the PSA category. Auro said he found the competition an overall unique experience.

“It was definitely challenging for me, having to improvise and adapt for the time and resources we had to make an effective PSA video. But it was also fun, making all of it alongside peers,” Auro said . “I want to leave behind a message for many people to think about through art, visuals, media, all that, and also entertainment.”

Thorton Bolly (c/o 2024) was on the team that competed for the Music Video category with Aubrey Nunies, Elven Truong and Carissa Ulep (all c/o 2025). He said he mainly directed during the filming process. Bolly said he found the competition very fun, but it also was not the only thing he enjoyed. He said he enjoyed attending Evangeline Lilly’s lecture. She is an actress who starred in The Hobbit Trilogy, Lost the TV show and as the Wasp from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“I also got to meet her after she spoke, which that was really fun and she’s just a really funny person and just talking to an actress was really cool,” Bolly said.

He said if he could attend next year’s SHOOTS Summit, he would build closer bonds with his teammates so it could be a more comfortable and easy working environment for all of them. He also said he is grateful to his teammates.

“You know, just being around other hardworking and determined people, being in that environment, also got me really in that mode as well and just working with people is always a good thing because you never know what type of people you’re working with,” Bolly said. “But you have to learn to adapt and work with others. And that just makes you learn more about others and yourself as well. So, it’s always a good experience for me. SHOOTS was a really fun experience from the beginning and there was so much to do, and … I’m just really grateful.”

Mara Kaizawa, the Tiger Media Production teacher, organized this trip. and chaperoned the students during the event.

“As the teacher, it’s stressful because you can’t do anything and you’re just watching your students encounter challenges, but you can’t help them, and you know what you want to say to help them but you can’t,” Kaizawa said. “So in that sense it’s stressful, but at the same time, I have a lot of faith that the students will get it done.”

Kaizawa said this was McKinley’s second year attending the SHOOTS Summit. But this is not the only contest McKinley media students are applying for. She is also preparing her students for Student Television Network which is a filming competition at Long Beach, California, during spring break.

“It’s definitely about growth. We want to see that they’re growing in their video production skills, like the technical skills of storytelling, video, audio, editing,” Kaizawa said. “But I think it’s also about personal growth. I think the biggest thing is perseverance and adaptability.”

Kaizawa said, just like the SHOOTS  Summit, her students will not know what the prompt is for the STN contest, but they do know what the skills they have to use, they do not know what obstacles they might face, so they must be adaptable.

“No matter what challenge you’re thrown in, you can problem solve through it and come out victorious,” Kaizawa said.