NOVID-20
With everyone sheltering in place, Youth Beat quickly switched to a virtual classroom format. And our ever-creative and talented students stepped up to the challenge, completing some very impressive work -- all from their own homes!
While the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting us all, it’s not stopping our students from getting creative and practicing their skills! For the past 2 months, 50+ students have been taking advantage of Youth Beat’s online multimedia workshops, free for all Oakland youth. They’ve been creating some amazing and ingenious content!
We’re particularly proud of the NOVID-20 music video that our interns created and launched today. It not only showcases their creative and technical skills, but also their ability to work together -- even virtually! -- all while working on a piece designed to help others stay safe from the virus.
“Working on NOVID-20 has been a nice breath of fresh air in these weird times,” explained Jason Nguyen, editor of the film. “The video turned out great and the song is super catchy. I hope it can reach tons of teens through social media.”
Jason also noted that working on the video has been a great way to continue working with his Youth Beat peers and mentors — even if only virtually. “I miss seeing them in person,” he said, “but I know that self-quarantining is far more important in order to keep our communities safe.”
“Our students didn’t let anything stop them from being creative,” said Ramasses Head, Youth Beat Teaching Artist and Fremont High School Media Academy alum who was the professional mentor for the film. “They broke out their own phones to make the video a reality and edited the project from home. Several students from different classes in our program create an Instagram group to plan the shoots. And they pulled off a great project!”
We proudly send HUGE shout-outs to the large crew that worked separately, yet cooperatively to produce this impressive piece. The singer is Vince Vo from Oakland High, and the director is Danielle Thompson, a graduate of MetWest. The producers are Aiden Thornton from Oakland Tech and Maddy Ditmer from Skyline High. Jinkang Fang from Oakland High served as assistant director and the videographers are Chuyi Fang from Oakland High, Serina Grinage ( a recent graduate from Oakland Tech), and James Palacios and Jared Medina from Skyline. The assistant editor was Olin Prichard from Oakland Tech.
Youth Beat is currently offering multiple free virtual classes daily to students, on topics ranging from photography and creative writing to career goal setting and film challenges. Students report their Youth Beat classes are helping them stay connected, motivated and creative while sheltering in place.
“Oakland youth are being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, in so many ways— including financial burdens, gaps in education, limited access to technology, not to mention the emotional toll,” said Schoneker. “Making art is a proven way to relieve stress, especially as part of a creative community like ours. We hope by offering these online classes that we are able to help these talented young people connect, get creative, practice their skills and get a little peace of mind in this chaotic time. ”
Wanna see more of Youth Beat’s student work? Tune in to our Virtual Screening Party at 5pm on May 28 — details coming soon! You’ll not only get to see snippets of the wide variety of film and animation work students have produced during shelter in place, but also a feature presentation of DISPLACED -- Youth Beat students’ 15-minute documentary about gentrification in Oakland. You don’t want to miss it . . . and you might even be inspired to make a donation in support of these talented young Oaklanders!