Video production students travel to Albany for event with filmmaker Ken Burns

Warwick Valley High School students in Dan Cecconie’s Video Production class traveled to Albany on Saturday to attend a talk with award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns. They were excited to get a preview of his upcoming six-part PBS documentary series, which was directed in tandem with Sarah Botstein, called The American Revolution. Mr. Burns is known for his films and television series that explore American history and culture, including The Civil War, Jazz, Baseball and The Vietnam War. 

The sold-out event at the Palace Theater was called The American Revolution, An Evening with Ken Burns and was hosted by WMHT Public Media. This latest series explores the founding of our nation, sacrifices made during the war, and the responsibilities of citizenship.

The trip ties into part of Mr. Cecconie’s curriculum that calls for Video Production students to produce a piece of Ken Burns-style content during their junior year. Mr. Cecconie was thrilled to afford his students the opportunity to learn from a master documentarian who has pioneered a documentary film style so unique, that it bears his name.

“The challenges that are inherent in telling a story about a period predating film, the recorded voice and photography really called upon the need to use paintings, historical artifacts and buildings and places to tell the tale,” Mr. Cecconie explained. “That is truly what Ken Burns does best.”

After an hour-long screening of selected excerpts from the series, Mr. Burns and Ms. Botstein answered questions and reflected on the project, which has taken 10 years to create. The students were astonished by the scope and timeline of the production. When Mr. Cecconie asked his group if there was a project that they could imagine dedicating a decade to, their answers ranged from the Renaissance to the history of the National Football League.

Perhaps the greatest message that the students heard on Saturday, however, was when Mr. Burns said, “Truth should always go before story!”

When asked what that meant to him, junior Ryan Pesta said, “There are rhetoric and ideas being pushed everywhere online, and I think the idea that truth should always go before story is extremely valuable in a world filled with biases.”

Video Production is part of the high school’s unique in-house Careers & Technology Education (CTE) program. Once an education pathway for students only seeking vocational skills, CTE is now hailed as an opportunity for students who are looking to build career skills, get a start on their college education, or learn a skilled trade that will allow them to pay for college or even enter the workforce after high school. Following the completion of a CTE program, students may take an exam for technical endorsement. For many students that means sitting for a certification exam sponsored by the state or another entity to allow them to practice in the field. Warwick Valley’s in-house CTE program also offers Cosmetology and Criminal Justice.

The American Revolution debuts on PBS in November. The Video Production  students will certainly be watching and learning.