MAD and Theater Students Team Up to Produce Music Videos

Students in two of Santa Barbara High School’s (SBHS) creative programs are teaming up for a new creative project that blends filmmaking and acting. The Multimedia Arts and Design (MAD) Academy and the theater department recently began collaborating on student-produced music videos, giving filmmakers and actors the chance to learn from each other while working toward the same creative goal. 

The idea for the collaboration came from MAD Academy Director Shea Devlin Peinado and the Theater Director, Gioia Marchese. Peinado, who is now in her sixth year with the MAD Academy, said the two had “been discussing for a long time the way to create a bridge between our two departments.” The goal for the project is for both groups of students to gain something from the experience. Theater students are able to practice acting for the camera, while MAD Academy students can get the opportunity to work with trained performers who can help strengthen the storytelling in their films. 

Peinado said working with actors allows film students to better bring their ideas to life. While MAD students are graded on filmmaking techniques rather than acting performances, stronger acting can make a noticeable difference in the final product. The collaboration also pushes MAD students to develop skills that go beyond filming and editing. According to Peinado, directing actors requires students to clearly communicate their ideas and guide performances in a professional way. It also focuses them to plan ahead and coordinate schedules with people outside their own class. 

Scheduling has been one of the biggest challenges so far. The MAD film production class meets during second period, while the theater acting for the camera class meets during fourth period. Because of this, Peinado said she’s found herself running between the two classrooms to check in with students and see how their projects are progressing. 

For theater students, performing in a music video requires a different style of acting than performing on stage. SBHS sophomore Zander Peterson, who plays the main character in one of the videos, said acting for the camera requires much more subtlety. “On stage it’s like you are telling the audience what you are feeling,” Peterson said, “With the camera, you have to be so much more subtle about it because the audience is literally inches or feet away from your face.”  Because cameras capture small details, actors have to rely more on natural expressions and smaller movements instead of large gestures often used in theater performances. Peterson shared learning to tone down those reactions took some adjustment. 

The music video format adds another challenge since there is no dialogue to help tell the story. Instead, actors must rely entirely on facial expressions and body language to communicate emotion and move the story forward. Even with those challenges, Peterson said working with MAD Academy students has been a fun experience. “It’s been great. It’s been a lot of fun,” Peterson said. “It’s fun seeing the two sides of the creative arts clashing.” 

While theater students perform in front of the camera, MAD students handle the technical side of the production. SBHS junior Eddie Zarazoga, is responsible for filming and editing the project that Peterson appears in. Zarazoga said the group has only filmed a small portion of the video so far, but the project is moving in the right direction. The visual style was inspired by the song titled “Can’t Handle Change,” which has a sad tone that helped shape the mood of the video. 

Editing the video can be difficult at times, Zaragoza shared, but seeing the finished product makes the work worth it. One of the biggest obstacles so far has been finding time to film since students in both programs have busy schedules. Still, Zaragoza said the collaboration itself has been one of the most exciting parts of the project. “Just the creativity of combining MAD kids and theater kids to create a video,” Zaragoza said. 

As the project continues, students in both programs are gaining hands-on experience outside their normal classroom work. By bringing together filmmakers and actors, the collaboration shows how different forms of art can work together to tell a story on screen.