3rd Place in Overall Ranking of Schools at the Division Level

My team of young campus journalists from Pasig City Science High School won 3rd place in the overall ranking of schools during the 20th Division Secondary Schools Press Conference in Pasig City.  Together with the team, Dr. Aurora Franco, Asst. Schools Division Superintendent and Ms. Maria Elizabeth, Education Supervisor in English and Journalism.

2nd place in Editorial Cartooning

My student, Gabriel Evan Blanco won 2nd place in Editorial Cartooning during the 20th Division Secondary Schools Press Conference at Sta. Lucia High School.  The editorial cartoons were judged by  Mr. Rene Aranda, editorial cartoonist of Philippine Star.

Dr. Diosa Labiste, ACFJ Pioneer

Dr. Diosa Labiste, our Keynote Speaker during the 20th Division Secondary Schools Press Conference in Pasig City.   An ACFJ Pioneer of MA Journalism Course and a recent PhD graduate at University of Birmingham, UK.

Missing Sir Cris in Journalism Competition

Missing Sir Cris in Journalism Competition 

by Riza R. Zuniga

 I missed Sir Cris.

He is supposedly on top of every situation in organising the Division Secondary Schools Press Conference in the Division of Pasig City.  Now there is little chance that he will be joining the school paper advisers in taking the responsibility of planning and spearheading the journalism competition among young campus journalists in 18 participating schools in Pasig City.

Sir Cris has joined the ranks of the Head Teachers in the English Department in the division.  He will be terribly missed for he is our man. He understands the temper and whims of women school paper advisers.  

There is no heavy load nor unbearable persona, everyone is a friend to Sir Cris, that's why his task is to invite lecturers, speakers and judges for the competition.  His network is incomparable.  His energy unequalled. 

Everyone is delighted every time he wore the finest "barong tagalog" as a master of ceremony.  Truly, one of a kind -- dashing and filled with aplomb.

Sir Cris is everyone's brother, with a shoulder to lean on in times of keeping up the spirit of fellowship amidst competition among schools.  He was never discouraged at all, when some women school paper advisers teased him in garnering only six points in his last participation in the competition.

The division is now on its 20th year of organising the Division Secondary Schools Press Conference.  It has its fair share of winners and losers in the regional and national competition but even in the absence of Sir Cris in the organising committee, the school paper advisers will continue what he has started for the group --  to remain level-headed even under pressure.

Now, I am starting to miss Sir Cris again.

Editing in a fast mode

Editing in a fast mode

by Riza R. Zuniga

How time flies so fast, before after making an 8 mm short film, I have to wait for it to be processed for one month, either in Japan or Australia.  I was anxious for about a month, thinking whether the film I shot was underexposed or overexposed.

Once the film has been processed, editing comes next.  There is an editing tool which I call a splicer and a glue that I used for adhering the edges of the frames that I selected.  Then, I test and run to see if the transition was smooth and neat.  

Then, another editing will be devoted for dubbing, for adding music and sound effects that need to be included while editing. So, it is a long and tedious process.

During the age of computer, the waiting time was consumed by graphics because the processing time was longer then. I have to wait if the graphics were perfectly done. 

It is completely a different picture today.  In an instant, I can make a movie or video and put everything together.  I can do my own graphics unlike before that I have to rely on the talents and skills of the graphic artists. 

I can add music, voiceover and other sound effects to my movie or video in so short a time. I don't even have to go to places where editing can be done by experts.  This is editing in a fast mode in the 21st century.  If uploading is fast, my friends can watch the movie right away.

Also, the end product can be saved for cellular phones, tablet, laptop, desktop and other devices available for movie viewing.

In fact, I can do editing with just two simple gadgets, an iPodtouch and a laptop.  In case, there are other gadgets that I am using, the one used for editing can convert or make adjustments.  I just need to focus whether there are reminders or warning for incompatibility since I am making use of different cameras with different megapixels and features.

Now, this is editing at its finest, making it simple and fast for those who lack patience in editing movies or videos.