New improvements and special features have been added to the Highlander Highlights morning announcements, thanks to senior Jake Mysliwczyk.
Most recently Mysliwczyk has contributed the addition of a drone, a flying machine that takes videos and pictures from above.
The first use of the drone was in June. It was used to capture graduation.
“We shot our first footage at graduation, and it was a great turnout,” Mysliwczyk said.
It has also been used to record an aerial view of every school in the district. The footage was combined into one video.
“It flew above each school in the district for a video we put on the school’s website,” he said.
This drone has provided live footage of the Friday night home football games. These can be seen on the Highlander Highlights website.
Highlander Highlights has also made new improvements to its set, thanks to Mysliwczyk.
A new weatherbug has been put in place on top of the school to determine the weather for the day. An app is in the process of being established to allow students to keep track as well.
Social studies teacher Brad Schulte, explained Mysliwczyk’s contribution.
“He takes the time to think everything through, and follows through with every idea,” Schulte said. Schulte taught Mysliwczyk when he was a freshman during Video Production 1 and 2.
“He’s a great student, and he really puts in all of his effort as a director,” Schulte said.
Mysliwczyk first became involved in the morning announcements in tenth grade. He has been a part of them ever since.
“We’ve since updated our set and have gotten new anchors to help provide the news,” Mysliwczyk said.
He bought his first camera in tenth grade, and his passion for photography has only grown.
“I bought it at a pawn shop, and I just played around with it until I learned how it worked,” he said.
One of Mysliwczyk’s biggest inspirations is local Pittsburgh photographer David DiCello. His interest in DiCello’s work also began his sophomore year.
Mysliwczyk plans on attending Point Park University in 2017. He hopes to eventually work for WTAE as a videographer.
“I definitely want to stay local, and Point Park offers exactly what I’m looking for,” Mysliwcyk said.