I film events with an old camcorder. I love the grainy, raw look of the early 2000s—it captures an atmosphere that modern phones just can’t replicate.
- Village Wedding
At the end of 11th grade, our class wanted to create a memorable event for the students and teachers of the school, so we organized a themed week. The highlight was a staged depiction of a rural wedding.The costumes were cohesive: the girls wore floral dresses and beaded accessories, while the boys wore wide-cut suits and berets. The program included traditional wedding elements like the «karavai» (wedding loaf), contests, and gifts—everything from a real wedding, but in jest.I filmed the day on an old video camera and compiled the footage into a short video set to music. My classmates loved the final product and shared it on their social media pages.The widest reach came from two classmates on TikTok:
one of them’s video garnered 81 thousand likes and 392 thousand views
the other’s received 15 thousand likes and 78 thousand views.
- Student Camp Our team earned a trip to a three-day student camp after winning the career guidance intensive, «Platform of Initiative Ideas.»
Over these three days, we practiced teamwork, developed projects, put on small theater scenes, assembled a scooter, and lived «like in a dorm,» in rooms of six. The working aspects of the trip are omitted here.
I dedicated my video to something else: the people and the atmosphere. I filmed gatherings with guitars, late-night walks through the hallways, and meetings with friends from other teams—everything that doesn’t make it into the official camp reports.
The goal of the video is to show that these trips are not just about academics and assignments, but about genuine connection. I wanted to inspire other students and high schoolers to participate in competitions, win trips to camps like this, create similar videos, and build more memories.
- Orientation The student orientation took the form of introductions: we were constantly mixed into different groups, which allowed us to connect with people we wouldn’t otherwise meet in class.
The venue was beautifully decorated; the set design became an integral part of the event’s atmosphere. I captured these visuals to illustrate the thematic look of the space.
I aimed to convey the spirit of this large-scale event for both students and curators, to preserve the memory of it, and to encourage future first-year students to attend.
