West Chester East Teacher Hauls Vid Equipment To Students In Snow

WEST CHESTER, PA — Most high school students don't have quality video production equipment sitting around their homes, so competitive filmmaking looked impossible this year.

A group of East High School students had a teacher who wasn't going to let the pandemic leave them behind.

WCASD teacher Cynthia Dieckmann, head of West Chester East High's Video Production Department, has been busy this winter coordinating access to the school’s production equipment with families, making door-to-door equipment deliveries, and instructing virtually.

Dieckmann particularly has helped students prepare for the SE Pennsylvania Teen Filmmakers Showcase that happens every August at the Movie Tavern Exton. It's a landmark affair; students arrive at the showcase in a limo, walk the red carpet, and screen their original film on the silver screen in front of a packed audience.

But COVID-19 nearly put a stop to it. Most local teens use school video production equipment to shoot their films, giving them an accessible and affordable pathway to explore film creation. With extracurricular activities on pause in the pandemic, many of these emerging filmmakers have been in a holding pattern.

Steven Morse is an East High School junior who appreciates his teacher’s extraordinary efforts.

“I appreciate it when Mrs. Dieckmann drops equipment off at my house. To enable me access to a Sony 4K camera and tripod to use when I’m home in quarantine is a dream come true.”

Dieckmann said she is happy to put in the extra effort.

“Students deserve a class where they can have fun, be creative, tell their stories, take risks, work collaboratively in a respectful setting, and to have a teacher who loves them and her job," she said. "I am honored to witness my students create incredible video projects. Their stories are truly amazing."

"These strange COVID-19 days will not stop my students’ voices from being heard. Driving around a little to make sure my students have the equipment they need to communicate their stories is just part of our being a team. The show MUST go on!" said Dieckmann.

The 2021 SE Pennsylvania Teen Filmmakers Showcase is scheduled for August 9-11 at the Movie Tavern in Exton. It is a free event for screened teen filmmakers, with local, national, and international submissions welcome on FilmFreeway.

"Look for their entries at the SE Pennsylvania Teen Filmmakers Showcase," Dieckmann said. "I can’t wait to watch their voices come alive in their future films.”

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