Two Students’ Videos Advance to National Competition

Though some Redwood City students may not have the latest tech gadgets glued to their finger tips, they can find creative refuge at the Redwood City . Within the clubhouse, the members have access to state-of-the-art recording and editing gear that costs thousands of dollars.

With this equipment, two members, Leticia Guerrero, 12, from and Tyler Gil-Contreras, 17, from Woodside High School, created videos for the Digital Arts Festival. Theirs were selected to compete against others from Boys and Girls Clubs across the nation.

“It was such a phenomenal experience,” said the Club’s Video Tech Coordinator Francisco Espinoza Torres, 22, who coached the two students through the process. “They really enjoyed the process of directing and being in charge of their own project.”

Both students chose to produce "commercials" for the Boys and Girls Club program "Club Tech." View Leticia's video above, and click here for Tyler's video.

The videos not only taught them artistic skills, but taught them to multi-task, to manage the lighting, cinematography, directing and producing, he said. They took the lead rather than waiting for someone else to instruct them on the next step.

Espinoza Torres was a Boys and Girls Club member himself before joining the staff while he attends Foothill Community College and hopes to transfer to UCLA. He said he wanted to return to the Club to pass down the knowledge that he learned to the next generation of students and future videographers.

He extolled the praises of the Club in bringing kids together from all backgrounds. The Clubhouse not only gives the students a safe haven but also a creative outlet.

“When there’s a lot of gang violence in the community, they can come here and push that aside to work together on a video,” he said.

Tyler was even able to get a job while he is still in high school, thanks to the skills he learned at the Boys and Girls Club, Espinoza Torres said.

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