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High School Digital Media Class

Digital Media class is an increasingly popular high school art elective. Students meet with their art teacher, Brian Thornhill, twice a week in the upstairs loft of the light-filled art studio. Thornhill offers students many ways to explore the power of image making, storytelling, and conveying messages through digital art, digital photography, and video. Students explore traditional and modern genres in each medium as they find their own interests, style, and voice. Students gain experience shooting with digital cameras, creating and editing photos and videos on iMac computers, and posting work onto their own digital sketchbooks to share with each other the world.

Photography

Students are introduced to works of great photographers to learn about composition, focus, shadows and reflection, in both color and black and white. With digital SLR cameras in hand, students are often paired up with one or several photo assignments to complete in an allotted time on campus. Students review and discuss their work together, and assignments increase in complexity throughout the semester.

Short Films

With video making becoming so ubiquitous and familiar to young adults, Digital Media offers students time to go beyond the quick social media edit to create short movies. Students are encouraged to tell a unique story while learning about basic camera angles, editing styles, scoring music, and adding titles. By writing scripts, recruiting friends as actors in their short films, and learning about editing software, digital media students learn to analyze film and filmmaking with fresh eyes.

Digital Sketchbooks

Throughout the semester students create a digital sketchbook that includes project images, notes and commentary. Usually in a slideshow format, students review these sketchbooks together throughout the semester. Finished work in photography and short film projects are on display at the end of each semester during High School Showcase.

Photo Gallery

The following gallery provides few examples of a black and white photography assignment exploring shadow and composition, from high school sophomore Estrella’s Digital Sketchbook.

The Art of Living and Learning

At Oak Grove we approach teaching, learning, and living as an art form – The Art of Living and Learning. Our dedicated High School faculty will help you tap into your interests and explore your natural creativity. Students develop life-long practices of intellectual discipline, good communication, self-reflection, understanding, and clear thinking. We offer a challenging college-preparatory curriculum that is approved by the University of California and is designed to exceed admissions requirements for the most rigorous and selective universities across the country. All Oak Grove High School students select from a number of fine and performing arts electives which encourage and support the development of an aesthetic sense toward all art forms as well as integrate and honor individual student interests and passions.

Discover Oak Grove High School

We all remember our first time walking through campus, visiting with teachers, and how the philosophy of Oak Grove’s approach to education resonated with us. There’s nothing more exciting than to see that in new students, parents, teachers, and friends visiting the school. If you’re discovering Oak Grove for the first time, please take a moment to watch the video below, explore links to program details, and contact us to schedule a tour.

Please note that all photos and program details may not reflect our current Safely on Campus plan.

More about High School at OGS Schedule a Tour Start an Application High School Profile

Recent Blog Posts:

Podcast Interview with Jodi Grass

Blog, News, Parent Education, Parent Perspective

In Episode 23 “Education as a Vehicle for Social Change,” Founding Mothers Podcast host Emily Race and Head of School Jodi Grass discuss the freedom that Oak Grove’s teachers have to implement activities that foster personal and social growth, outdoor and travel experiences to prepare youth and parents for the transition to adulthood, how students can support their mental health, and the value of questioning one’s thoughts to develop compassion.

Alumni Parent Profile: Duncan Winecoff

Alum, Blog

Duncan says that what he has learned as a parent is that the school’s environment and philosophy are very important, but it is also vital to have a community where that philosophy is supported outside of the classroom.