Student-produced graduation song recalls high school memories

By Sydney Hsieh Graphic Editor

Students from the graduating class of 2023 at Washington International School in Taichung directed their own music video for a song entitled “Time Flies By” and premiered it on graduation day.

More than twenty students, including all Student Council members, volunteered to make appearances in the video. Brian Liu and Kimi Chen from 12-1 were responsible for directing, singing and editing. Liu incorporated elements of pop music, such as rap and auto-tune to supplement his vocals.

“It was difficult to organize and direct a music video with a small team,” said Liu. “The students also had a tight budget for producing the song.”

The song was the culmination of the efforts of both classes over a month’s time. Students organized rehearsals and prepared their own props for the video. They filmed in their apartments and drove their own cars to school for specific shots. Students coordinated with professional photographers to improve the quality of the film through better lighting, camera angles and editing.

“Filming the graduation video made me feel upset about leaving my friends behind for university,” said Alice Wang, Grade 12. “It was our last time working together as a team.”

The students were required to film the music video on school grounds, primarily in the hallways, the biology lab, the reading room, the library and homeroom classes.

“We faced multiple problems when filming the graduation song,” said Chen. “The school refused to let the students film off school grounds, and the team was not able to capture desired shots.”

The music video portrays scenes of the graduating class’ daily school life, including throwing paper balls in class, playing frisbee in the hallway, taking chemistry class and partying.

These shots hark back to the memories the students shared together during their academic years.

The song concludes with everyone celebrating their high school graduation by throwing up their test papers and hugging each other goodbye. The music video ends with scenes of the graduated students returning to Washington to visit their high school teachers.