In her new hit “Roar,” Katy Perry says that the “tiger roars louder than the lion.” McKinney High School’s entry in Good Morning America’s ‘ROAR with Katy Perry’ contest may change Katy’s mind.
Good Morning America’s ‘ROAR with Katy Perry’ Contest is a spirit video contest looking to find the most spirited school in the nation. The winner of the contest will win a free Katy Perry concert at their school, a concert worth $250,000. The contest, according to the Good Morning America website, will be judged on creativity, on-air appeal, “wow” factor, originality and whether or not a live performance could physically take place at the entrant’s qualified school. The winner of the contest will be notified on Oct. 10, and the national announcement will be made on Oct. 18.
Principal Dr. Logan Faris, who had no part in planning the actual content of the video, presented the “Roar” contest idea to the journalism department.
“My wife actually saw the posting,” Dr. Faris said. “She was home that day and saw Katy Perry introducing the contest and she sent me the information. I went to the GMA contest website and sent the entry information to Mrs. Boehringer and Ms. Oglesbee and encouraged them and said ‘Hey, this is a cool idea for our video that could get us some spotlight nationally.’”
The Roar video has been compared to last year’s acclaimed Lip Dub. While both videos are homecoming spirit videos, the Lip Dub and Roar videos can’t be compared, said broadcasting adviser Mrs. Alyssa Boehringer,
“I wouldn’t compare it to the Lip Dub at all,” Mrs. Boehringer said. “Yes it’s a video. And yes it has school spirit. But beyond that, the Lip Dub was a magical day for the whole school. The Roar video is a compilation of small moments edited together to show school spirit and try to win a contest at the same time.”
The Roar video tells a story through shots of students participating in and taking selfies at various homecoming events instead of just dubbing a song
“Mallory and I created how this story was going to be a story as well, not just a bunch of filming of spirit shots,” Maddie said. “We came up with the idea of having it based on selfies. She [Katy Perry] made the selfies in her video very silly, and for our video we thought it would be a good way to show the spirit of homecoming week with a sense of humor.”
Videographers at homecoming events asked students to take selfies and cheer for the camera.
“It was difficult to try and inform people really quick about what this video was,” Maddie said. “Last year it was just ‘Sing and cheer in front of the camera’ and this year it was ‘Hey, cheer and take a selfie and it’ll all work out later.’”
Despite the occasional confusion during the filming process, students such as junior Aaron Cogwell, who stands on a table and dances during the video, bought into the requests of the videographers ensure the quality of the video.
“I had no idea I was going to dance on a table,” Aaron said. “Ms. Oglesbee and a videographer pulled me out and were like ‘We need you to go do this.’ I love the school, like, McKinney High is my favorite, so if I have to look like a fool in the middle of lunch, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”
According to the video’s main editor, senior Mallory Houser, the video captured MHS’s unique culture through its footage of the school’s different clubs and organizations.
“The thing I like best about this video is that it incorporates a lot of clubs, especially around homecoming time,” Mallory said. “It was like a prime example of our school spirit and what we do here. We’re completely different from the other two high schools in McKinney and it shows through the events we filmed and through telling a story through the video.”
by Ben Johnson
Photos By: Ashton Williams, Brittany Stout and Tyler Keeler
