Yosemite High School photomedia students will be helping the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) build freeways.

The students will be producing training films for freeway construction testers. The films will deal with the testing of such things as soils and asphalt.

Mark Huddleston and Bryan Ash, of CalTrans, visited the class recently and told the students the training films will "help improve CalTrans people and they can put out a better product, which is freeways."

CalTrans will develop and implement the training for the construction testers and the YHS students will produce the video that will be used. Mr. Huddleston said the videos the local students produce may well be used statewide.

Mr. Ash said CalTrans has never had a formal training program for construction testers. The students will videotape a CalTrans worker going through the various tests.

Mr. Huddleston visited the YHS lab last year to talk to Larry Pesetski, teacher, about the possibility of working with the students. "You guys do great work," Mr. Huddleston told the students, "we were blown away."

Students will visit project sites for part of the filming, however most of the work will be done in a laboratory.

CalTrans and YHS students will work together to develop the script for the video. Mr. Pesetski stresses that he teaches the students it is essential to have everything scripted and planned before they start shooting.

"The biggest challenge we have is to make these films interesting," Mr. Huddleston said.

Mr. Pesetski is very pleased that the students are able to work on this project. "We are interested in using this lab for school - to – career programs," he says. "The students are getting real-life experiences on these films."

Last year, the students produced films for Sierra Ambulance Service and the National Park Service.