Behind the Scenes of the MSMHS Lip Dub
Inside the weeks of preparation and hours of filming that made this year's lip dub.
On Friday, May 12, MSMHS students and staff filmed this year’s lip dub, featuring the song “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves. The lip dub is an annual music video produced by MSMHS that has been ingrained in our tradition from the school’s beginning.
The lip dub’s story begins in 2011 when former principal Dr. Spera showed another school’s lip dub to the MSMHS faculty. That very week, the first MSMHS lip dub was created with the intention of differentiating the school and creating what aquaculture teacher and lip dub producer Mr. Litvinoff calls it a “calling card” for recruitment efforts.
In addition to showing off our school, the lip dub also serves to bolster school spirit and help bring classes together. This phenomena is a testament to the time and effort put in behind the scenes to make the production possible.
Lip dub planning begins months in advance with what Mr. Litvinoff says is the most difficult step — picking the song. The entire school is able to submit nominations to the production team, which selects a songs with “high beats per minute, energy, a strong message, and clean lyrics,” according to Mr. Litvinoff. The production team narrows the pool down to five songs, which are then voted on by the senior class.
Once voting is complete, Mr. Litvinoff’s production team gets to work yet again. They walk the school and plan out scenes, cuts, transitions, and timing. After this is finished, student volunteers are then assigned segments of the song to lip sync to. This group of featured performers gets together during and after the school day to practice, viewing past lip dubs and doing walkthroughs for the upcoming one.
The lip dub day begins like any other. The entire school gathers for a Great Hall meeting, during which Mr. Litvinoff details the filming locations and plans for the day. Once the final setup is complete, the recording of the first scene begins. Due to the restlessness that comes with a group of silently cheering teenagers, it is only possible to get four or five takes for each scene. The entire lip dub filming is usually completed in two to two and a half hours.
After the filming is done, the production team reconvenes to review the footage. They begin to edit the sound and the various takes together, moving quickly to get it out to the community as soon as possible. Here is the 2023 MSMHS Lip Dub!
