After completing AP Human Geography with Ms. Catherine McGuinness in the 2012-2013 school year, students were given the opportunity to buy a t-shirt celebrating their success. Designed by now junior, Reilly Parkins, the shirt design shows a key point of the year in AP Human Geography: Big Fish. But Big Fish means more to the students than just a joke and a t-shirt- it also serves as a key component in the YouTube channel “Inside Big Fish”.
“The title is a running joke,” junior David Kaurin said. “We named it that at the beginning and never bothered changing it. It stuck. It’s iconic.”
The joke was originally based off a stopmotion video called “Nora From the Outbacks Adventures.” Juniors Johnny Waugh, David Kaurin and Jake Harrison made the short film as a class project, discussing certain elements which would be included on the AP test. In the video, the character Big Fish made its YouTube debut.
“Big Fish was of the most prominent things in our first video,” Waugh said. “Everyone happened to like [the video].”
The group expanded as more videos were made for various projects and classes, the videos including whoever happened to be a part of the group project. As long as either Waugh, Kaurin or Harrison approves a video, even if they do not personally play a part in it, it will be uploaded under the channel.
“It definitely brings us a lot closer because it lets us all work together and be creative,” Harrison said.
When the channel first started, Kaurin edited all of the videos uploaded. Now, however, Waugh both edits and acts since they take separate classes and cannot always be partners.
“I’m pretty good with editing,” Waugh said. “It still takes me awhile to get used to it though, because it’s professional software. There are still a lot of features in it that I don’t know how to use.”
Even though they use the videos primarily for school, some have more than a thousand views and the channel itself has over 40 subscribers.
“Some of our subscribers are outside of our friend group, so we’re doing something right,” Waugh said.
The group writes their scripts for the videos after filming them since the group improvises all of the videos.
“It’s a fun thing to do with my friends,” Harrison said. “It’s what I look forward to doing in school.”
