PARSIPPANY — Parsippany Hills High School’s “Lip Dub” first started back in the spring of 2016.
Around that time, Mt. Olive High School released their Lip Dub and the response to it was overwhelmingly positive.
Students in Jessica Brosnan’s 11th grade British Literature course asked her to view it and then asked if she thought the administration would approve this type of endeavor at the Hills.
After getting clearance from principal Michael DiSanto, Mrs. Brosnan formed a committee of the soon-to-be seniors to help lead the coordination efforts while she served as the Dub’s official director.
They were joined by T.V. Production teacher Andrew Nicholes — the Producer of the Lip Dub — and his television production students who served as the tech crew. The first year’s Lip Dub was a single-shot style music video which wove through the hallways of the Hills, capturing the enthusiasm of the clubs, sports teams, teachers, administrators and staff as they lip synced to tracks ranging from Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” to Walk the Moon’s “Shut up and Dance with Me.”
This year, the Lip Dub took a different approach to filming, straying away from the single shot and towards multiple shots that were woven together over a ten-song soundtrack that pulls from the 80s, 90s and 2000s. The soundtrack itself was crafted based on student voting that took place back in October. Each sports team and club was given the opportunity to take over a section of the soundtrack and choreograph their own “skit” to the given lyrics. These skits were then filmed and edited together to the final product. The tech crew students really believed in this idea from the start and were eager to produce a video with a fresh approach. They put in hundreds of hours between December to May in order to achieve our desired video for this year.
Exchange students visiting from France were also excited to be a part of the video. After watching the previous year’s video with their student hosts, they wanted to know if they could be a part of this piece as well. The committee figured out a way to give them a scene so that they could be a part of this video.
It’s a wonderful example of both the creativity and school spirit that runs through the students and staff of Parsippany Hills High School.
