News Article

CNA students lend a hand at Ruckus on the Edge


4/9/2010 9:55:55 AM


Brent Jennings and Jaclyn Whitten proudly show off their Ruckus on the Edge jackets they will be sporting when they participate in the Ruckus on the Edge events in St. John’s. These two second-year Film and Video Production students are among the 50-plus College of the North Atlantic students taking part in the week-long Juno event. Students from the Film and Video Production, Recording Arts, Music Industry and Performance, Journalism, Graphic Design, and Hospitality Tourism Management programs will get to experience the national music event.

More than 50 College of the North Atlantic (CNA) students will participate in Ruckus on the Edge, Juno Week, running from April 12-18 in St. John’s.

Recording Arts (RA), Music Industry and Performance (MIP), Film and Video Production, Journalism, Graphic Design and Hospitality Tourism Management students will show off their skills while taking part in this national celebration of music and industry.

“This is a great experience for them as it really does put them in a real world situation. They will be working with some of the ’who''s who’ of the industry as well as many up-and-coming artists. With school events they have room to make mistakes; it''s a learning environment. This event puts them not only in a real world situation but a high profile situation. It will be a great learning tool for them and they will really see where their strengths and weaknesses lie,” said Recording Arts instructor Scott Hammond.

Eighteen students from the RA and MIP programs will be stage managers and stage hands during a live broadcast of the 2010 Juno Awards Gala on CTV, Sunday, April 18. Adam Thistle will be one of them.

“I was told that I will be a stage manager during the week which involves coordinating with the sound crew and musicians to ensure that there is no dead air and making sure people are where they need to be at certain times. This could lead to more opportunities to work with some of the sound production companies in St. Johns,” said Thistle.

RA and MIP students did similar work at the East Coast Music Awards in 2009. Hammond says although the ECMA’s provided an example of the music industry in full force, it can barely compare to the national calibre of Juno hosted events.

“Last year they worked at one venue, one stage. This year they will be working at many venues under many different industry pros. The way one venue is being run may be different from the next. There is much to be learned from this event if they choose to soak it up,” Hammond said.

Twelve Journalism students from the Bay St. George campus will be covering and writing about the Ruckus on the Edge, Juno Fest, Juno Fan Fare and the 2010 Juno Awards. Students will be working closely with journalists from across the country in the two major media centres. Some will volunteer for Ruckus Radio, a community radio project funded by CHMR, the Memorial University student radio station.

Journalism instructor Frank Carroll sees this whole experience as a way for students to develop a meaningful career.

“The students working with Insight (the production company producing the Juno broadcast) will experience what it’s like to work for a professional production company. The Ruckus Radio volunteers will get to practice their on-air skills. Everyone, I assume will be working with deadlines at some point in the week. I’m also hoping that the students will be able to make contacts with experienced journalists and prospective employers and also to get good references from the people they’ll be volunteering for,” Carroll explained.

Christa Cram is an aspiring music journalist who, along with fellow classmates, really pushed to attend the Juno events. Her determination paid off when Cram learned she would be stationed amongst Canadian stars the night of the Juno Awards.

“I will be in the media centre with Canada AM and Entertainment Tonight. I have to bring the talent back and forth between these places, so I''m both really excited and nervous about that. But it''s a great chance to meet a lot of media people as well and hopefully that will help me out with my future career.

“As a journalist, it''s always good to have an abundance of contacts, and at the Juno events, I''ll be surrounded by people from the music industry who may be able to offer some advice and expertise when I need it,” Cram continued.

Sound and media play major roles in a national event like the Juno’s, but CNA students are also participating in many fields that come with an event of this size. Fourteen Hospitality Tourism Management (HTM) students worked to prepare a training presentation for more than 300 Juno volunteers as part of their events management course. HTM student Cyril Clancy and his classmates will also organize the recognition event for all volunteers on April 24, providing music, food and prizes.

“This involvement in the 2010 Juno event is a great opportunity for our class. A true opportunity to use and show our hospitality and tourism skills which we have learned over the past two years,” said Clancy.

Nine Film and Video Production students are also heading to St. John’s this week. They have been talking non-stop about this all year.

“The vibe is awesome! They will be involved in the Juno’s directly from Wednesday, April 14 to Sunday, April 18.They will be involved in everything from the rehearsals to the actual 2010 Juno Awards,” explained Marty Benoit, Film and Video Production instructor.

All tickets to the Juno Awards and Ruckus on the Edge events were designed and printed by Graphic Design students at CNA. The five students are now in the final stages of designing the Gig Guide, a 40-page program listing all Ruckus and Juno events. Five thousand programs will be printed at CNA through the Graphic Design department.

Craig Chislett is their instructor. “This job will give them great experience with working with real world clients and get them ready for the outside world. It is the type of thing that I wish we could do a lot more of in our course… push the students harder so they are ready for the very fast paced and frustrating world of marketing and design,” Chislett explained.

St. John’s will come alive next week with more than 100 musicians and thousands of Juno fans taking in as much live music as possible. CNA’s president Jean Madill sees Juno Week as a real time to celebrate Newfoundland and Labrador’s vibrant hospitality.

“College of the North Atlantic is delighted to be a key sponsor for the Juno’s. It provides excellent hands-on experience for our students. It also showcases what CNA does so well and that is to provide students with excellent learning opportunities that will serve them well in the ‘real’ world. CNA is pleased and excited to support this excellent national event in Newfoundland and Labrador,” Madill explained.

For all Juno week updates and activities, visit www.ruckusontheedge.com

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Media Contact:

Colleen Connors
Public Relations Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
(709) 643-6408
colleen.connors@cna.nl.ca