Newfoundland and Labrador’s zest for the arts has been on this country’s radar for quite some time. The province has been pulling its weight in the CBC viewership for  decades – from CODCO and the Wonderful Grand Band, to This Hour Has 22 Minutes and the Rick Mercer Report to Republic of Doyle.

Housing the province’s only fully-high definition (HD) video production facility, Memorial University’s Distance Education and Learning Technologies (DELT) unit recognizes video production, video journalism, multimedia and technology as a viable career path for students, and is doing their part to foster growth and create opportunities for youth.

DELT is launching a contest open to all Memorial students, daring them to submit their ideas for a 3-5 minute short video illustrating the role technology plays in their current educational experience, and how they envision technology fitting into education in the future.

The top five written pitches will then be selected to participate in a live pitch session in front of a group of panelists consisting of professionals in the fields of film and video production, direction and journalism.

The pitch session will take place March 31 in the DELT studio, and will be broadcast live-to-tape on April Fool’s Day.

“There is a history of contributing to the media and film sector in this unit, so it’s natural that we want to continue in that vein,” said Ann Marie Vaughan, director of DELT. “We have a world-class facility right here in the DELT studio. This will be a wonderful opportunity for the winning student.”

The grand-prize winner will receive a paid summer internship in the DELT studio to shoot and produce their idea. DELT pProducer John Bonnell will mentor the winning student. He said there are an array of career paths that exist through DELT alone.

“There are a variety of career possibilities within the media services division of DELT, including producer/director, audio technician, videographer, editor, animator, multimedia developer and graphic designer,” he said, adding that the unit produces well over 100 video projects annually. “The projects include support materials for distance education courses, live webcasts, promotional material, educational videos and coverage of the convocation ceremonies in Corner Brook and St. John’s.”

Mr. Bonnell has more than 20 years' experience in production, but said he always looks forward to learning new ideas and approaches.

“I’m always impressed by the creativity and enthusiasm of our students – it can be infectious at times, and I look forward to working with the student director over the summer,” he said. “I see it as a symbiotic relationship.”

The winning student will have access to a state-of-the-art facility to complete their production. All studio and mobile multiple camera productions by DELT are in HD, as well as the studio’s AVID Nitros editing suites. The 1,200 square foot studio includes a variety of backdrops, curtains, a white cyclorama and a 400 square foot green screen. The facility contains all the equipment required to produce everything from multi-camera event coverage to a documentary.

For further details on contest guidelines, visit www.distance.mun.ca/pitch.