Santa is back in town, and students in NC’s Broadcasting – Radio, Television and Film (BRTF) will cover the Santa Claus Parade in downtown Niagara Falls on Nov. 16. The coverage will be broadcast live by Cogeco YourTV and streamed online.
Student producer Josh Bacvar and director James Maier were among 16 third year BRTF students and seven second year students who have been preparing for several weeks to ensure a seamless broadcast for viewers. From preparing festive content, sponsor mentions, to set decorating and all the technical elements, the project is an opportunity for students to collaborate with the City of Niagara Falls and local broadcaster Cogeco.
“This is a very different mobile project for our students,” said Peter ‘Dutch’ VandenBerg, professor in the School of Media Studies. “It’s both a great challenge and a perfect complement to all of the experiential learning opportunities our students get. It’s a project that allows our students to apply what they learn in the classroom to a real-world setting with real expectations, timelines and client relations.”
Bacvar – who hopes to make a career creating his own content for TV and web – is grateful to be involved and has enjoyed collaborating with his fellow students.
“Being the producer, it’s teaching me the skills I will need. I have been responsible for organizing content, production days and sharing the vision of our end product with the crew. It’s teaching me to be decisive, have an end goal in mind, and find the right ways to communicate to my peers so they will buy in,” said Bacvar.
As director, Maier’s job is to evaluate what the story is and decide how best to depict it on screen for viewers.
“This project is helping me a lot as it is almost exactly what I want to do when I get into the industry,” said Maier. “Doing preparation, knowing your subject matter, adapting to working with new people and problem solving on the spot.”
Students will have a variety of roles during the production, both behind the scenes and in front of the camera. Students Al Johnson and Olivia Palermo will be on-air hosts, and Shimpei Adachi will be the street reporter responsible for covering the parade staging area and engaging parade goers with Christmas trivia.
VandenBerg highlights the importance of partnerships, especially the long-standing support from the City of Niagara Falls.
“It has been great working with Dutch and his amazing students,” said Lori Albanese, community development coordinator with the City of Niagara Falls.
Catch the coverage airing live on Cogeco YourTV on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 11 a.m. and broadcast again on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 9 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. The parade will be posted to Cogeco TV’s free Video On Demand Channel 602. Once there, any Cogeco customer in Ontario can watch the parade on demand.
