André Jebbinson, Staff Reporter

Many people were introduced to Lisa Hanna as a host on the CPTC show 'Rappin', long before she went on to become Miss World.- Contributed

The first time most Jamaicans laid eyes on Miss World 1993, Lisa Hanna, was when she appeared on the Creative Production and Training Centre (CPTC) teen show Rappin. Likewise, many of those who now work in the electronic media, technical or on screen, also got their start at CPTC.

However, in April 2005 a fire destroyed the main - and by extension the Caribbean's largest - studio at the organisation's Arnold Road, St. Andrew, location. That was, however, not the only issue the management had to deal with. Communities all over Jamaica were developing their own radio and television stations. Not only that, there was a rapid growth of call centres, particular in Montego Bay.

Realising this, the CPTC became innovative and saw the need to repair and improve its facilities.

"In previous days everything was in Kingston, but not anymore. A whole slew of things are falling into place that is pushing us to expand," said Angela Patterson, CPTC's chief executive officer.

new studio

To facilitate the high demand for more Jamaican programmes overseas, it became increasingly necessary to get the destroyed studio up and working again. A whopping $60 million was injected to make the studio into one that can rival any in North America. The new studio is being equipped with impressive high-tech fixtures such as digital lights and remote controlled sound equipment, among other amenities.

"Once the studio is up and running, we would be back to 100 per cent operating capacity, maintaining our reputation of being a force to reckon with in the delivery of first-class production quality," Patterson said.

According to Patterson, the CPTC is also moving full speed ahead to ensure there is another training centre in Montego Bay by March of 2008. The training arm of the company has been renamed the Media Technology Institute, to be on par with the all the technological development in Jamaica.

"The time is now. Though there are other institutions in Jamaica, people turn to us for the technical part of it. We pride ourselves on that and we have able to maintain our standards," Patterson said.

Some of those standards include training some of the best cameramen and directors who are currently in the business. Those standards are also not limited to behind-the-scenes action. They have helped to create programmes that seek to maintain some of the aspects of the Jamaican culture that would have otherwise faded. In 1989, the first episode of Hill 'n Gully Ride was aired and 17 years later it remains one of the most popular local programmes. This serves as a prime example of the preservation efforts of the centre.

superior equipment

Other local stations also contract the CPTC to produce some of their programmes because of the superior equipment and well-trained professionals.

They are also seeking to expand the cable channel, CTV, to more communities in Jamaica.

Patterson seemed excited about the roll-out year that seems to be looming. With over 30,000 hours of local programmes and other memorable occasions, the CPTC can only continue to build on its relevance to the Jamaican people.

The strict financial constraints limit all they would like to do but they continue to do what they can with what they get from the Government and the services they offer.

"Our production and studio facilities, which are second to none, will be fully mobilised to capitalise on increased demands for such services ... The right time is now in terms of the development of the media," Patterson said.