AFTRS students on set of student film Back to Earth (2014). Photo Daniel Bolt, courtesy AFTRS.
Anyone interested in studying or simply finding out more about film, television and radio is invited to the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) for the annual Open Day on 5 September.
AFTRS, based in Sydney, is Australia’s national screen and broadcast school. International industry ‘bible’, The Hollywood Reporter, has rated AFTRS as one of the world’s top film schools. Alumni include Alex Proyas (Dark City; Knowing; I, Robot), Jane Campion (The Piano; Bright Star; Top of The Lake), Jocelyn Moorehouse (How to make an American Quilt; The Dressmaker) and Cate Shorthand (Somersault; Lore).
A cross-disciplinary and practical approach to learning is promoted at AFTRS. As a film school, it is unique because it houses all of the specialist craft areas of film, television and radio broadcasting together. This is important, especially in the current climate where the divide between film and TV is narrowing. Many film directors are now also working in TV such as AFTRS graduates Rowan Woods and Kriv Stenders who recently directed episodes of the Foxtel TV drama The Kettering Incident.
The school offers Bachelors and Masters degrees as well as diplomas and short courses which are designed to address the changing nature of the screen industry. Carolina Totterman, AFTRS head of marketing and promotion, said the school aims ‘to prepare Australia’s next generation of creative practitioners to be nimble operators in a dynamic and changing landscape’. Graduates will be operating ‘in a platform agnostic world’ so it is essential that they leave AFTRS with practical and entrepreneurial skills as well as an understanding of film history.
AFTRS diploma courses are technically-focused while post-graduate degrees like the Master of Screen Arts and Business provide valuable expertise in how to engage with a dynamic financial landscape and constantly transforming industry platforms.
The teachers at AFTRS have high credentials and industry-led experience. They provide students with practical insight into the environment they will be working in upon graduation. In a small industry where networks are integral, the connections made while studying often blossom into life-long professional working relationships.
The AFTRS Open Day features a panel discussion called Young Guns, where recent AFTRS graduates will share their insights about starting out in the industry. Teachers and current students from the Bachelor of Arts (Screen) and Master of Arts (Screen) degrees as well as staff for the Specialist Diploma and Advanced Diploma courses will be able to give personalised information into what each course offers. There will be course ‘taster sessions’ and demonstrations. Other AFTRS education staff and teachers will also be able to answer questions and provide information about study options for 2016. AFTRS Student Centre staff will be on hand to answer questions about FEE-HELP.
The contemporary-designed AFTRS campus features a wide range of facilities of value to students. Importantly, it enables students to gain a thorough understanding and practical experience in each part of making a film, a TV or radio show. There are meeting rooms where initial discussions of scripts and storylines for shows take place. There is a set production workshop and extensive equipment and props stores which students can use to develop their characters and plot-lines. There are large professional film and television studios, smaller workshop studios, sound recording studios, sound editing suites, music composition suites and online video editing suites. The studios have the same equipment and technology that students will be using in the field.
AFTRS is located in Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter at Moore Park. However for those that can’t be in Sydney to attend the Open Day in person you can attend it virtually. AFTRS will be streaming key information sessions on Periscope, downloadable from the iTunes store [http://apple.co/1EXjtoJ]. As well AFTRS will be streaming on Twitter and will be taking questions between 10am and 2pm on Twitter and Facebook.Open Days are important ways for potential students to gain further insight into potential educational facilities. Events like these are also an opportunity for the school to showcase and celebrate its graduate’s successes. Last year Patrick Clair, a digital media graduate, won an Emmy for his title designs on the TV series True Detective. In 2012 Ben Mathews was nominated for a student Academy Award for his student film Emily (2011). Mathews completed post-graduate degrees in screenwriting and directing and is now working on a comedy TV series for the ABC.
In addition to the annual Open Days, AFTRS holds free events for anyone with an interest in the film, TV and radio industry. AFTRS hosts a regular monthly panel discussion specifically about the TV industry called TV Talks.
Each week AFTRS presents Friday on my Mind, a series of free talks in both Sydney at the AFTRS campus and in Melbourne at ACMI at Federation Square. The public program, which has been running since 2008 in Sydney and 2012 in Melbourne, was created to share the knowledge and expertise of established filmmakers with the wider community, be they emerging filmmakers, cinephiles, film school students and the general public. Details for each session are listed on the AFTRS website http://www.aftrs.edu.au/.
