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International Screen Academy recognises the importance of teaching business to creatives and fostering diverse skill sets to prepare students for a flourishing career in the arts.
In order for creatives to build sustainable careers, it is vital that their connections, skills, and experiences span multiple disciplines and intersect between the worlds of art and business.
The International Screen Academy (ISA) uses industry-focused and practical collaborative training to launch students into creative projects beyond their degree and into the professional sphere.
In 2016, Sydney-based ISA will complete its selection of Advanced Diplomas with the introduction of the Advanced Diploma of Screen and Media in Animation. The course will sit alongside the Advanced Diploma of Acting for Contemporary Screen Media in Screen Acting and the Advanced Diploma of Screen and Media in Film.
The three degrees have been designed to complement each other, said Stephen Murphy, Head of Animation, who believes ISA’s strength lies in both the collaboration between students and disciplines and the focus on making students ‘future ready.’
A key element is ensuring students have skills as both creative and business people. ‘They need to all learn business skills and marketing and self-promotion and branding so that when they do leave us, they’re ready to go on and make a career,’ noted Murphy.
Screen acting students gain experience beyond the scope of many performing arts courses, learning film production techniques and writing, directing and recording their own films and show reel material, a useful skill for any actor to showcase work to potential employers.
‘We really want to make sure that they can go out and get employment or create their own work,’ said Murphy.
Film students receive training beyond traditional feature-filmmaking, to develop web series and write TV-pilots. The focus on new types of media is strong, said Murphy, in order to anticipate inevitable changes to the industry.
The Advanced Diploma of Screen and Media in Animation will take its first cohort February, and a strong focus will be put not only on building student’s technical skills, but in a real-world multidisciplinary collaboration from working with the screen acting students for character voices to collaborating with filmmakers to provide special effects.
Students are encouraged to pursue creative projects outside of study; ISA student Bernie Van Teil of the Advanced Diploma was recently selected from an industry wide-call out for the role of ‘Jade’ in web series Jade of Death.
Visit ISA for more information on the courses on offer.
