Still from AFTRS student production Down To Earth: Photo by Daniel Bolt
Most creative people start with a simple problem. I have a talent which is very satisfying. How am I going to take this passion into the economy? Earning a living is only one aspect of success because we all want to work on inspiring projects with good people. The kid who loves pencils can end up on the set of a huge Hollywood movie, solving challenging problems, working with a wonderful gang, spending vast wads of cash to make visions real.
In Australia the sheer level of creative skill is growing and growing and we are succeeding against – and with – the world’s best. Right now, the most exciting place for a craft-based creative person is probably the screen sector, which is open to dedicated, imaginative people who are well prepared by tertiary study, or moving sideways from related areas.
What is more, the Australian Film Television and Radio School is open to people who are working in the wider arts community, who are interested in specialising in some aspect of screen production. The sector is expanding hugely with the digital revolution, creating new career paths and opportunities for stable employment.
Digital platforms have become a normal part of business and communications. Pretty well every organisation which is trying to evolve with the times has a website, Youtube is awash with instructional videos, documentaries are being made at home, and bands are sharing performances. Even novels now have trailers.
There is an evolving ecosystem of skilled people and companies creating screen material which looks great, sounds terrific and works on beautifully designed websites. Determined writers and directors are making webisodes and shorts which provide opportunities for designers, performers, editors, animators, production managers and producers to move sideways into production. ​On these modest projects people can develop skills and find new paths while they retain their existing careers.
At the same time, the traditional production sector continues to recruit early-career people, as working methods change dramatically and new roles are created. The newer digital opportunities are a great proving ground for these career moves.
For AFTRS this is presenting new challenges, to create courses which support excellence at the right scale and fit into students’ working lives. It has been quietly reinventing its approach to craft-based niche training, using one and two semester courses designed to support talented, skilled people to find real jobs which fit industry needs.
As Martin Brown, the Head of Courses at AFTRS, explains, ‘These courses are very much about access, and are offered after hours and on the weekend. They are about people who are working and need to keep up and acquire additional skills.
‘The diploma courses are offered over one semester, which is sixteen weeks, and the advanced diplomas over 32 weeks. As a result, some of them are run twice a year now.’ This means that AFTRS now offers a substantial group of courses which start in July.
Central to this is an Advanced Diploma in Art Direction, which is offered for the first time. The Art Direction course is a good example of the School’s modular approach. Students with an interest in the area who can demonstrate some practical ability can do an initial Diploma in Production Design, which is offered online. In semester two, the Advanced Diploma is offered on campus, and will accept people who already have some track record and are actively making projects.
While it is described as full time, students will attend two nights a week and on Saturdays, for sixteen weeks. There will be less than twenty students, and plenty of guest lecturers discussing the nitty-gritty of their working methods.
The course emerged from discussions between the School and art directors and production designers. ‘At the end,’ says Brown, ‘you will emerge with the skills to find you a place on a film or television set, with the skills to make you an art director intern, or suitable for an attachment, and we will find you a place on a film or television set.’
AFTRS is also offering a mid-year intake for five part time Diplomas in camera, editing, sound, VFX, and digital content radio. Each course has an external course advisor who is a working professional to ensure they are defined around the real needs of participants and industry. The camera course, for instance, caters to people who already have some experience of working with small cameras like the Canon 7D SLR, and want to work with a mid-range system which they are likely to find in small business or web production.
The editing course is based on the AVID industry standard system. Like editing itself, the courses builds process by process, week by week, until students can successfully ingest, edit, store, retrieve and manipulate projects to create simple but professional stories.
The VFX diploma program is particularly driven by the sector. As Brown explains, ‘We have been approached by the VFX industry who are hiring a lot of people from overseas which is expensive. Employers would love to take on students who understand the whole lifecycle of a project in post-production, and can be useful from the very first day. The large companies run their own internal training schemes, which can work well with our graduates to teach the processes and IP which is specific to each company.’
AFTRS has always been involved in radio, and runs successful diploma courses in areas like community radio, which has over five thousand people on air around Australia. That strand has now been strengthened with a course in digital content for radio. All the radio courses are offered on-line.
‘A lot of people on air in radio stations, particularly regional stations are being asked to run the web presence for the station,’ says Brown. ‘This course online is for people in those situations so they can get their digital skills up to run in a radio station. They are getting work straight out of their courses because there is a high demand for people who know how to produce content and get it up in the social media space.’
Also on offer for the second half of 2016 are Graduate Certificate courses in documentary and directing. These courses are a chance for interested people to dip their toes in the screen sector water, or take their existing craft skills into a new area.
Understanding the basics of documentary production is a great step for people who are making videos about their families and enterprises, or simply exploring the the video button on their phones and cameras.
The directing course can work well for actors wanting to step behind the camera, or directors active in areas like theatre to challenge themselves with screen storytelling and performance.
The pace of change in the screen sector is extraordinary, as it expands and embraces opportunity at every level. In around two years, for instance, narrative webisodes have moved from experiments to a key tool for broadcasters to explore new content, new delivery platforms and new delivery platforms. The most talented early career directors and producers see them as vital.
To create courses which empower the sector with practical, nitty gritty skills, AFTRS has to be nimble. The mid-year intake system enables the School to adapt really quickly, and experiment with content and delivery methods. What is more, Martin Brown is supporting the further evolution of on-line courses, which can be delivered nationally and studied efficiently at home.
At the same time, says Brown, ‘Students tell us in their feedback they love the sense of village when you come here. Any student of any course can attend screenings and guest lectures. They can become involved in student productions across the School.
‘Best of all from my point of view is the way they come together in groups. People develop working partnerships and the networks which are crucial to ultimately making great work.’
The mid-year courses are explained in one central page on the AFTRS website. Entry to these courses is competitive and by merit selection. Applications will be received until July 17.
The courses on offer for July are:
Advanced Diploma in Art Direction
Diploma in Camera Fundamentals
Diploma in Digital Content (Radio)
Diploma in Editing Fundamentals
