JMC’s Digital Film, TV and 3D Students Collaborate

JMC has courses at Diploma, Associate Degree and Bachelor Degree level in Digital

Film and Television Production, and Digital Media & 3D Animation geared to meet

a growing demand for digital content. Facilities are located in Sydney

, Melbourne and Brisbane.

The hands-on Film and Television course covers broadcast and studio environments, such as reality and live television production, documentary and television series production, electronic news gathering, current affairs production. Techniques for feature film, music video clip and television commercial production are also in the curriculum. To launch the learning process, students produce a music video project by collaborating with JMC’s music and business students, to help them gain an understanding of the networks required to a project’s success. Developing these relationships is at the heart of JMC’s approach. Digital film and TV production is founded on working teams and to successfully integrate into a crew requires an appreciation of the responsibilities the other roles entail. Exposure to various environments and types of equipment during study can also be an advantage. As well as skills, a client-centred perspective is encouraged, including the ability to respond to a brief and deliver on deadline. In the final year, students take on a longer-form production, either a television pilot, documentary or short film, involving pre-production development, screenwriting, casting and production design, production, delivery, marketing and distribution. Another high point for students is taking a role in running the live outside broadcast for the annual JMC Academy Student Awards Showcase and, in Sydney, the JMC Academy live news web-channel. Students receive training in up-to-date facilities to help them enter the industry with a realistic, competitive view of digital production. Cameras are typically JVC or similar and projects are edited on FCP, for example. Graduates may find employment with a commercial television station or studio on programming from news and current affairs to children’s shows, advertising agencies and production companies, or in post-production at a studio or freelancing. They may qualify for managerial, creative and technical roles, including production manager, director, editor, VFX artist, TD, production and lighting designer or DP. 3D Animation students at JMC learn practical, production-based techniques and application of 3D animation and multimedia software. Every student is taught to use Maya, Mudbox and 3D Studio Max. While learning the fundamentals and science behind design, teachers encourage personality, originality and a creative edge in participants’ work. Along with their subject-specific group and individual projects, students work on interdisciplinary, cross campus productions for public exhibitions and collaborate with students on campus in JMC’s digital television, management, music and audio engineering departments. Combining skills from technical, artistic, client focused and collaborative projects gives graduates a better chance to leave with strong show reels and a network of industry and peer contacts. The chance to integrate animation television, interactivity and multimedia with exposure to audio, video, TV and entertainment production while still at college is unusual. Lecturers possess academic and industry experience. An example in Brisbane is Head of Digital Television Mairi Cameron, who studied directing at AFTRS. Her graduation film, ‘Milk’ was selected for official competition at Cannes, won prizes in Bilbao and Palm Springs international film festivals, and was pre-selected for an Academy Award. Since then Mairi has directed TVCs, music videos and further short films. She is now working on her first feature film and will be directing singer Megan Washington’s next music video. 3D Animation graduates are most likely to find employment in film Production Advertising, 3D Visualisation for Architecture and fashion, Web Design, Video Games Development TV networks. Freelancers can work in web animation and films as a Concept Artist, Storyboard Artist, Modeller, Texture Artist, Rigger, Render Wrangler, VFX Artist, Matte Painter, Compositor or Games Designer. www.jmcacademy.edu.au