Go behind the scenes this Saturday as Australia’s national screen and audio school, opens its doors to all with an interest in pursuing a creative career.
There is nothing quite like the buzz of a film and television set, or slipping behind the mic in a radio studio. With working studios and sets in full swing, AFTRS Open Day is an opportunity to experience the magic and learn about igniting a career in Australia’s booming screen and audio industries.
Over the past 50 years, AFTRS screen graduates have received critical acclaim and been recognised through a slate of prestigious gongs. The School’s alumni have received Academy Awards, AACTAs, BAFTAs, Palme d’Ors, Silver Lions, Golden Globes, Emmys and hundreds of guild prizes. AFTRS radio graduates are snapped up by Australia’s biggest broadcasters, often before they have completed their studies, and go on to have long and illustrious careers.
AFTRS training is unique – hands on, delivered by industry experts, in state-of-the-art studios, production sets and sound stages – and is the key to the School’s exceptional career outcomes, with over 80% of graduates finding employment in their chosen industry within six months.
“This is a really exciting time to join the screen and audio sectors – we have billion-dollar industries that are rapidly growing, and we need new talent. If you’re a school leaver curious about how to get your first foot on the ladder; if you’re mid-career and thinking about retraining; or if you’re already in the industry and looking to level up, we have you covered,” said AFTRS CEO Dr Nell Greenwood. “Open Day is an exciting chance to explore all the School has to offer and find the career pathway that’s right for you.”
AFTRS Open Day will include demonstrations of its state-of-the-art Virtual Production Volume studio. This is the technology that films like Thor: Love and Thunder used to capture In Camera Visual Effects. Films made by current and recent students will be screening in the AFTRS Mix Theatre. A short scene filmed on rotation on an AFTRS’ sound stage will give visitors to chance to participate in front of or behind the camera, while another studio will present a broadcast set up from an orchestral film scoring exercise. And for those interested in radio, there will be a live broadcast all day from the front of the School, as well as tours of AFTRS’ broadcast studios.
AFTRS senior staff will present deep-dive sessions into each course offering: Graduate Diploma in Radio and Podcasting, Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production, the Masters program, which is offered in 9 disciplines, and the Master of Arts Screen: Business. AFTRS CEO Nell Greenwood will lead a career pathways panel with AFTRS alumni – Heartbreak High writer, film and TV director Thomas Wilson-White; Bronte Nener who has worked in the camera departments of Thor: Love and Thunder, Furiosa, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart and Bump; Hannah-Rae Meegan, co-creator of The Formal, a TikTok and Screen Australia-funded series with 12 million views and over 100,000 followers; and Simon Beaton, a podcast producer at LiSTNR who helped create and produce the daily news podcast This Arvo in Sydney and the Blak Matters podcast.
The AFTRS café and Library will be open, with an annual sale of books and AFTRS apparel. In the foyer visitors can also see a remarkable collection of screen and broadcast items on loan from AFTRS alumni including Oscars and other awards from notable alumni and clapper boards from Academy Award-winning cinematographer Dion Beebe.
AFTRS Open Day runs from 10am to 4pm, Saturday 3 August – on campus at the Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park, Sydney, and with sessions livestreamed online. More information here.