Last month, 13 Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production (Year 3) students commenced Industry Placements with nine of Australia’s most respected production companies and broadcasters including, the ABC, Animal Logic/Netflix, Seven Network, See-Saw Films, Easy Tiger, Studio Canal, Eureka, McGregor’s Casting, and Paramount+.
Industry Work Placements take place in the final semester of the 3-year degree, offering students the chance to test their professional skills in real-world contexts, a chance to build their networks and to develop their professional identity as they prepare for graduation.
This year’s students are undertaking placements in various areas and roles including, Art Department, Editing and Postproduction, Camera, Development, Casting and Production Management.
Sophia Mogford, Head of Scripted and Comedy, Paramount Australia said: “AFTRS is one of the country’s leading training courses for our industry, so we’re thrilled to support their work placement program. It’s incredibly important to us at Paramount to support and nourish the industry’s new creatives and to encourage them in training and developing their skills.
“We’re passionate about the film and TV sector in Australia and are delighted to help nurture our next wave of industry professionals and help kick start their careers!”
Sophie Meyrick, Executive Producer Unscripted, Eureka said: “Eureka is a great supporter of the next generation of talented program makers. It was a privilege welcoming AFTRS student Keira Briggs onto our team so she could see firsthand how Factual television is made and gain skills to take into her professional career.”
Mathieu Ravier, Director of Partnerships & Development said, “The key to effective training pathways into sustainable industry careers is the combination of formal education, placements, mentorship and community engagement. We’re hugely grateful to our industry hosts and we are always seeking new industry placements with established partners; they ensure our BA students are industry-ready by graduation.”
Program Convenor of the Bachelor of Arts: Screen Production, Dr. Marty Murphy said, “The Industry Placement Elective is an opportunity for students to test their knowledge and skills in real work environments and build valuable professional networks. Our industry partners provide a safe learning environment for students in the final year of their BA and this relationship creates a feedback loop for the ongoing development of our curriculum.”
From the Art Department on classic Australian soap Home and Away, BA student Alison Cowan said, “I’m absolutely thrilled about my placement in the Art Department at Home and Away! This is a fantastic opportunity for me to demonstrate to both me and industry professionals that I’m truly ready to dive into the field.”
Monique Placko shared (like a true McGregor Casting review), “My placement at McGregor Casting has completely validated my choice to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Taking on an industry placement as the final piece to my AFTRS journey has wrapped my student experience up in the most perfect way. If you had told me three years ago that I would be standing in a room full of some of the industry’s biggest and most respected practitioners, I would have literally blacked out… luckily, my time at AFTRS equipped me to deal with this exact scenario and for that, I’ll be forever in their debt.
Let it be known that I have only been here a week, and I am Kirsty McGregor’s biggest fan… fingers crossed that she signs my 144 hours off at the end of this placement.”
We thank all our industry partners and look forward to hearing more student stories from these exciting placements:
ABC: Elle Booth, Edward Wright (Editing) Jaida Ngawaka, Lucie Spencer and Akamjot Singh (Camera)
Animal Logic /Netflix: Ali Wildberger (Postproduction)
Easy Tiger: Suvipra Vaidya (Development)
Eureka: Keira Briggs (Postproduction)
McGregor’s Casting: Monique Placko (Casting)
Paramount+: Sean Cheng (Production)
See-Saw Films: Amalia Stramatos (Development)
Seven Network’s Home and Away: Alison Cowan (Art Dept)
Studio Canal: Fletcher Turale (Development)
