Officially it’s the Australian Film, Television & Radio School but that’s a bit of a mouthful, so let’s go with what pretty much everyone calls it: AFTRS. It’s one of the country’s foremost screen arts and broadcast schools, one with a solid reputation worldwide (The Hollywood Reporter listed it in their top 20 international film schools), and on 6 Sep its opening its doors to allow the filmmakers of the future a chance to check out the facilities and meet the staff.
As if that wasn’t alluring enough, it’s also been stated there’ll be free coffee all day. I know, right?
It’s a particularly good time to check things out, as the AFTRS curriculum is expanding in 2015 to include a number of new courses. The new three-year Bachelor of Arts in Screen is designed to prepare Australia’s next generation of creative practitioners to be the leaders in their respective fields, providing a deeply engaging learning experience that will develop critical thinking and creative engagement. Fusing “deep scholarly engagement with the art of storytelling”, this degree has been designed to ‘future-proof’ graduates for a changing and dynamic world.
A new slate of flexible and accessible Award courses are also being offered in 2015. Taught by industry practitioners, the part-time courses offer specialised, skill-based content, and with some delivered 100 per cent online, students have the opportunity to shape their studying schedule to suit their lifestyle.
Of course, actually attending the AFTRS’ Moore Park campus is pretty sweet as well, as graduate student Tom Wilson can attest. After three years studying film at Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts, Wilson is undertaking a one-year Graduate Diploma in Directing at AFTRS, with the focus on working with actors. It’s an intensive learning experience, he says, but one that has helped to “strengthen his grip on a challenging craft”.
“As a director, you have to understand the craft of every single person you’re working with so you can work well together and get the possible result on film,” says Wilson. “When you’re working five days a week, nine to five each day, with really talented actors, directors and other practitioners, it really expands your skill set.”
Wilson has been attending AFTRS since March this year, studying six core subjects alongside 11 other pupils as part of his Graduate Diploma. He has found the “collaborative learning environment” offered by the school a real benefit, both in terms of maintaining motivation and broadening his knowledge.
“I think the best thing about this school and certainly this course I’m doing is that everyone is as committed and passionate as you are,” he says.
In addition to that, the school’s facilities and scheduling enable up-and-coming filmmakers the chance to focus solely on their films. “Getting projects such as short films can be very difficult in the real world,” says Wilson. “Here you can indulge yourself a bit more because everything is set up to help you make your films.”
Wilson was keen to attend AFTRS from the first time he attended an Open Day five years ago, and he’s found that it has lived up to his expectations. “It could take you two or three years to learn what we learn in a year here,” he says. “It’s gruelling at times, sure, but it’s incredibly rewarding.”
The AFTRS Open Day takes place 10am-2pm Saturday 6 Sep at The Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park. For more information, visit aftrs.edu.au.
