Lights, camera, action: Film school finds new home

BY MICK ROBERTS

With the latest facilities, slap bang in the middle of Sydney’s emerging entertainment precinct at Moore Park, film student Trinni Franke couldn’t be happier about the Australian Film, Television and Radio School’s new home.
The 31-year-old film production student said despite the school relocating from North Ryde to Moore Park, the disruptions associated with the move have been well worth it.
‘It may have been a little rushed, but we’ve been here for three weeks now and we’re slowly ironing out any teething problems,’ she said.
A resident of Bondi, Trinni’s usual 4 hours rail journey to and from North Ryde has been halved, and she said studying at Moore Park makes her feel as though she is part of the film industry.
‘I feel privileged that I was here for the cross over,’ she said. ‘The new school has really been designed with film making in mind.’
The final year Masters’ student said she was placing the finishing touches to her film, Cupid, at a modern, up-to-date studio.
‘The film is all about a modern day cupid who has a few things to learn about love,’ she said.
‘After accidentally shooting himself, he learns that there is much more to love than physical attraction.’
With animated sequences and plenty of special effects – with a bit of dancing thrown in ‘ Trinni said the facilities at Moore Park have been invaluable in the production of her first film.
The facilities at the new school include a theatre with High Definition capability and multi format film projectors, 30 technical suites for picture, sound, screen composition and digital production, digital post production facilities and five shooting studios, as well as mixing studios, computer labs and digital radio broadcasting suites.
Arts Minister Peter Garrett, while officially opening the new building on May 22, described how the school played a central role in Australia’s screen industry as a key educator and trainer.
Relocating the school to Sydney’s entertainment precinct and establishing Screen Australia are key elements in the Government’s strategy to revitalise the screen industry, restore investor confidence and deliver new and high quality productions for Australian audiences, Mr Garrett said.
‘The Australian Film Television and Radio School’s new home will provide our next generation of film-makers, broadcasters and technicians the best chance of success in a challenging and dynamic industry,’ Mr Garrett said.
‘This new building is geared to the new digital culture of content-on-demand, collaboration, and convergence,’ he said.
The new facilities will build on the school’s reputation for the high quality of its teaching and training, and for the excellent calibre of graduates.
Mr Garrett said students will benefit from the strong relationships the school enjoys with leading industry practitioners and studios, from the industry experience of its teachers and its strong international reputation.
The School’s director of screen content, Graham Thorburn said the new location was a big improvement on the old North Ryde facility, as it was in the centre of Sydney¹s creative hub.
‘We’re right next door to Fox studios, and all the other film and television businesses in there, such as Trackdown, Soundfirm, Spectrum and so on, which makes it much easier for our students to access those, and to be present when something interesting is happening,’ Mr Thorburn said.
‘The ‘Entertainment Quarter’ has shops, markets, people and best of all, 17 cinema screens. We’re much closer to other performance and arts educational institutions like the National Institute of Dramatic Art and the College of Fine Arts,’ he said.