During a recent visit by Melanie Beisswenger, a successful character animator from Germany, students were able to gain valuable insight into what’s needed to succeed in the 3D industry.

Some of Melanie’s credits have included Academy Award winning feature film Happy Feet, the stereoscopic 3D animated feature Fly Me to the Moon and the TV commercial for the blockbuster game Bioshock.
Currently she is leading the life of a ‘digital nomad’ travelling through countries and continents to work on exciting feature films and TV commercials.

SAE film students were recently involved in the production of "TWO FISTS ONE HEART", a feature film co-written by Jan Sardi (Shine), currently shooting in Perth.  It was an excellent opportunity for the students to be part of a large production and to observe the filmmaking procedure at a professional level.

"Feature films are not often shot in Perth and this experience has proved most valuable," said Burleigh Smith, SAE Film Department Head.  "Students saw first-hand the hard work that goes into the shooting of a film and came away inspired to make their own productions."

SAE film students are also currently involved in weekly workshops with professional Perth actors.  The workshops involve recreating various scenes from well-known films to develop students' skills at directing actors for screen productions.

Actors Ben Young and Nick Britton recently recreated several scenes from Alexander Payne's film, "SIDEWAYS".  Actors Luc Vecchio and Steve Collins recently recreated a scene from Michael Mann's "THE INSIDER".

“Directing drama is an important part of the filmmaking course at SAE Perth.  Knowing how to draw a realistic performance from an actor is an essential part of filmmaking.  These ongoing workshops will be very useful for all students.”

SAE STUDENTS WIN FOUR AWARDS AT PERTH FILM FESTIVAL

Award Winners Lucy Farnsworth
& Tim Rodgers

Student films from SAE Institute, Perth, recently took part in the Revel-8 Competition as part of the Perth Film Festival. "Party for One", directed by Tim Rodgers & Mat de Koning, won the Best Film & Best Experimental Film Awards. Rodgers, a professional dancer, features in the film & performs a crazed dance routine on a staircase.

"Jake", written & directed by Lucy Farnsworth, & photographed by Mat de Koning, won the Audience Choice & Best Cinematography Awards. The film tells the story of a homeless man who finds a Birthday card in a garbage bin & is reminded of his son.

"Steps", directed by Emmad Naqvi & Mehran Rahin Bux, also competed in the event.

All films were supervised by SAE Film Department Head, Andrew Burleigh Smith. "It's important that students are motivated to make their own films outside of class," he said."I am very proud of the work of these students. SAE will continue to produce award-winning filmmakers."

Congratulations to all involved!

You can check out “Jake” here.

SAE & FLICKERFEST LAUNCH NEW AWARD CATEGORY FOR FIRST TIME IN 13 YEARS

As part of the partnership, SAE and Flickerfest are together launching a new award category, the ‘SAE Prize for Best Use of Digital Technology’ in a Short Film. Flickerfest, which is accredited by the Academy Awards® is considered in international circles as the leading Australian competitive short film festival, and increasingly filmmakers view it as one of the main festivals on the world circuit.

SAE will be a major digital education partner at Flickerfest and the partnership will allow SAE to extend its reach to an international base of aspiring filmmakers. The young demographic of Flickerfest keeps pace with technology trends and will be receptive to the education SAE provides.

Bronwyn Kidd, director of Flickerfest, said ‘the partnership celebrates the growing use of digital technology amongst a new generation of film makers and through Flickerfest’s partnership with SAE we will be able to acknowledge expertise in the use of this digital technology encouraging short filmmakers to strive for excellence in their craft”

“The fact that we have added the new award, the ‘SAE Prize for Best Use of Digital Technology in a Short Film’ recognises the growing role of digital technology in providing the tools that enable a new generation of film makers to bring their stories to the screen” said Ms Kidd.

Flickerfest’s recognition as Australia’s only Academy® accredited short film festival not only serves to highlight the calibre of the event but the global reach that the short festival has now acquired.

The film festival event runs from 4 to 14 January at Bondi Beach, showcasing the best of short films from around the world before embarking on a 16 venue tour around Australia.

For more information please visit www.flickerfest.com.au

For the third year running, SAE Graduate, Dave Parkin, of Blackbird Studios, has taken out the coveted Best Engineer/Producer WAMI as well as Best Sound Engineer (live or studio). Dave graduated from the 1998 intake at SAE Perth and went on to work with our own Damian Masters.

Also picking up an award for Most Promising New Act, was Mink Mussel Creek, featuring SAE student, Richard Ingham.

Congratulations Dave & Richard!

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET TO THE OSCARS?

This question was addressed when Academy Award* Nominee Peter Templeman presented an exclusive seminar to students at SAE Institute

Over the last four years, Peter’s four short films - Splintered (left top), The Saviour (left bottom), Milkmen and Gifted Thumbs - have won thirty-eight festival awards between them, culminating in an Academy Award nomination this year for his comedy - The Saviour. In 2006 he was honoured with the ATLAB INSIDE FILM Award for Rising Talent. He is the only filmmaker to win the Slamdance Grand Jury award for Best Short Film two years in a row, first with the gritty drama Splintered in 2005, then in 2006 with The Saviour.

Peter was a Finalist at the West Australian Screen Awards for acting, writing and directing, before being selected as one of four emerging directors in the country to attend the Australian Film Television and Radio School in 2003.  In 2005 he completed a Masters degree in Drama Directing and received the Australian Film Commission’s Award for Excellence in Directing.

"SAE students were able to learn a great deal from such an accomplished filmmaker," said Burleigh Smith, SAE Film Department Head.  "The presentation involved a screening of Templeman's films, an in-depth interview on how they were made and a question and answer session."

A sincere ‘Thank you’ to Peter for taking the time to visit our college.

Recent SAE Institute graduate James Ezra (pictured) has been laying the foundations of a long and successful career as a recording engineer in Sydney.

James graduated from SAE Perth with a Diploma in Music Industry in March 2007. Since leaving SAE Perth he has gained experience through an internship at Trackdown Recording Studios, part of the Fox Studios complex in Sydney.

During his brief tenure at Trackdown, James has worked with, amongst others, Paul Mac and John Powell, best known as the composer of the “Happy Feet” film score. More recently he has been involved in doing string recordings for albums for Anthony Callea & Shannon Noll.

“The information & skills that I learnt at SAE have been extremely useful in the work that I have done. Everything from Pro Tools skills, Stereo Mic Techniques, Signal Flow, Soldering to Digital Audio & Acoustics have all been useful & I have been able to adapt them into practise at Trackdown. Having had experience on similar equipment at SAE has allowed me to be familiar with the equipment in the Studio. Whilst I am learning vast amounts everyday all the skills gained at SAE have provided a great foundation for my engineering skills to grow.“

Links
www.trackdown.com.au
www.studios301.com

Please Contact Us for a free brochure and information pack.