The WA Screen Academy has a few places left for its 2009 intake. Director John Rapsey says, “We’ve accepted an outstanding cohort of Producers, Writers and Directors but we still have spots for two Editors, two Cinematographers and a Sound Recordist/Mixer. Because we’ve increased our intake this year we could also take on another Producer or Producer/Writer.”
The Screen Academy had a bumper year in 2008. The output included six short films with the WAAPA graduating actors, five films commissioned by the City of Perth, several documentaries, a lifestyle/magazine show and 15 x 3 minute webisodes of Private Parts – a cheeky look at love, sex and other disasters. There were also off-slate productions shot on the Red camera and a terrific mockumentary made with the Aboriginal Theatre program at WAAPA. Most students complete the year with 10-15 significant credits on their showreel across a variety of genres. This is a huge advantage when it comes to finding employment in the industry. Last year 12 graduates were employed on ‘Trapped,’ a 26 episode children’s series shot in Broome. This included four of the five directors, the Script Producer and several writers, the 1st AD, an editor and camera assistant, among others. More graduates have been offered positions on the second series.
The program offers a one-year conversion to a Bachelor of Communications to students with an Advanced Diploma and a Master of Professional Communications with a relevant undergraduate degree of five years industry experience.
