Creative careers resource

Vicki Couzens

The Story of the Moving Image includes significant artworks that contribute to the story being told in the exhibition. ​

During the planning stages of The Story of the Moving Image, the ACMI curators commissioned a number of artworks and also collected existing artworks that contribute to the themes of the exhibition.

One of the commissioned works is Yanmeeyar by Vicki Couzens. Watch the video below and click through to the work page for this artwork above to find out more.

Taree McKenzie

Taree MacKenzie's artwork Pepper's ghost effect, triangles, cyan and red was selected for display in The Story of the Moving Image because it highlighted the long history of illusions and special effects that preceded and inspired the invention of cinema. McKenzie's work also explains the science of colour, which is such an important part of the visual language of cinema and other moving image forms such as videogames.

John Harvey

A video work by John Harvey was also commissioned. It's called Canopy, 2020.

Around the 1970s, First Peoples stepped behind the camera en masse to capture their own story and control their representation, and Canopy continues this tradition and comments on First Peoples self-representation.

Find out more about Harvey's work, and read an interview with the artist here.

Go behind the scenes to learn how major films, TV series and video games get made. ​

In this part of our exhibition, you can find out about storyboarding, set design, costume design, character design, visual effects and Foley sound.​

We've featured some behind-the-scenes highlights here.

Costume Design

In The Dressmaker, costume design communicates essential ideas about story, setting and character. Margot Wilson designed the costumes for the character Tilly Dunnage (Kate Winslet). You can find out more about the art and craft of costume design in the video (below).

You can also dig deeper into The Dressmaker and other elements of its production process here.

Creating character through prosthetics

​This display has been made for ACMI by Australian company Odd Studios, and takes visitors through the process of character creation from concept drawings to the gluing of the prosthetic elements onto the actor.​

Find out more

Hollow Knight game design​

Team Cherry is an indie game company consisting of Ari Gibson and William Pellen.​

​They began by building a central area called the Forgotten Crossroads, then built outwards, following the logic of the world. They mapped out the world on paper (these are the maps on display) and then started working on each area in depth.​

​All design elements are sketched out on paper, before ​being turned into a game asset in Unity. ​

Find out more​

Puppet-making for Isle of Dogs

Arch Model Studio created hundreds of stop motion puppets for Isle of Dogs.​

​Find out more​

Find out about Australians who have made an outstanding contribution to the film and television industry both in Australia and internationally.​

Watch these Spotlights to learn more about screen roles such as directing, producing, editing, screenwriting and acting, and to get advice and tips from people who are leaders in their field.​

You'll find interviews with Erica Bana, Rachel Perkins, Warwick Thornton, David Gulpilil, Gillian Armstrong, and more.

Hear from the experts

ACMI’s suite of digital resources put you in a room with Industry leaders from around the world: ​

• Victoria on Film: Interviews with key actors and creatives behind some of Victoria’s most successful homegrown films such as The Dressmaker, Mary and Max and more. ​
• Games Talks: Australia’s best and brightest coders, leaders, developers, artists and animators take you behind the scenes of their games and careers in this 8-part series.  ​
• Behind the screens: A opportunity to hear from lesser-known practitioners from visual effects, animation, immersive and multisensory Digital Arts.​
• Meet the Creators: A series showcasing recent projects and career insights from exceptional practitioners plus discussions about key topics such as how the screen industry can recover.

Career pathways - Training and University ​

​Film and Television: See Film Victoria's Early Career website ​

​Game Development: RMIT, Swinburne Uni, Larger list including AIE, JMC Academy, SAE and one more list. ​

​Visual Effects & Animation:​RMIT University, AIE, UTS Animal Logic Academy , SAE, Gnomon School of VFX, software sites such as The Foundry (Nuke) ​

​This is just the tip of the iceberg!

Getting Started

​Getting some runs on the board! You might want to work in the screen industry but have no experience. Seek out opportunities to get some practical, hands on experience in different roles (always be professional even if it's unpaid).​

VCA School of Film and Television holds a crewing night for their student productions each May. AFTRS also take on volunteer crew on student productions. This volunteer work provides credits and experience. You can also add your details to a crewing file which is accessed by VCA students year round. ​

Sign up to volunteer for a music video, short film or webseries. 

Grow your networks

Subscribe to:​

Screenhub - search jobs, resources, events, grants, training, awards etc  (free for students)​

Screen Australia  - Federal Government agency charged with supporting Australian screen development, production and promotion. Find out what is in production, what funding is available, who the big players are.​

Film Victoria  - the State Government agency that provides strategic leadership and assistance to the film, television and digital media sectors of Victoria. Find links to placement programs, local production and post-production houses, funding, training, Industry events etc.   ​

Join the guild for your area of interest eg: Australian Writer's Guild, Australian Screen Editors , Screen Producers Australia. See the comprehensive list on the Film Victoria website. 

Game development networks include: ​

TIGSource ​A community famous for creators sharing ‘dev logs’.​

itch.io ​A community surrounding the itch.io game platform.​

GameDev.Net ​A place to ask questions & share info about game development​

Tsumea ​An Aust/NZ community site that houses a lot of developers & jobs!​

IndieDB ​A community based around independent game development

Good luck! Remember to: ​

Upskill – learn new software, practise at home on your projects​

Try lots of roles while you study to see what you like and don't like ​

Keep a positive attitude and be pro-active​

Don't be scared to ask questions  ​

Respect people's time, their experience and expertise ​

Use your manners, always, every time.  ​

Persist – no one goes far without perseverance ​

Be flexible and be a team player ​