Springfield film student's night to shine

Films of USQ Festival showcases student's creativity

Bachelor of Applied Media (BAM) students recently showcased their year’s work at the inaugural USQ Springfield campus, Films of USQ Festival (FUSQFEST 2010).

FUSQFEST 2010 screened a series of documentaries and short films from the 2nd year and graduating class of the BAM program.

Faculty of Arts Associate Director Dr Daryl Sparkes said the quality of the student productions was outstanding.

'The students have taken all they have learned throughout the program and combined it with their own natural creativity to produce some innovative and professional films,' Dr Sparkes said.

'We kept this year’s festival fairly low key, but still managed to attract more than 130 people on the night, so I think we will have to plan on a larger showcase event for next year.'

Dr Sparkes said the two stand out films were a 20-minute film by the graduating class titled Leap of Faith and a short film titled Finders Keepers about a girl on the run who is picked up by a shady character.

'Finders Keepers was an audience favourite and elicited a great response.

'It was great to see the thought that went into the concepts behind these films and the way the students drew all of the elements together to create their final works.'

Dr Sparkes said the BAM program was a great way to launch a career not only in film, but in a number of media areas such as script writing, production management or journalism.

'This year, in response to demand we have added a Journalism Major to the program,' he said.

'Students undertaking the Journalism major as part of the BAM program will have an advantage when looking for work as a journalist.

The BAM program equips students to work in the media industry and prepares them with the needed digital skills that cross many contemporary work environments,' Dr Sparkes said.

'While conventional journalism degrees offer a few courses covering broadcast, the BAM program combined with a Journalism Major will fully equip students to work in a broadcast newsroom.

'They will have an excellent grasp of what is going on behind the camera as well as in front of it.

'Our program is designed to give students many opportunities to practice their skills in real production environments and this type of hands-on experience will give our media students the competitive edge when it comes to finding employment.'

For further information visit the USQ website.

Contact Details:
Jo-Ann Sparrow, USQ Media, +61 7 3470 4119 or 0438 309 096