The path to a film career isn’t always linear. Take Reilly O’Loughlin, who traded drafting boards for lights and cameras after architecture school. His love for movies found a new outlet in the Australian Film Television and Radio School’s (AFTRS) Production Design program.
Elita Guo, on the other hand, came with a decade of filmmaking experience in Hong Kong. For her, AFTRS offered a chance to refine her editing skills and delve deeper into the craft.
For both students, AFTRS was simultaneously a training ground and a launching pad into the screen industry, where they landed on blockbuster film sets including “Anyone But You” and “Furiosa: A Mad Max Story.”
Reilly O’Loughlin had wanted to work in the film industry since he was in primary school and had even attended an AFTRS short course when he was in Year 10. By the time he finished school, however, he had pursued a different path into architecture, but ultimately it would lead him headfirst into his original passion.
His background in architecture and art portfolio were the perfect way to demonstrate his potential and enrol in the Master of Arts Screen: Production Design at AFTRS.
“It was an incredibly nurturing environment for creativity,” Reilly says of his time at the School. “As MA students we had all the perks of university life like our own common room and flexible schedules. There were always people around to work late with, bounce ideas off and show designs, costumes, edits and more.
“It was unlike other any other university environment I had experienced because everyone shared the same romantic love of cinema, so every conversation was about that, instead of what anyone did on the weekend. Directing student friends of mine would be screening foreign films for each other and the music students were sampling melodies at their desks – it was like a Willy Wonka factory for people who loved movies.”
Reilly considers his time spent studying at AFTRS as the best two years of his life, stating that the world class facilities provided a playground for him to experiment and learn about technology, set building and prop-making.
“In my second year of the course the school had just come into possession of an 8×4 meter LED Volume screen which is the same tech used to make Disney’s ‘Mandalorian,’” he notes.
“The school also offered a training course in Unreal Engine software, so I was able to learn how to 3D world-build and animate scenes after class and then run downstairs to the studio and throw my worlds up onto the giant screen. For one of my final projects, I built my own 1:40 scale miniature set of a famous street in Redfern, Sydney which I then wheeled into the studio, lit and shot in front of one of my 3D environments. I mean, where else do you get the chance to do things like that?”
Since completing the course Reilly has worked on major productions such as Sony Pictures’ “Anyone But You” and Stan’s “Good Cop Bad Cop” with his experiences at AFTRS leaving him well-equipped to do so.
“One of the best things AFTRS did for me was connect me to the industry,” he says. “I was lucky enough to study under two industry veteran designers and amazing mentors, Igor Nay and Natalie Beak. They brought in people like Colin Gibson (‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ – Designer), Tim Chappel (‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ – Costume designer) and dozens of others to give one-on-one talks with us in our Design Studio class. I stayed close to Igor and Nat after AFTRS and pretty much all the jobs I have done since have been directly or indirectly through connections they gave me.
“I began work on ‘Anyone But You’ pretty much the day I handed my final AFTRS assessment in. Igor had passed my name on to Steven Jones-Evans who was looking for a junior design assist for a new Will Gluck rom-com and the next thing I knew I was on a boat in Sydney Harbour location scouting mansions. It was a surreal experience and very jarring from the work I had been doing at film school but the transition was ultimately quite natural because I had been prepared so well.”
In 2022, Elita Guo had already worked in commercial video and documentary making for 10 years in Hong Kong and gained a Masters Degree in Media Arts & Production at Sydney’s University of Technology. By this time she realised that film editing was her greatest passion in the filmmaking process, so Elita enrolled in the Masters of Arts Screen Editing course at AFTRS.
“AFTRS is a very inclusive, creative environment,” she says. “It is also a very academic environment at the same time. AFTRS is very specific about teaching filmmaking, and it’s an immersive environment for any young kids that want to learn how to do filmmaking.
“I feel that AFTRS personalised my goal but it also made my vision clearer in a way because before I studied, I only had a very general idea of film editing. I knew I liked the combination and the marriage of sound, music, picture and the pacing, but not in an in-depth way as to what it means to the overall production. I feel that through the study I have a better understanding of what film editing really means.”
Since finishing her course Elita went on to join the editorial department for “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” as Assistant VFX Editor, where she had the great chance to learn directly from some of the best film editors and VFX editors from renowned features such as “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Peter Rabbit,” and “The Great Gatsby.” Elita found that not only had AFTRS prepared her technically for such a major film, but also in terms of the collaboration and communication required within a huge production team.
“It was a completely fresh and fun environment for me to learn how to communicate my ideas, talk to people patiently, listening and understanding them empathetically in a high-pressure setting,” she reflects. “Apart from all the technical aspects, I think what I got most [out of the School] was the mental preparedness for me to get on with a big job like Furiosa.”
Elita is now working on a new documentary series, the details of which are currently confidential. In terms of where AFTRS has taken her, she can’t recommend it highly enough.
“It was intense but organised in a way that is very helpful to anyone who wants to learn or have a clear vision of what they want to learn in the discipline that they’re aiming to do,” Elita states. “I think the whole environment is very healthy. It’s super respectful, in fact, especially for minorities and people of all genders, all kinds of backgrounds. AFTRS is very inclusive.”
Reilly agrees. He feels that he has come a long way and AFTRS is how he got there. In fact over 85% of AFTRS graduates find employment within six months of graduating, joining over 55,000 people employed in Australia’s screen industry.
“I had zero background in the film industry when I applied at AFTRS other than a love of movies so I came in very motivated and starry-eyed which meant I worked extremely hard because I just felt lucky to be there,” Reilly says.
“I would say to anyone who is looking for a way into the industry or who has a goal they are striving towards then absolutely do it. I spent my whole life fantasising about working on movies and since AFTRS those fantasies have more-or-less become reality.”
Applications for 2025 are open now. Head to www.aftrs.edu.au for full details.