ANIMATION

Internships are the perfect opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience and learn how the industry really operates. At JMC we have a dedicated Internship Program which provides students the opportunity to work in real-life industry roles at reputable organisations during their course.

Undertaken as a credited course unit, you’ll be given the time to gain invaluable experience in your chosen field and make new contacts - all while gaining credits from the experience. Our Internship Program to date has successfully also led to paid freelance opportunities and to career progression post-graduation. 

Here are just a few of the incredible companies our students are interning at:

Sean Callinan
Head of Department (Sydney)

Visual Communication (Sydney College of the Arts)
Master of Design (University of Technology Sydney)

The essence of Sean’s career has been a broad-ranging interest in all aspects of design for film, television and other screen media. His career prior to teaching spans a wealth of experience, beginning as co-founder of his own production company, Meaningful Eye Contact (MEC), with Alex Proyas and Peter Miller. Sean quickly garnered a reputation for eye-catching visuals and inventive concepts. While producing music video clips for high profile acts such as INXS, Crowded House, and Fleetwood Mac, Sean developed a passion for the disciplines of production design, art direction, graphics and animation that would become instrumental in his future career. 

During this period Sean received an AFI nomination for “Best Art Direction” for his work on Alex Proyas’ post-apocalyptic gothic fantasy feature Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds. MEC were also the recipients of a number of music video awards through the eighties.

Having turned freelance, Sean continued to work on numerous television commercials, music videos, television productions and several more feature films. Animation and motion graphics had always been an important part of his practice, but in 2001 Sean made the decision to leave Production Design and focus on these areas whilst undertaking a Masters in Design at UTS. 

Since then he has undertaken a range of work including infographic animation, screen graphics, museum interactives, collaborations on broadband and mobile platform content, and personal projects. Prior to accepting the role as Head of Animation and Game Development at JMC Academy, Sean taught animation, video design and screen-based media at UTS for over twenty years. 

 

Tim McEwen
Animation Lecturer

Tim McEwen draws on his broad experience in feature film storyboards and concept art (Happy Feet Two, Blinky Bill, Wolf Creek 2), as well as comic books, illustration and cartooning. He's also an art director and graphic designer with 25+ years experience. He's taught at all levels of education, including preschool, primary and secondary school, privately and in workshops, as well as university and tertiary colleges.

Tim's been published professionally since he was 17, and his internationally distributed, award winning comic series 'Greener Pastures' has featured in nine exhibitions nationally and internationally. He continues to work in his chosen professions.

 

Dr Katharine Buljan
Animation Lecturer

PhD (Arts), the University of Sydney, 2007
Master of Arts (Honours), the University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 1998
Master of Animation, the University of Technology, Sydney, 2008

Katharine Buljan is a Sydney-based artist, independent scholar and lecturer. She has exhibited her paintings in Australia, Italy, Hong Kong and Sweden and has received a number of awards. In 2016 she was been a finalist at the 39th Alice Prize and in 2015 a finalist at the Mosman Art Prize. In 2015 she was an artist in residence at the University of Tasmania (Launceston), and an artist in residence in Sydney (A. R. P. Artist Residency Program). In 2013, she was selected as a finalist for the 62nd Blake Prize for Religious Art. In 1995, Katharine was awarded a European Parchment at the XV Review of Contemporary Art in Galleria Forum Interart in Rome. She also does stop-motion animation.

Katharine’s theoretical training and research strongly underpin and complement her art practice. She is very passionate about teaching and was a sessional academic at the University of Technology, Sydney, and guest lecturer at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS). She is the co-author of the book on Japanese animation titled Anime, Religion and Spirituality: Profane and Sacred Worlds in Contemporary Japan (Equinox, 2015).

Lance Balchin
Head of Department, Brisbane

Lance Balchin is a children’s illustrator and author who has internationally published two books in the ‘Mechanica’ series with the Five Mile Press, Simon & Schuster, Little Bee Books and Bonnier Publishing. 

Lance is also an educator in the creative industries, with over 15 years hands on experience teaching Photoshop. Lance’s relationship with Photoshop started in 1991 with Version 2.5 (pre layers!) and he has built a substantial understanding of the software over 25 years. 

Mark Dickie
Animation Lecturer

Bachelor of Creative Industries - Queensland University of Technology
Master of Digital Design, Motion Graphics - Griffith University

As a freelance computer graphics generalist, Mark has gained expansive experience working in animation, motion graphics and asset creation for games, television and the web. Outside of the classroom, he is involved in a number of independent games development projects.

Mark credits his success to his commitment to lifelong learning, continued engagement in his artistic medium and collaboration with other highly talented creative practitioners. In turn, these are all attributes he nurtures in his students to help them build their creative future as the next generation of Gamers and Animators. 

Damien Schneider
Animation Lecturer

Bachelor of Creative Arts (Animation), JMC Academy

After studying 3D Animation at JMC Academy in Melbourne under the Scholarship program, Damien Schneider has been involved in projects such as Happy Feet Two, Disney's Minnies Bow-toons series, and Polly Pocket series. 

Damien played a major part in the creation of animation for the 'Window Through Time' App for the Melbourne Museum. He was also the Lead Animator for the App 'Inside the World of Dinosaurs', which was later rebranded under BBC’s banner 'Walking With Dinosaurs: Inside their World'.

Kim Edwards
Head of Department, Melbourne

Film & TV Postgraduate Diploma: VCA Film & TV School, Animation 2003.

Kim is a technologist, educator and animator with over a decade of experience working in media education.
From Sultans to Festivals, Health organisations to studios, he has maintained an active practice working with 
a broad range of clients in animation. Kim believes animation and interactive media is a product, comment and forecaster of our global society. 

Media dynamically shifts into new territories, requiring new perspectives and Kim sees the responsibility of education is to enable active creatives in this dynamic space. 

Adele Thomas
Melbourne Lecturer

Adele K. Thomas is a Melbourne based illustrator, design lead and art director with over ten years of experience covering animation design, children's educational books, phone applications and online games. She graduated from The Griffith Film School in Brisbane with a Bachelor with honors in 2006 and in the years since has worked for production companies such as Working Dog Productions, Cartoon Network, Moose Toys, Studio Moshi, Nelvana, Zac Creative and Pearson Education.

Thuan Huynh
Melbourne Lecturer

Thuan is a Melbourne based freelance artist specializing in 3D animation and concept art. He studied animation under the mentorship of industry professionals at iAnimate and has since gone onto work on various film, TV and game projects over the years for companies such as Luma Pictures, Iloura and GREE Entertainment.