So, you’re grasping your Communications degree firmly in one hand and have been left staring into the daunting maze we call the Media Industry. What now?!

Well, before you fall in, you should probably have a plan. As the newest kid on the block, you will be expected to be brimming with ideas, endearingly eager and technologically savvy. Here’s your chance to unleash all those pent up skills you’ve learned during your degree and show ‘em all that one day you’ll be the one running the show.

To make sure you don’t crash land on your head, the 3rd year Media students of RMIT have conducted a series of six seminars on how to find your feet in life after university.

Professionals from all corners of the industry speak out about what steps you can take towards achieving your dream career.

Here’s your chance to find out how to invade the industry - and do it in style.

Start Me Up ('Cause I Never Stop)

Start Me Up ('Cause I Never Stop) is a seminar targeted specifically at those looking to secure themselves a J.O.B. in the big B.I.Z. Or, in other words, trying to make it in the highly competitive media industry. This informative session presents four young media professionals: Jonathan Lim from Fremantle Media, Carlos Sanchez from Nickelodeon, Annie Fox from TheVine.com, and Ed Howley from JUNIOR. These vibrant speakers offer their own experiences in establishing themselves in the industry, and provide some invaluable tips on getting started on your chosen career path.

ABOUT THE GUESTS:

Jonathan Lim: Junior Digital Producer for Fremantle Media

Jonathon Lim is an RMIT Media and Communications graduate. Whilst still at university, and for the few months upon graduating, Jonathon was involved in Falls TV, Pedestrian.TV, Moop Jaw Productions, a Japanese commercial for Dynamite productions and as an editors assistant at WTFN. He also interned for Portable Film Festival. Shortly thereafter Jonathon scored a job as a Junior Digital Producer at Fremantle Media where he has worked on Masterchef, Project Runway, Australia's got talent and the Myspace Roadtour.

Carlos Sanchez: Production Assistant for Nickelodean

After completing a post graduate degree in Design at RMIT, Carlos Sanchez decided to tried his luck by entering the V RAW competition to become a Channel V intern. His witty and well edited video won him a position in events and marketing in their Sydney offices, beating over 600 other applicants. Whilst there, a production assistant role became available at kids TV network, Nickelodeon. He applied for the position and got the job and is enjoying exploring this opportunity.

Annie Fox: Editor in Chief for TheVine.com

Annie Fox worked for Cleo Magazine in Sydney for three years before making the brave and much needed decision to leave. After this she entangled herself in what was to become the very popular cultural newsfeed website, TheVine.com. Starting out as the projects first official staff member she has since be

en appointed Editor In Chief for this Fairfax funded venture where you can find her busily working at their uber cool offices in St Kilda, Melbourne.

Ed Howley: Creative Director of JUNIOR

Ed Howley, another RMIT graduate but this time from the Adversiting Creative department, has worked in the Advertising Industry for the last few years, learning the ups and downs and ins & outs of this highly competitive and often cut-throat Industry. Alongside working for a bigger agency, Ed puts his heart and soul into his 'love' project, JUNIOR, a website dedicated to helping, inspiring and encouraging those at the bottom of the career ladders.

SEMINAR HIGHLIGHTS:

Hear from some of the guests with their great advice in the following video!

Tomorrow's TV

The "Tomorrow's TV" Seminar focuses on the four key areas of the television industry including Government, Commercial, Pay TV and Production house. The seminar is designed to give graduating students that chance to hear about the changing environment of television, and the structure of the industry, as well as learn about what kinds of jobs are available in this field. Guest speakers include Chris Oliver-Taylor (Head of Business & Operations at ABC TV), Adrian Dellevergin (Nine Network Director and Executive Director of Kids WB), Leigh Colbert (FOX SPORT Presenter) and Chris Perkins (Production Manager of WTFN) who provide knowledge about each different form of television production, as well as share their own personal stories about working in this media industry. The seminar is conducted in the form of a panel discussion with prompted questions, and audience members are allowed to ask questions of their own throughout the seminar. As media graduates we will be the TV industry of tomorrow, so let's learn about it!

ABOUT THE GUESTS:

Left to right: Leigh Colbert, Chris Oliver-Taylor, Adrian Dellevergin, Chris Perkins.

Leigh Colbert: Presenter, FOX SPORTS

Leigh Colbert began his AFL career at Geelong in 1993 before his move to the Kangaroo's in 2000. He is currently an AFL boundary rider for "Fox Sports", a regular panelist on the popular "AFL Teams", and an on-air presenter on the Fox News Channel. A man of many talents, Leigh has also managed to complete his Professional Qualification in Commercial Pilots Licence (CPL).

Chris Oliver-Taylor: Head of Business & Operations, ABC TV

                 

Chris has developed a number of key ABC TV programs, ranging from "Da Kath & Kim Code", "Summer Heights High" and Andrew Denton's "God on my side". He has worked in a wide vairety of roles in production, from Production Manager, Production Supervisor to Head of Production. He is currently the Head of Business and Operations for ABC TV.

Adrian Dellevergin: Nine Network Director; Kid's WB Executive Producer

Since, 1983, Adrian has been the Network Director of Channel 9, in charge of such programs such as "Dancing On Ice With Torvill and Dean", "Australian Fear Factor", 18 years of "Carols By Candlelight", "The Three Tenors at the MCG", and 17 years of Australia's premier awards show "The TV Week Logies". Adrian is called on whenever the network has a big event to be handled, including the recent "Australia Unites Bushfire Appeal Telethon".

Chris Perkins: Production Manager, WTFN

Chris Perkins has over 30 years experience in the TV industry, and is frequently managing an output of us to seven shows at any one time. She currently works as the Production Manager for the increasingly successful production company WTFN, overseeing programs such as "Bondi Vet", "Coxy's Big Break" and "Sudden Impact".

SEMINAR HIGHLIGHTS:

Catch some of the invaluable insights these guests offer to their audience.

Check out the team of students responsible for organising the seminar in their cool behind-the-scenes video.

Getting It Out There: Content Distribution

The Distfuture team aims to find out about the different channels, or sectors, of content distribution in Australia, namely those of cinema, theatre, festivals, video and content for the web. The idea behind this seminar is to find out what opportunities are out there for media graduates in terms of content distribution, and how can media graduates establish themselves in this particular field of the media industry. As content creators, the team also seeks to discover how independent content producers approach distributors, and to gain an insight into the possible future of this field.

ABOUT THE GUESTS:

Richard Wolstencroft: Founder/Director of Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF)

Richard Wolstencroft (a.k.a. Richard Masters) works in Australia as an independent filmmaker. Founder of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF), which showcases "uncut, uncensored and cutting edge Independent Cinema", he has also written directed numerous feature films, including, Bloodlust (1990), The Intruder (1991), Pearls Before Swine (1999), and The Beautiful and Damned (2008). Richard is passionate about cinema and its potential to open up "new ways of examining human existence and the world."

Natalie Miller: Executive Director of Sharmill Films

Known to be the first independent female distributor in Australia, Natalie Miller works as Executive Director of Sharmill Films, a production house that specializes in European and other foreign language films. Co-founded Cinema Nova, she is widely respected within the Australian film industry for her love of and distribution of local art house cinema.

Chris Lintos: Music Producer

Having working for some time as a music producer in Australia, Chris Lintos recently made a deal with Distraction USA to distribute his own production, which he subsequently presented at Cannes Market. He is currently working on a feature film on a distribution contract with his Collingwood team. In addition, Chris has opened a venue for film screenings in Coburg.

Bronwen Morey: DVD Project Manager at Madman Entertainment

Bronwen Morey began working in the PR/Marketing department for Madman Entertainment in 2005, coordinating the production and distribution of monthly sales catalogues, including the production of marketing materials such as print advertising, posters and preview discs. In 2007, she was promoted to DVD Project Manager within the Production department, supervising the DVD release of programs such as Adult Swim, Sesame Street, programs from Cartoon Network, and non-anime animation such as Tintin, amongst other classic 1990's cartoons. Bronwen's position entails managing a small team of DVD designers and authors, and liaising with international licensers.

Michael Cicirko: Project Manager for Theatrical department at Madman Entertainment

In 2007, Michael Cicirko joined Madman Entertainment as a administrator and marketer within the Theatrical department. His roles include Project Manager for the Theatrical department, online content management, promotion and publicity for Victorian and Tasmanian releases, organising media screenings, liaising with journalists for press coverage upon film release, and coordinating grassroots activity for films to target audiences.

SEMINAR HIGHLIGHTS:

Festival Heads

Festival Heads is a seminar that goes behind the scenes of festivals and other large media events to discover how they operate. The seminar focusses on how to plan and execute a successful festival, and how to land your work, whether it be a film, music, or another artform, in a festival. Guest speakers include musician Tim McMillan who has performed at a number of festivals, Stephen Snelleman, who covers many festivals and events on air for ABC Radio, and Jess Langley and Michelle Carey, both of whom work for the Melbourne International Film Festival all year round.

ABOUT THE GUESTS:

Left to right: Stephen Snelleman, Michelle Carey, Jess Langley, Tim McMillian.

Tim McMillan: Musician

Tim began his career as a professional musician when he moved to Melbourne years ago. Now, a highly acclaimed Melbourne guitarist/vocalist, he has played at a range of festivals, including the Frankston International Guitar Festival (1997), the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, Germany (2006), The National Folk Festival, Canberra (2008) and the Melodica Festival in Hamburg (2009). Between touring and appearing at these festivals, Tim writes soundtracks for video games and teaches music to adults with autism.

Stephen Snelleman: Broadcast Officer for ABC

Stephen has worked for the ABC since 1979 as a music producer and occasional radio presenter. He has produced numerous recordings of all kinds of music in studio and concert for radio broadcast on all networks of the ABC, both direct and delayed, and is the founding presenter and producer of Radio National programs such as Music Deli, Live on Stage, Free Range and Terra Incognita. A regular presenter of Classic FM programs, especially Breakfast and Drive, Stephen has won five ARIA awards in three different categories: Best Classical Release (three times), Best Folk/World release, and Best Show/Musical. In addition, Stephen has produced three platinum selling CDs (Marina Prior twice and Peter Brocklehurst), has represented ABC in local and international conferences, and has produced and delivered training courses in music production for the then AIDAB (now AusAID) in Laos and Vietnam.

Jess Langley: Program Manager for the Melbourne International Film Festival

Having successfully completed degrees in both Media and PR at RMIT University in Melbourne, Jess is currently positioned as the Program Manager for the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). She volunteered at various organisations before one of these opportunities enabled her to become a member of the festival's exclusive all-year-round team.

Michelle Carey: Senior Programmer for the Melbourne International Film Festival

Senior Programmer for the Melbourne International Film Festival, Michelle is also President and Co-Programmer for The Melbourne Cinematheque. She additionally works as the Film Festivals Editor for Senses of Cinema, a highly acclaimed online film journal.

SEMINAR HIGHLIGHTS:

LOADING... New Media Futures

This seminar focusses on the way in which the changing media landscape has allowed for new job opportunities to arise. Rather than looking at traditional media such as TV, film and radio, the seminar explores the growing sector of online media and interactive media and what soon-to-be graduated media students should be aware of when thinking about future employment. It seeks to answer the following questions: Interested in more than just the mainstream media formats? Want to try your hand at something more challenging? Want to know how best to use the online environment to generate interest for your work (and eventually make a business of it)? Want to know where to begin in the expanding and ever-changing online media environment? With guest speakers Paul Kooperman, Scriptwriter for traditional and online media; Anne Marie Anetts, Managing Director at Interaction Selection; Adam Griffith, General Manager for the highly successful website-building business Get Started, and Trent Kusters, Game Designer for Torus Games, Loading... New Media Futures provides some invaluable insights into the growing world of online career opportunities in the media.

ABOUT THE GUESTS:

Paul Kooperman: Screenwriter

Paul Kooperman is the man behind the changing face of poetry in Australia. Responsible for promoting Australian poetry across non-traditional platforms, Paul deals with online and cross-platform works and distribution for the Australian Poetry Centre and is involved with poetry initiatives in youth and education. He is also a prolific and established screenwriter. His feature script "Wil" was produced in 2006 and had a limited independent release in Australia. "Wil" won Best Picture at the Independents Film Festival in Florida, Best Director at the Rhode International Film Festival and received Official Selection at the Hollywood Film Festival, and Cardiff Film Festival. Paul was an inhouse writer for Stacey Testro (Executive Producer of the SAW horror films) in 2006. He has additionally worked as a writer for Home and Away and as a Script Co-ordinator for The Wedge, Wicked Science 2 and StreetSmartz. He lectures in screenwriting and has two books published on this craft.

Anne Marie Anetts: Managing Director Interactive Selection, Asia Pacific

Anne Marie is based in Melbourne, Australia. She formerly worked at Sega Enterprises and Virgin Interactive in Tokyo, Japan for 8 years where she rose to become Virgin's General Manager, Asia. At Sega she was the first female to gain any type of management role in a traditionally structured Japanese company. She now works as the Managing Direction for Interaction Selection in the Asia Pacific sector.

Adam Griffith: General Manager for Get Started

After designing and building his first website at age 16, Adam went on to complete a Bachelor of Commerce degree with first class honours in Actuarial Science and Finance at the University of Melbourne. Having worked with ANZ Bank, CPW Chartered Accountants, Watson Wyatt and BRW Magazine, he has extensive business and financial experience. Adam's current position is General Manager at Get Started, a team of website planners, designers and developers dedicated to passing on their expert skills and knowledge to others with the same passion for working online.

Trent Kusters: Game Designer for Torus Games

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2009/07/snapshot-torus-games-trent-kusters/

http://twitter.com/TrentKusters

SEMINAR HIGHLIGHTS:

Meet the guests and take heed of their great advice in the following video produced by the Loading... New Media Futures team.

The Sound of Music

Brought to you by the The Sound of Music team, this engaging seminar sheds light on today's Australian musicindustry, and what it takes to be a successful music professional. A panel of four very talented and established individuals from the music industry share their insights and experiences, offering a fascinating and useful look into this specific field of the media.

ABOUT THE GUESTS:

Left to right: Nathan Brenner, Marline Zaibak, Burkhard Dallwitz, Josh Johnston.

Josh Johnstone: Musician in the Australian band The Happy Endings

With an album release, 3 film clips, a massive 84 date national tour, plus a heap of TV and radio play later, Josh Johnstone's band The Happy Endings are absolutely belting their way to the top of the Australian Music scene. This year the band has been big with their single ‘Mr Minimum Wage’ being made the main song for international feature film ‘Congoro’ (in cinemas mid 2009), plus shows in UK, Europe, USA, Japan and New Zealand.

Nathan Brenner: Band Manager/Artist Representative

Nathan is a 25-year veteran of the international entertainment business. His primary role has been as an Artist Representative. He has been Manager for Split Ends and Men At Work and has established his own record and publishing companies within the Australian music industry.

Marline Zaibak: Arts Director for Anti-Racism-Action-Band

As Arts Director for the Anti-Racism-Action-Band, Marline plays a significant part in contributing to Australia's peace-making community. The Anti-Racism-Action-Band is an ongoing performance organisation, offering arts skills, opportunities, role models, inspirations, performances, audiences and collaborations to a large number of youth who would otherwise miss out due to geographic, cultural, racial, developmental or socio-economic disadvantage.

Burkhard Dallwitz - Composer

Award-winning composer Burkhard Dallwitz was born near Frankfurt, Germany in 1959 and at the age of eight began ten years of classical piano training. By thirteen he was writing songs and music, and from fifteen, Burkhard was writing, arranging and performing for various musical groups. In 1979 Burkhard fulfilled his dream of traveling to Australia. There he studied Music at Melbourne’s Latrobe University. He majored with Honours in Composition, and studied Advanced Composition under the tutelage of Professor Keith Humble. Since 1984, Burkhard has worked as a composer for feature films, television and commercials. In 1996 he released his first CD of original instrumental works, Worlds Apart. He won two Screen Music Awards from the Australian Guild of Screen Composers in 1993 &1996, and was also nominated in 1998 & 2000. In 1999, Burkhard was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Original Score in a Motion Picture for The Truman Show. His score also won The Chicago Film Critics’ Award and the ASCAP Film and Television Award, and the soundtrack reached number two on the Billboard charts. In addition, Burkhard wrote the score for popular Aussie drama Underbelly, and the 2008 Beijing Olympics theme.

SEMINAR HIGHLIGHTS:

Watch the following video for some valuable advice from these highly knowledgeable guests.