Animation Director / Wunungu Awara Animated Series

MONTH 2019 - OCTOBER 2023,  MELBOURNE, BYRON BAY &  REMOTE

The Wunungu Awara Animated Series was the second incarnation of the Monash Country-Lines Archive (2011-2018), which aimed to create a broadcast ready series of animated episodes depicting Australian Indigenous Knowledge from around the country, including traditional and contemporary narratives, songs and poems.

As Animation Director my primary role was  managing  a small team of digital artists in the production of animated episodes, overseeing the whole pipeline from look-development, storyboarding, asset creation, animation, visual effects, rendering and post-production.

My role at Wunungu Awara also included collaborating directly with indigenous community members in the depiction and execution of their cultural knowledge, as well as communication with any Anthropologist, Archaeologist, Museum Archivists and Linguists that were also involved with the participating  communities. 

A highlight from my Wunungu Awara experience was winning the Yoram Gross Award for Best Australian Animated Short Film at FlickerFest 2024 at Bondi Beach  for “Duwarra Wujara” as Co-Director.

Unfortunately the Wunungu Awara project was cancelled prior to  series completion, though close to two hours of completed content was created.

Animation Lecturer / SAE Institute

FEBRUARY 2018 - JULY 2019, BYRON BAY, AUSTRALIA

As Animation Lecturer I was responsible for several subjects, creating all lecture material and  practical exercise for each subject;  

• Animation Studies and Practice

• Foundations of 3D Graphics

• Introduction to 3D Animation

• Characters & Staging

• Animation Production (Studio).  

A highlight of the SAE experiences was guiding a group project in the completion of a working interactive video game created in Maya and Unity.

Animation & Motion Capture Artist / Sensilab

MAY 2014 - JULY 2018, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

Sensilab is a collaborative “Hack Space” housed independently within Monash University.  A collective of researchers and professionals experimenting and utilising emerging technologies for various applications such as Virtual Reality, Motion Capture, Wearable Technology, Digital Fabrication and Artificial Intelligence.  At Sensilab I was part of the conception, research and development of various projects as well as Animation and motion capture for large crowd simulations.

Animation Director / Monash Country-Lines Archive

FEBRUARY  2011 - FEBRUARY  2018,  MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

The Monash Country-Lines Archive was a multi-disciplinary research project housed at Monash University.  The aim of the project was to create an Animated Archive of Indigenous Knowledge from around Australia.  

As Animation Director my primary role was  managing  a small team of digital artists in the production of animated episodes; traditional stories, poems and songs.  Other roles included;

• Collaboration with Indigenous community members.

• Communication between Anthropologists, Archaeologies and Linguists.

• Directing a small team of artists, modellers and animators.

• Character and Environment Design.

• Asset Creation, Rigging, Animation.

• Rendering and Post Production.

Animation Lecturer / Monash University

FEBRUARY 2013 - JULY 2013, MELBOURNE

Lecturer for MADA (Monash Art, Design & Architecture) taking one subject; Advanced Principles of 3D Animation. In this role I was responsible for;

• Writing of weekly lectures and tutorial plans focusing on Character and Environment Design, Asset Creation, Rigging, Advanced Texturing and Lighting, Rendering and Post Production.

Research Assistant / Angkor Visualisation Project

JULY 2006 - FEBRUARY  2018,  MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

I was part of the Angkor Visualisation Project from its conception in 2006 until the beginning of 2018.  This project aimed at bringing the medieval metropolis of Angkor to life using rendered 3D animation as well as real time graphic engines.

The title of Research Assistant was largely a technicality, my main roles were look-development, architectural modelling and environment creation.  Other roles included;

• Collaboration with Archaeologist and Art Historians

• Character Modelling and Rigging.

• Rendering and Post Production.

Animation Lecturer / Monash University

FEBRUARY 2006 - NOVEMBER 2006, MELBOURNE

Lecturer for the Faculty of Information Technology taking two subjects; Foundations of 3D & Narrative in Multimedia. In this role I was responsible for;

• Foundations of 3D: Delivering existing weekly lectures and tutorial plans focusing on beginner level geometry, modelling, texturing, lighting and rendering.

• Narrative in Multimedia: Delivering existing weekly lectures and tutorial plans focusing on narrative structures, The Hero’s Journey, non-linear narrative and pre-production story development; storyboarding and shot pre-visualisation.