The Exciting Future of Australia’s Film and Games Industries
Modern video gaming provides shared cultural experiences like never before. Through individual gameplay, we get to live the hero’s journey, while in shared online gaming we connect with people across the globe that we may never meet. Film and TV, always a traditional cornerstone of pop culture, have seen their accessibility explode through online sharing platforms like Netflix, making popular movies and tv shows global cultural phenomenons of a scale never seen before.
It’s no surprise to see that with so much increased interaction with video games and online media sharing platforms, that the game and film industries are seeing huge growth in work, and the industries in Australia are no different to this global trend. In our own unique corner of the world, our numerous games and film studios have carved out their own niche specialisations.
For the past decade, Australian games studios have been smaller, more independent games studios focusing largely on several key game titles, as well as some of the most famous mobile phone games. The shining example of this is the mobile game Fruit Ninja, developed by Brisbane-based games company HalfBrick Studios and utilising revolutionary new game physics, the game has been downloaded over 1 billion times since its release in 2010. The smaller, independent structure of Australian games studios allow for a more tailored and unique approach to game development, while also catering to the large and growing Asia Pacific region, which generates 52% of all global games revenue.
Like Australia’s game studios, Australia’s screen and media industry also have a rather unique focus. Due to our timezone of being up to almost a day ahead of the United States, Australian studios are able to take key advantage of the need for an overseas film studio and tv productions to have their productions worked on around the clock. With Australia being just under a day ahead of much of the US, our studios are able to work on blockbuster movies and tv shows while the rest of the world sleeps. For this reason, Australia has developed a global reputation for work in VFX and post-production in screen and media, with Australian companies helping to create some of the best known and awarded works coming out in recent years, including shows like the Mandalorian and Game of Thrones, and Marvel movies like Guardians of the Galaxy.
And with this growth in games and film output from Australia, so too is their growth in jobs and future careers within both industries. Full-time jobs within games in Australia have increased 71% between 2017 and 2019, while in 2019 35% of Australian studios expected to see significant growth within the next few years. Additionally, the Australian Screen, which already has over 20,000 full-time jobs, is expected to almost double in value, from $22 billion in 2019 up to almost $40 billion by 2022.
Much of the reason for this is the global film and tv industry’s making greater use of VFX technology and post-production technologies. The underlying shift for much of this is that much of the visual aesthetics seen in movies and tv is shifting from the traditional pre-production design to post-production. While film purists may lament this change, in practical terms it means that production time for film and tv shows is drastically reduced allowing for more output each year, and more important for Australia, more work for our booming screen industry.
In order to get a career started in the games and development or film VFX, it’s essential to have the right education. AIE’s 2-Year Diploma and Advanced Diploma Dual program employ practical, studio-simulated approaches that provide an insight into the methodologies used by game and film creators in Australia and across the world. Learning directly from industry professionals, with years of experience across key roles and specialisations, students at AIE are given a clear grasp of the exact kind of industry professionals that Australia’s growing studios are looking for.
AIE’s February intake is just months away, and applications are open now! Find out how you can be a part of Australia’s exciting future in Games and Film VFX by speaking to AIE today!