MEDIA - EXPERIMENTAL FILMMAKING

Break the Rules of Cinema with Experimental Filmmaking! 

Tired of the same old Hollywood formulas? Experimental Filmmaking is your license to throw out the traditional movie rulebook and rewrite the language of the screen. In this subject, you won't just tell stories—you'll completely transform how an audience experiences them.

You will dive deep into avant-garde creation by intentionally bending genre conventions, structures, and character types to construct alternative viewpoints. Through hands-on exercises, you will experiment with technical and symbolic elements—manipulating camera work, editing styles, striking visuals, and soundscapes to layer your work with deep, hidden meanings. You’ll also research and analyse groundbreaking experimental films by their media codes and conventions further consolidating your understanding of the media elements we can manipulate to create your own unique voice in filmmaking.. Because great art takes practice, you will learn to reflect on, document, and analyze your own choices, using that insight to refine your film throughout the production process.

By the end of this course, you’ll capture, edit, and produce a unique piece of media art that challenges perspectives, showcases your distinct creative voice, and blows your audience's minds.

MEDIA - SHORT FILMS

Think you need a three-hour blockbuster budget to tell an unforgettable story? Think again. Short Films is your hands-on director’s boot camp, where you will learn how to pack massive emotional punches, create unforgettable characters, and deliver powerful messages in just a few minutes of screen time.

In this elective, you’ll shift from being a casual viewer to a critical creator. You’ll dive into the mechanics of cinema—dissecting how technical elements (like camera angles, lighting and pacing) and symbolic elements (like color schemes and motifs) are manipulated to create deep meaning. You will explore how real-world social, ethical and institutional issues shape the stories we tell, and learn how to bend genre conventions to keep your audience hooked.

Best of all, you will bring your own cinematic visions to life by taking a project through the entire professional pipeline: pre-production (scripting and storyboarding), production (filming) and post-production (editing). Along the way, you’ll document your creative choices, critique existing short films for inspiration, and reflect on peer feedback to sharpen your final cut. By the end of this course, you’ll have written, directed and produced a compelling short film ready to screen for a captive audience!

ART - PROTEST ART 

Activism through Art: Protest, Power & Change 

How can art challenge ideas, tell stories and inspire change?

In this exciting Art elective, students explore how artists use visual language to communicate powerful messages about society, culture and identity. Through the study of protest art, street art and contemporary art practices, students will investigate how artists from different times, places and cultures have used art to express opinions, advocate for change and connect with audiences.

Students will examine artworks by Australian and international artists, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, to understand how art can communicate cultural knowledge, challenge stereotypes and celebrate identity. Through discussion and analysis, students will investigate how materials, techniques and visual conventions contribute to meaning.

Students will then develop and refine their own artistic ideas through two practical projects:

• Protest and Propaganda - Students will create an artwork that communicates a personal or social message through bold printmaking techniques. 

• Tiny Doors - Students will design and construct a miniature installation that transforms and disrupts an everyday space and encourages audiences to view their environment differently.

Throughout the unit, students will experiment with a range of materials, techniques and processes, document their ideas in a visual diary, and reflect on how their artworks communicate powerful meanings for change. By the end of the course students curate, present and evaluate their work as practising artists in a class exhibition. 

VISUAL COMMUNICATION - OBJECTS & ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

Design Thinking in Action: Objects & Environmental Design 

How do designers create products and spaces that improve the way we live?

In this Visual Communication Design elective, students investigate how designers use creative and critical thinking to solve problems and communicate ideas. Through the fields of object design and environmental design, students will explore how design influences everyday experiences and shapes the world around us.

Students will analyse products, buildings and environments from different historical, cultural and contemporary contexts, including the work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander designers. They will investigate how designers respond to the needs of users, communities and the environment while considering functionality, sustainability and aesthetics.

Using the Visual Communication Design process, students will learn how to generate, develop and refine design ideas in response to design briefs. They will experiment with a range of drawing methods, media and digital technologies to communicate their ideas, while developing an understanding of design elements, design principles and visual conventions.

Throughout the course, students will maintain a design folio to document research, ideation, feedback and refinement. They will develop skills in analysing and evaluating design solutions, presenting ideas visually and verbally, and creating design outcomes that effectively respond to audience needs and real-world challenges.

By the end of the unit, students will have experienced the role of a designer, developing innovative solutions for products and environments while building practical skills in visual communication and design thinking.

MUSIC - MUSIC COMPOSITION & ARRANGING

From Inspiration to Audio: Music Composition & Arranging!

Ever had a melody stuck in your head and wished you knew how to turn it into a full track? Music Composition & Arranging is your backstage pass to the world of music creation, giving you the tools to transform your raw ideas into powerful, polished musical statements.

In this subject, you will look under the hood of your favorite tracks to see how professional composers manipulate musical elements—like rhythm, harmony, melody, and texture—to trigger deep emotions and tell compelling stories. You won't just learn the theory; you'll actively apply it. You will dive into Composition, where you'll build brand-new, original tracks from scratch, and Arranging, where you’ll take existing music and reinvent it in entirely new styles. Along the way, you’ll sharpen your ears with aural training, master essential music theory, and use modern music software and notation technologies to produce your work.

Because music is a collaborative journey, you will share your creations, use performance feedback to level up your tracks, and reflect on your process just like a studio professional. Whether you want to write cinematic film scores, produce electronic beats, or arrange for a live band, this course gives you the ultimate toolkit to find your unique sound and share it with the world!

MUSIC - MUSIC PERFORMANCE & MUSICIANSHIP

Own the Stage: Music Performance & Musicianship! 

Are you ready to take your musical talents out of the practice room and onto the stage? Music Performance & Musicianship is a performance-focused subject designed for musicians who want to develop confidence, technical skill, and artistic expression through live performance.

In this subject, performance is at the heart of everything you do. As both a soloist and ensemble musician, you will rehearse, refine, and present music for a range of audiences and performance settings. You will learn how to prepare repertoire effectively, overcome performance anxiety, communicate with fellow musicians, and deliver engaging performances that connect with listeners.

Through practical workshops and rehearsals, you will develop instrumental or vocal technique, stage presence, and expressive skills. You will explore how professional musicians use dynamics, articulation, tone, phrasing, and movement to create memorable performances. Whether your goal is to front a rock band, perform in a jazz combo, sing on stage, or simply become a more confident musician, this course will help you develop the skills, discipline, and artistry needed to excel as a performer.

DRAMA - DEVISING PERFORMANCE

Ever wanted to create a piece of theatre from scratch, step onto the stage, and completely captivate and transport an audience with your own words and ideas? Devising Performance immerses you in the play making process, inventing and developing original, powerful live performance.

Your playmaking process begins with research and improvisation. You’ll investigate how theatre artists across different eras and cultures, including the rich storytelling practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, use drama to challenge assumptions, express ideas and reflect the complexities of Australian identity. Building upon this, you’ll dive into the performance space, playing with expressive (voice, gesture, movement, facial expressions) and performance skills (focus, energy, timing, actor-audience relationship) and elements of drama (space, tension, mood, rhythm, sound, symbol, climax, contrast, conflict) to build meaning through performance. You will learn to devise both natural and non-naturalistic performances, using everything from structured scripting, rehearsing and refining to improvisation and experimentation.

Performance is more than just acting, so you will also manipulate stagecraft elements like lighting, sound, costumes, and props to enhance the production value of your pieces. Through the process of playmaking including planning, rehearsing, and reflecting on your work, you will refine your devised work until it's performance ready. By the end of this subject, you’ll be performing your own devised works for real audiences in different theatre spaces, knowing exactly how to strengthen stage presence and performance skills, impacting audiences through theatre!

THEATRE STUDIES: INTRODUCTION TO INTERPRETING SCRIPTS

Ever read a great story and instantly pictured how it would look under the theatre lights? Introduction to Interpreting Scripts is where you step into the roles of actor, director, and designer to transform written words into powerful live theatre. You’ll learn that a script isn’t just text on a page—it's a blueprint for a living, breathing world.

In this subject, you will learn how to unlock a script's hidden potential. You’ll investigate how theatre artists from different eras and cultures—including the vital, storytelling perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples—use the stage to challenge ideas and explore Australian identity. You will, as a group, work together to create a recontextualised version of the original text in order to consider the difference between different contexts. You will experiment with your own expressive skills (like voice, gesture, movement, and facial expressions) to bring complex characters to life, manipulating dramatic elements to build tension and atmosphere.

You will also explore production roles, learning how lighting, sound, costumes, props, and set pieces can completely change how an audience interprets a scene. Through a process of analysing professional scripts, collaborating in rehearsals, and reflecting on your creative choices, you will polish your scenes until they are performance-ready. By the end of this course, you’ll have the confidence to take any script, inject it with your own artistic vision, and perform it dynamically for a live audience!