Josh shared how studying film at SAE and the art of networking in a highly competitive screen industry helped shape his path, to work on some of Australia’s biggest unscripted television shows – all at the age of just 33.
In the past year, Josh has worked on projects with National Geographic, Channel 7, 9 and SBS’ highest rating show, Alone Australia; which drops 10 survival experts into a remote part of Tasmania.
“It’s huge in America and has had nine seasons, so it’s great to be involved in the inaugural show here to help run boot camps and capture the beautiful landscape – the conditions were wild!”
Having studied the Bachelor of Film Production at SAE Byron Bay in 2012, Josh reflected on his time and how it pushed him to where he is today.
“I think one of the main benefits of SAE is the diversity of the syllabus, being able to see what’s involved in production, and having an insight into different film departments was a great way to see which way I wanted to go with my career.”
Being around fellow creatives at SAE Byron Bay like the Lundmark brothers, who now run Rest Your Eyes productions, convinced Josh he wanted to start his own company.
“Studying with Jonatan and Sebastian, and then seeing them make a living from their business showed me that it was possible to do it myself – so I got to work.”
Josh has started to grow his production company, Artem Collective, working with clients like The ARIAs, Amazon, National Geographic, Vice and every Australian broadcast network, and shows no sign of slowing down.
“Working on such large-scale shows has given me invaluable insight into running my own company,” he said. “I would never say starting your own business is an easy career choice, but it’s the one I wanted.”
Now only in his early thirties, and already working with established shows and brands, Josh puts his success in the industry down to his upbringing and a focus on networking.
“Having been brought up around Byron Bay, which is a social town with a diverse range of individuals and cultures, it naturally means you get used to meeting and talking to new people,” Josh explained.
“I’ve put a lot of value on networking, which was strongly encouraged at SAE,” he added. “Trust is such a valuable commodity in the creative industries, given the turnover of people, so if you’re a likeable person and good at what you do, that will go a long way.”
For those students wanting to follow in his footsteps, Josh gave some valuable advice on how to break into the industry and stand out from the crowd.
“Aside from continuing to network, leveraging new technology is a must,” he said. “In my career, autofocus technology has helped me diversify my skill set by freeing up mental bandwidth to focus on other aspects of production.”
“Having some knowledge of all areas of production will also help, particularly with on set communication, and you’ll earn respect from other professionals for that, and of course look after yourself by keeping fit and healthy if you want to survive.”
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