ITI Articles

Late last year, Natcoll Design Technology finalised an agreement with the International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT) in the Philippines. IAFT is linked to Big Foot Entertainment, which makes feature length movies and has state-of-the-art facilities. Through the agreement, graduates of the Diploma of Video Post Production (Advanced) can enrol for one year only (if they choose) in IAFT's two-year Crazy Filmmaking Program and work on commercial projects alongside industry professionals from around the world.

Early this year, Natcoll’s Auckland Campus Principal, Jeff Lockhart, and Head of Department (Multimedia), Kevin Sharp, visited the Philippines to take part in a wide variety of events and to raise Natcoll’s profile in the region.

They featured at the Red Hot from New Zealand 2009 multimedia event hosted by the New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines, where Jeff acted as MC and Kevin showcased some of Natcoll’s  best student work and demonstrated some live 3D work to an audience of several hundred. Next they took part in a three-day New Zealand Trade Show, where Jeff – who became known as ‘The Voice of New Zealand’ – was again called on to act as MC.

They also attended the 9th Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition at the incredible SMX Convention Centre, where Kevin ran a Lightwave workshop attended by around 70 people, including the president of the Animation Council of the Philippines. As well as these major events, they found time to promote Natcoll by running Lightwave workshops at several local colleges and universities. Many of these activities also featured in the Philippines media. “It was an incredible journey, and gave us a great opportunity to get the Natcoll name out to this massive Philippine market,” says Kevin.