School of Creative Communication

'The degree is a great starting place' by Jordi Kerr

My current goal is to obtain ongoing employment in the field of scriptwriting.

I completed the Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing at the University of Canberra.

While at the University of Canberra I was involved in the editorial committee for FIRST in both 2003 and 2005. I was also granted membership to the Golden Key International Honour Society, and served as the Recording Secretary for the University of Canberra Chapter in 2004.

These experiences and opportunities – especially FIRST - proved invaluable to me when I applied to do postgraduate diplomas in editing and publishing. I was offered places at both Macquarie University and RMIT, but declined them in favour of trying out the “real world”.

Since then I have been working as a receptionist for both WIN NBN Television (sales office) and Crawford Productions. Working with Crawfords has been a great experience for me, as I have learnt a lot more about the Australian Television Industry and how production offices operate. They have also been kind enough to let me flex my writing skills – I have written the loglines for the DVD releases of Acropolis Now season #4, and Henderson Kids season #2. I have also written both the logline and episode synopses for the upcoming DVD release of Acropolis Now season #5.

I have continued my writing in a variety of forms and genres, and have been entering scriptwriting competitions. I have had a recent success – an edited version of my final project (for my degree) has been selected as a finalist in the Conspiracy Convention’s Fantasy Pitching Competition (open to Australian and New Zealand residents). I am now heading over to New Zealand, for the Convention, to pitch my script to Matt Carter from the New South Wales Film and Television Office.

I am excited about what new opportunities may unfold for me in the coming years, and I feel confident that I am working my way towards my goal.

1. How has your degree helped you get to where you are now?
I would not be the person I am, working where I am now, if it weren’t for my degree.

My degree introduced me to the craft of scriptwriting. Previously I had always desired to be an author for love, and possibly an editor for money. I am now keen on entering the Australian television industry as a scriptwriter. And one day I would love to have a movie I’ve written professionally produced!

In terms of general employability, my degree has been great in that it shows that I have excellent communication skills.

With my current work, the knowledge of scriptwriting I gained through my degree has enabled me to take on additional writing tasks for Crawford Productions.

2. What appealed to you about these courses when you did them?
My passion for creative writing meant I always wanted to do a degree that included courses of that nature.

I loved being able to read and study texts in Literary Studies. While I was initially nervous about some of the subjects, and styles of writing, they helped to develop my communication skills and adaptability as a writer.

I also liked that Canberra offered extra curricular activities such as FIRST, although in retrospect a component of editing factored into the degree itself would have been good. (And I believe an editing course is now on offer, since I’ve left).

3. What skills and abilities do you think the degree developed for the challenges of working in your field (eg taking risks and presenting new ideas, working with others, ability to communicate in a changing environment, understanding cultural contexts, acting responsibly and ethically, being adaptable)?
I think the degree embedded me with an ability to handle basic writing situations, because it covered a variety of ways in which we can communicate. This has helped me to be more adaptable as a writer.

Learning how to write with others was very challenging at the time, but also an essential skill for this field.

The degree has also taught me to be on the lookout for new media and how we, as writers, can make the most of them.

4. Would you recommend the degree/course you did to other people wanting to do what you do?
Yes and no...
I would recommend the course to anyone who is either unsure about which specific field of writing they would like to enter, or who wants good communication skills and a general knowledge and understanding of the writing industry.

I think the degree is a great starting place, which provides you with a variety of writing experiences and skills.

If anyone actually wanted to do scriptwriting, I am now aware of other courses specializing in just that.
But, of course, I didn’t know I wanted to do scriptwriting until after I’d learnt about it through my degree.

© Jordi Kerr 2007