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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-10-30 Daily Xml
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CDW STUDIOS

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (15:40): I rise today to speak about CDW Studios. CDW Studios is a school of visual effects and entertainment design which was established in late 2012 by Mr Simon Scales. After graduating with a visual communications degree in Adelaide, Simon briefly worked as a children's book illustrator before deciding he wanted to move into animation. Unfortunately, as there was no opportunity to learn these skills in Australia, Simon enrolled into the Concept Design Academy in Los Angeles and in 2008 he became one of the first international students to attend the academy.

Upon returning to Adelaide, Simon wanted to give the opportunity for others in Australia to learn visual effects and entertainment design skills, such as those he had acquired in America, without having to go to the expense of going overseas. As a result, in 2011 Simon held an intensive visual effects and animation workshop in Adelaide. This two-week workshop completely sold out.

Following this success, Simon held four more similar workshops around Australia and New Zealand, which featured international presenters and attracted students from around the country. Feedback from the workshop was overwhelmingly positive; however, many expressed their frustration that outside of these workshops there was nowhere in Australia to learn these skills and techniques. This led Simon to establish CDW Studios.

For those who are not aware, visual effects artists work in the television, movie, video game and graphic novel industries. They create, design and develop stories, characters and games and are responsible for bringing these ideas to life. The creativity of these artists is remarkable and is only rivalled by their technical abilities.

CDW offers courses for all areas of the visual effects industry from drawing for comics to 3D animation. All the teachers and presenters at CDW are well-respected, world-class experts who work within the industry. Projects that CDW staff have been involved in previously include The Lord of the Rings films, Disney productions, Lego and the movie adaptation of Hunger Games.

Since the workshops began in 2011, CDW has seen 700 to 800 students come through their doors. The calibre of CDW's teachers means that the school's reputation is second to none and students love that they are learning from world-class industry artists. The courses offered are in such demand that they have been digitally purchased by thousands around the world.

Aside from the school, CDW Studios also offers co-sharing office space for other businesses and freelancers. This produces a creative environment which encourages and inspires creativity. The site is currently hosting a number of small enterprises, including mobile app development company Mighty Kingdom.

There is simply nothing else like what CDW offers in Australia. It is unique to Adelaide and, as such, attracts students not only from interstate, but also international students who choose specifically to come to Adelaide to study their craft. This in turn increases economic activity in the state and enhances Adelaide's reputation around the world. I congratulate Simon on all he has achieved in establishing CDW Studios and hope it continues to grow in the future.

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