Alumni and Supporters

Bachelor of Media and Communications (2020)

Jack Connell knew he wanted to bring film to life from a young age.

“For me, as a kid – we all had our own issues. But I found that whenever I watched a film or watched a TV show or played a video game, I had this moment where you would forget about everything going on in your life,” Jack explains.

“I really wanted to give that experience back to people one day. To make someone who is sad happy. And put something into the world that people would actually benefit from watching. I think that’s where it started.”

In Year 10, Jack knew he wanted to study film and advertising as a double degree, and found ECU was the right fit for him.

“I knew this was definitely the place where I wanted to spend the next three years of my life,” Jack says. “I have the fondest memories. What I learnt in advertising was a godsend - truly impeccable.

“I was just fully prepared to go in to the industry, knowing what every other role at the agency looked like.”

It has been a rapid rise for Jack, who after graduating with a Bachelor of Media and Communications (Film and Video) in 2020 is now working as a director with Western Australian production company Sandbox Productions.

“They do a lot of TV commercials but they’re also a post production company. Any film and TV project that comes through WA almost always somehow comes through here,” he says.

“So it is the most incredible place for me to be, in terms of directing TV commercials. But I'm also learning, and networking with people who actually make film and TV for a living.”

Despite his young age, Jack built up his experience with smaller jobs initially and worked his way up, directing commercials for several big brands. From the Penrith Panthers to Wizard Pharmacy, he is relishing the opportunity to put his creative thinking to work.

“I’m very fortunate in the sense that most of the commercials I've done, they don’t sit in the hundreds of thousands of dollars budgets and they’re not on the low end either, it’s this middle ground where all the ideas are a little bit experimental, a little bit creative, and it's not as big of a risk for them to pick such a young director.

“Recently, we landed a job where we had to fly to Sydney to do the season launch of the Penrith Panthers rugby team, announcing their media sponsor for next year. The ad went organically viral - the last official number was 1.75 million views on Instagram and TikTok.

“We were stoked with how that went. You definitely get a few of those pinch me moments.”

His passion for advertising and creating commercials stems from his time at ECU, with Jack part of the winning International Advertising Association (IAA) Big Idea competition in 2020, a national challenge for undergraduate marketing and communications students.

“That was such an amazing experience. We got given a brief for ANZ, and then you had to come up with the creative for them, a strategy, and if you wanted to you could execute the ad. We made the TV commercial and although they weren’t allowed to use it, they took the idea and implemented it into their future advertising campaigns.”

And while he is loving learning the ropes of the industry in Perth, Jack one day hopes to take his talents abroad.

“The end goal is and always will be directing TV in the US.

“I learnt from very early on at ECU that advertising is the only way to do what I want to do. But I think I’ll always direct TV commercials…it keeps me stimulated and going all the time, but it's also building up an arsenal of techniques, tools, equipment and experience that I can use to one day transition or work my way up to a long-form project.

“If I were to move, Canada would be where I would look at wanting to shoot something initially, rather than going straight into LA.”

Jack says his advice for the current cohort of graduates would be to be prepared as possible.

“Know exactly what you want to do by the time you graduate because you can start pursuing those opportunities. And be realistic with what you want to do. Like if you want to direct, then you’re going to have to put in the work and be selfish and take opportunities to further you as a director.

“It is kind of like sink or swim when you graduate so you want to be as fully prepared as you can.

“And if I could’ve given myself advice, I would’ve said reach out to the local Perth industry earlier. People in the industry are so willing to help if you ask for it. So don’t be afraid to ask for help.”