Teachers
Dr David Court
David is the founder of Compton School and co-founder of Wizer. He is also Chair of Screen Canberra. He was previously Head of Screen Business at the Australian Film Television & Radio School, where he led the highly regarded Masters of Screen Arts & Business program.
He has been involved in the financing of more than a dozen film and television productions including Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom, Dean Cavell’s The Wiggles Movie and Andrew Horne’s The Animated Leunig. As author of Film Assistance: Future Options (Allen & Unwin, 1986), he was policy architect of the Film Finance Corporation established by the Australian Government in 1988. David holds a PhD from the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University.
Andrea Buck
Andrea is a screen professional who spent three decades working in Africa, Hollywood and Australia, with experience ranging from chasing lions across the African Savannah for wildlife films and documentaries to negotiating deals in the boardrooms of Hollywood.
In 2019 she pivoted to become a personal and professional coach for people in the creative industries, inspired by her own close call where she almost died from stress and the dire health outcomes of other creative industry practitioners. With accreditations in coaching, NLP, and Meta dynamics, she founded Successful Creative, running group and individual coaching, and joined Compton School as one of its lead teachers.
Dr Chris Stevens
Chris is a registered psychologist with over 25 years experience of personal coaching, lecturing, public speaking, facilitating groups and training programs and consulting in a wide variety of organisations around the world. His doctoral research explored the nature and genesis of creative insight. He has worked with clients from television, advertising, the music industry, R&D, design, and architecture.
Sue Maslin AO
Sue is one of Australia’s most successful screen producers. Her feature The Dressmaker (2015) grossed more than $20m and became one of Australia’s biggest box office smash hits. Other feature credits include Road to Nhill, Japanese Story, winner of 2003 AFI Award for Best Film, Dominick Dunne: After the Party and Hunt Angels, winner of the 2006 AFI Award for Best Feature Documentary Film.
Sue is Adjunct Professor at RMIT’s School of Media & Communication and a recognised industry leader. Sue was the inaugural recipient of the Jill Robb Award for Outstanding Leadership, Achievement and Service to the Victorian Screen Industry and currently serves as President of the Natalie Miller Fellowship reflecting her ongoing commitment to gender diversity both on and off screen.
Abigail Tabone
Abi is a producer at Midwinter Films, where she co-produced The Butterfly Tree, which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2017. She produced Over and Out which won Best Short Form at Canneseries 2019. She was Associate Producer on H is for Happiness, which won Best Film at Cinefest Oz in 2019 and screened at Berlin International Film Festival.
She previously worked as a producer at The Project Factory for clients including Channel 7, Sherlock: The Network, Home and Away and NITV. Abi’s career has spanned theatre and events as well as film and TV for clients including The Wolverine, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Outta Here, Handa Opera’s Carmen on Sydney Harbour, Where the Wild Things Are and Gods of Egypt. Abi holds a Masters in Screen Arts & Business from the Australian Film Television & Radio School.
Ian Murray
Ian is the founder of 113 Partners, Australia’s premier creative industries advisory firm. An experienced, hands-on media expert, he has held senior executive roles in both public and private businesses including COO of Brand New Media and Freehand Productions.
Ian advises many of Australia’s top television production, broadcast, music, design, advertising, media and entertainment companies, as well as working directly with several government agencies. His focus is helping clients achieve domestic and international growth, financial stability, sustainable resourcing, and streamlined operations. Ian has a passion for all things digital.
Executive
Dr David Court
Founder and CEO
Abigail Tabone
School Manager
Board
Bob Campbell
Chairman
One of Australia’s most highly respected television executives, Bob has held senior management positions with Network TEN and was appointed CEO of the Seven Network in 1987, a position he held until 1995. He then formed Screentime with Des Monaghan. The company is now a member of the Banijay Group with operations in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. Credits include Wolf Creek (the TV series), Underbelly, Outback ER, Janet King and Stop Laughing This Is Serious.
Jennifer Wilson
Director
As Founder and Creative Technologist at The Project Factory, Jennifer worked on creative multiplatform projects as diverse as Sherlock: The Network, the official app for the hit BBC series, and How We Get To Next, a website funded by the Knight and Gates Foundations to foster innovation. She is a panel member of the NSW Innovation and Productivity Council and has presented a TEDx talk on curiosity.
John Barnett
Director
John Barnett is recognised as New Zealand’s leading TV and film producer. Over the past 40 years he has produced four of New Zealand’s top 10 grossing local feature films among them the internationally acclaimed Whale Rider. As CEO + co-owner of South Pacific Pictures Ltd, NZ’s biggest TV + Film company he initiated and oversaw production of 4000+ hours of TV drama for domestic and international audiences. In 2002, he was made the New Zealand Screen Production and Development Association/On Film Industry Champion of the Year; and was recently made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen’s 2020 New Zealand Honours list. He is engaged in commercial, charitable and community activities as a Board member of Auckland Health Foundation, Ngati Kuri Trust, NZ Film Heritage Trust, Vista Foundation and a number of other entities.
Andy Pontin
Director
Andy has been at the forefront of commercial creativity with a 30-year track record in blue-chip advertising agencies from London to Melbourne and Sydney. In 2018 he stepped down as CEO of Clemenger BBDO and Director of Clemenger Group Limited (Australasia’s largest communications group) to join the Compton School. In over two decades as an Agency leader, he has pitched and won multiple national and international clients, and been a driving force in Australia’s most effective advertising industry body ADMA (the Association of Data-Driven Marketing and Advertising) as both Board Director and Chairman.