Staff

Beverley Jefferson - General Manager

Bev Jefferson was born in New Guinea, and lived in Frankston, Kathmandu,
Canberra, Darwin and Melbourne before deciding to make Tasmania her home in 1995. She has a long background in the arts as both a practitioner
and arts manager, and during her career has transferred her passions
from theatre making to film and TV production.

In 1995 Bev finished a Bachelor of Arts at Latrobe University, and then in 2002 she graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts with a post-grad in documentary film making.

Bev has performed many roles in arts management including Executive
Officer of the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra, Producer for Circus Elysium,
Marketing Manager for the Australian Script Centre, Executive
Officer of the Tasmanian Arts Council, and is currently both the General Manager of Wide Angle Tasmania, Tasmania’s screen resource organization, and a part-time Producer with Tasmanian film and TV production company, Edward Street Films.

Bev has served on the boards of Regional Arts Australia and the Tenants’ Union of Tasmania, and is currently a member of the board of the Tasmanian Writers’ Centre.

Jemma Gates - Office Manager

Jemma brings to Wide Angle a wide range of administrative, media and event management skills. She has strong links with the performing arts and screen industries in Tasmania, having worked professionally as an actor for both stage and screen, and in various production roles on film and television projects such as Hells Gates and Cable. Jemma also works part-time for the ABC.

Jo Collins - Office Administrator

Jo’s main involvement with the film and television industries has been through her work in costume, and she has been involved with projects as varied as The Last Confessions of Alexander Pearce and The Matrix. Jo has also run her own small business, and works part-time for the Tasmanian Writers’ Centre.

Board of Directors

Wide Angle Tasmania is overseen by our Board of Directors who act as an advisory panel to achieve the vision of our current and future endeavours. The current participating members are:

Graham Gates (President): Media Production Lecturer and Coordinator, Rosny College.
Alicia Rackett (Vice-President):Industry Producer, Blue Rocket Productions.
Larry Hude (Treasurer & Public Officer):Partner, Absolute Assessment and Project Manager, Changepoint Project, Hydro Tasmania
Tony Decesare: Manager of Production Resources, ABC Hobart
Sharon Connolly:1998-2004 CEO and Managing Director, Film Australia Ltd.
Dianne Nicol: Lecturer in Law, University of Tasmania
John Swindells: Screen Production Studies at TAFE Tasmania
Dan Speed: Producer at Southern Cross Television

GRAHAM GATES - President

Graham Gates has been President of Wide Angle Tasmania since incorporation on January 13 th 2005.

Graham is the Director of the Rosny College television production course and is a highly respected film teacher with a background in commercial television.

He has held many roles across numerous organizations including Lecturer in Television Journalism at the University of Tasmania , State Moderator in Media for the Tasmanian Department of Education, VET Co-ordinator for Television Tasmania, Board Member of Edge Radio and he is a current Board member of Screen Tasmania .

Graham has been a passionate supporter of screen training initiatives for decades, and was a founding member of the project Mobile Media Access Facility which evolved into Wide Angle Tasmania .

Qualifications
Member of the ACS (Australian Cinematographers Society)

Other
Accredited Vocational Education Trainer & Co-ordinator for Television Author of the TCE Media Production C Syllabus, the TCE Pre-tertiary Media Production Industry Syllabus and T.C.E. courses in Television & Video
Finalist in ATOM Awards 2004 for Best Music Video

ALICIA RACKETT - Vice-President

Alicia Rackett has been on the Board of Wide Angle Tasmania since incorporation on January 13 th 2005 .

Alicia founded Blue Rocket Productions with partner, David Gurney, in 1999. During the past eight years she has produced a range of animation projects for television, broadband and mobile.

Alicia created and is currently producing Pixel Pinkie an animated cross media property featuring a TV series, broadband fan site and a range of mobile content. She co-created and produced The Dog & Cat News TV series and has produced several other series including; Hoota & Snoz series, Time Cracks, Mörmel Spots and the short film, Spikey Joe’s Truck.

Alicia has a particular interest in interactive and cross-platform projects. She co-created and produced The Dog & Cat NewsWebsite a broadband website based on the characters from Blue Rocket’s TV series. The site won the top award, the Best of the Best, and the Best Children’s awards at the 2006 AIMIA awards. She also produced The Hoota & Snoz Official Website, a companion site based on Blue Rocket’s TV series which is broadcast in over 100 countries.

In addition to the studio’s TV series and broadband activities, Alicia produces a range of mobile content which is distributed throughout Europe , UK , Australia , Asia and North America .

“I believe my experience as an independent producer on a range of digital media projects provides a valuable contribution to the board of Wide Angle. I have extensive experience in small business, management of creative and technical teams and the establishment and management of an independent studio. I have broad experience in working with overseas co-production partners, Australian broadcasters and funding bodies at a state and national level.

As an independent film maker who “crossed over” into film and TV from corporate media production 8 years ago, I have first hand experience of entering and working in this industry. I believe I have a great understanding of both the opportunities and challenges in developing a career within the screen industry.

Since my relocation to Tasmania in 2002, I have taken an active role in the support of individual practitioners and the wider local industry within Tasmania .”

Qualifications
Post Graduate Certificate of Management (QUT)
Bachelor of Built Environment (Landscape Architecture) (RMIT/QUT)

Other
Production Management – Film & Television (AFTRS – short course)
Project Management - Multimedia (AFTRS – short course)

LARRY HUDE - Treasurer and Public Officer

Larry Hude has been Treasurer of Wide Angle Tasmania since April 11 th 2006 .

Larry has specific expertise in Accounting, Systems, Training, Information Technology – Networking, Project Management, Ri sk Management and Business Planning. Employed at Hydro Tasmania in Consulting – Sustainable Energy Group responsible for project delivery in Consulting for the Wind, Environmental, Water Management, Catchments and Resource Monitoring teams.

Larry is responsible for the financial reporting, business systems, financial control and financial and strategic planning at Wide Angle.

Qualifications:
Bachelor of Business – Accounting (RMIT)
Advanced Diploma - Information Technology
Certificate IV - Assessment and Workplace Training and Certified Cisco Network Associate

TONY DE CESARE 'GAICD' - Board Member

Tony De Cesare has been a member of the Board of Wide Angle Tasmania since incorporation on January 13th 2005 .

Since 2004 Tony has held the position of Manager Tasmania, ABC Resources, responsible for up to ninety operational staff and the facilities used in the production of Studio, Outside Broadcast and Field based program production. Tasmania produces or contributes to a wide variety of ABC programs including Gardening Australia, Collectors, Sport, News, 7.30 Report, Stateline, Catalyst, New Inventors, Landline, Australian Story and many others. Tony is also responsible for delivering ABC Television and Radio output for distribution and transmission across the state.

Tony began his media career in 1984 as a trainee at the ABC in Hobart; learning all areas of TV production, and soon specialising in camera. Early work was in Hobart, Canberra and Launceston for News and Current Affairs, shooting on many formats including 16mm film, BVU, and Betacam.

Progressing in 1989 to production SP Betacam, for programs as diverse as Landline, Four Corners, Stateline, Gardening Australia, All in a Day’s Work, Quantum, Catalyst, 7.30 Report, Lateline, and Foreign Correspondent.

His career has included both short and long term postings overseas for the ABC, in Russia, Israel, Europe, the Middle East, Somalia, Qatar and Southern Iraq for the second Gulf War.

A member of the Australian Cinematographers Society, (ACS) Tony has been DOP on a number of documentaries resulting in ACS Gold Awards as well as a Gold Award at the New York Festivals for the ABC dramatised documentary Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite.

A strong believer in personal development, Tony has completed a Leadership program at the Australian Graduate School of Management, and has been awarded a Graduate Diploma by the Australian Institute of Company Directors.



SHARON CONNOLLY - Board Member

Sharon Connolly has been a member of the Board of Wide Angle Tasmania since incorporation on January 13 th 2005 .

Sharon Connolly is an arts management and film and television production consultant with more than 20 years experience in the Australian film and television industry. She has been a writer, script editor, director and/or producer of documentaries, TV drama, feature films and multimedia titles. Sharon has held senior positions with Film Victoria, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Film Australia Limited. As Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Film Australia from 1997-2004 she led the company through a major and successful repositioning, overseeing production of some its highest profile titles. She holds a BA (Hons) and a Diploma of Education. Since leaving Film Australia she has worked as Interim Executive Director of writers’ organisation, Sydney PEN, and as a teacher and is currently Story Editor with ABC tV compass program.

As Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Film Australia Limited for seven years (1997 – 2004) Sharon led the company through a major review which resulted in Government’s decision to maintain it as an integrated company, providing production, distribution, archiving and facilities services to the community and to the independent production industry. She then presided over a repositioning of the company, winning significant funding increases from Government, focusing the company’s activities on documentary and educational production and restoring it to financial health. In this period, during which Film Australia produced many of its highest profile documentary titles), Sharon was also its Producer-in-Chief. She brings extensive corporate governance and business management experience to the WAT board, as well as her knowledge of the screen industries and education.

DIANNE NICOL - Board Member

Dianne Nicol has been a member of the Board of Wide Angle Tasmania since July 3 rd 2007 .

Dianne has detailed knowledge of media law theory, and has been teaching two media law subjects at the tertiary level for the past six years. She also lectures in intellectual property law and information technology law, and Foundations of Media and IT Law core unit for journalism and information systems students.

Dianne is our in-house expert on legal issues for the media, and looks forward to increasing knowledge of Wide Angle’s role in the media community and broader community.


JOHN SWINDELLS - Board Member

John Swindells joined the board of Wide Angle Tasmania in September, 2007.

John is a highly experienced Writer/Producer/Director and Screen Educator, skilled in all aspects of production and marketing of film, video and new media. He also has extensive experience in business and information technology management.

For the past 15 years, John has independently written, produced and directed four feature length documentaries which have been broadcast all over the world as well as numerous corporate videos, video installations and interactive multimedia projects.

For the past 3 years, John has also been teacher and coordinator of Screen Production Studies at TAFE Tasmania. Previous to this, he taught short courses in Convergent Journalism at the University of Tasmania . He is also a current full member of the Australian Director’s Guild.

Qualifications
Management Certificate, Sydney Technical College
A Number of Short Film, Video and Multimedia Training Courses from AFTRS
Certificate in Film Editing, Metro TV
Certificate-IV in Assessment & Workplace Training
Diploma Screen Production, TAFE Tasmania
Masters of Contemporary Art, University of Tasmania (in process)

DANIEL SPEED - Board Member

Daniel Speed is the newest member of Wide Angle Tasmania’s Board, joining on 23rd September 2008.

Currently a Producer at Southern Cross Television, Dan has also had experience working in community based projects running workshops for the unemployed.

With experience as a writer, editor, producer, actor, director and DOP of low budget short films, Dan has been involved in a number of Productions that Wide Angle has screened. Dan has also undertaken training with WAT, giving the Board extra insight into our training practices.

Qualifications

AFTRS/Screen TAS Short Fuse/ Writing/Producing/Directing
UTAS BA English/Philosophy: Hons. Creative Writing
TAFE Tasmania Diploma of Screen Production
Screen Tasmania Cut and Polish Writing Workshop
Wide Angle Tasmania Guerrilla Film Making
Wide Angle Tasmania Producer Course
Towson University, USA Acting/Writing
Conservatory of Music UTAS Musical Theatre
Conservatory of Music UTAS Directing Diploma, Singing for Actors