Jason Bevan

A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and practitioner in Visual Effects, Postproduction, Animation and Film related courses. Jason has been a Course Leader in Visual Effects and associated subjects for over 2 decades. Before joining Flinders, he spent 2019 working as an Associate Professor in Visual Effects at XJTLU in Suzhou, China, helping to set up a new State of the Art Film School. He is currently an honorary Associate Professor in Visual Effects at the University of Liverpool in the UK.

Originally graduated with a degree in Animation, Jason was a 3D stop frame and 2D animator before developed a career in Postproduction, becoming a technical advisor for the Animation Industry in the South West of England and Wales. Jason has been an animator and compositor for children’s television series and an external consultant for animation training in the UK. After a return to Post Graduate Study, Jason became a lecturer in Computer Animation and Digital Video Design, and it is here he developed courses centered around postproduction and Motion Design. Jason previously ran Undergraduate and Post Graduate award-winning degrees in Visual Effects at the University of South Wales in the UK which are accredited by Screen Skills (Skillset). 

Graduates from his courses have been head hunted by the Industry and gone on to work for major Visual Effects studios around the world with students currently working in Vancouver, Montreal, London, Cardiff, and Adelaide. Graduate Students Credits include Avengers End Game, The Jungle Book, Harry Potter, Inception, Captain America, The Lion King and Wonder Woman as well as many domestic shows from Bait Studio, Double Negative and Milk Visual Effects.

Jason is a regular guest speaker at Visual Effects education events and has presented at the FMX conference in Stuttgart, Createch in Mumbai, Screen Alliance Wales education events, UCAS and Skillset network events. Jason is an accomplished Film Editor with IMDB credits. Throughout his teaching he has been involved in numerous collaborative projects such as Combat Medics for Sky and ‘The Machine’ for Red & Black films. Jason’s technical expertise is in editing, compositing, and 3D animation software, although has a working knowledge of all areas of Visual Effects and Film Production.

Katie Cavanagh

Flinders University’s Katie Cavanagh lectures in 'hands-on' digital media topics, where she happily frolics and explores the convergence and combination of text, design, image and meaning.

Katie has a wealth of practical experience to offer students, having worked as a graphic designer, web monkey, and project manager for TechWorks and TMP Worldwide. Her skills have enhanced Flinders’ world-class visual effects credentials, highlighted by back-to-back wins in the prestigious Rookies Awards.

“Winning the Rookies, School of the Year: Digital Illustration in 2017 was amazing; holding the title for the second year against such strong competition underscores the rigour of our world-class degree. Of particular note, Flinders students were ranked among the most industry-ready participants in the international competition.”

The Rookies global rankings (2017 and 2018) place Flinders University in collaboration with CDW Studios as the world's No. 1 Digital Illustration School. The relaunched Bachelor of Creative Arts (Visual Effects and Entertainment Design) provides students with industry focused skills and knowledge that Katie is confident will see them graduate job ready.

“We changed the name to Visual Effects and Entertainment Design to help clarify both for the students and for prospective employers what the students have studied. The future in the VFX space is looking bright. South Australia has always been a creative state but now there is more work for artists here.”

Simon Scales

Simon is the Founder and Director of CDW Studios, and is also an Instructor across a range of subjects in the Bachelor of Creative Arts (Visual Effects and Entertainment Design). 

He has been working in the industry for over 15 years across a number of areas, from illustration, environment design, to matte painting. His clients have ranged from THQ, EA Games, LEGO, Mighty Kingdom, Animal Logic, Warner Bros, and TT Games, to name a few.

Since opening CDW Studios’ doors in 2011, Simon’s focus has been to create a world class education facility based in Australia. He has facilitated many masterclasses with some of the absolute best artists in the world coming out to Australia to share their wealth of knowledge with students in the Bachelor degree.