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Forging Creative Futures
Forging Creative Futures
Written by Miranda Cook
In a world being revolutionised by artificial intelligence, the combination of art and technology has never been more relevant — one cannot exist without the other.
For decades, countless Old Boys have achieved success on the world stage in the creative and technology industries. This edition of Grammar News shares just a few of their stories.
Driven by their ability to think global, many BGS alumni are defying the misconception that creative people must leave Brisbane to chase a successful career.
Brisbane-based business partners, Old Boy and BGS parent Takeshi Takada ‘93 and BGS parent Colin Renshaw, are proof geographical borders pose no boundaries to passion and hard work.
Almost 15 years ago, Takeshi and Colin left their secure and well-paid jobs to start a production company out of a Brisbane coffee shop, despite having no equipment or staff.
While armed with plenty of ambition and industry experience, they never dreamed Alt.vfx would become an international high-end visual effects company for film, television and commercials.
Based in the heart of Fortitude Valley with offices in Sydney, LA and Tokyo, their team has worked on major Hollywood projects including The Power of the Dog, which received dozens of nominations at the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards. Other titles include Foe, Pieces of Her and True Spirit Their list of awards at international film and design festivals is exhausting just to look at and far exceeds the pages of this story.
“We have built an industry here, where people can work on international campaigns — you don’t have to move to Sydney or Melbourne to see this calibre of work,” Colin said.
The pair met at the same production company while working on an internal project out of the Sydney office, early in their careers. Years later, somewhat serendipitously, Colin moved to Brisbane and reconnected with Takeshi, chasing a more laidback lifestyle for their young families.
Takeshi affectionately refers to Colin as the “rockstar”, known for his creative and technical skills, which were honed during the early days of cutting and splicing video tapes.
“I’ve always been very focused on up-and-coming technology,” Colin said.
“Takeshi is a rockstar in his own way — he’s just much quieter about it,” he added with a laugh.
Takeshi is known for his attention to detail and business acumen, which he learned while working for advertising and marketing agencies for many years.
After migrating from Japan to Brisbane aged 12, Takeshi attended Milpera Special English School, an English school for refugees and migrants. He started at BGS in Year 8, at a time when Asian students weren’t widely represented.
“I couldn’t speak English, so I quickly learned about cultural diversity and how to adapt in new environments,” Takeshi said.
“One motivation still today is really wanting to pay Brisbane back, because it provided me with a first-class education and a different way of life.
“My life motto is still nil sine labore — you won’t be successful if you don’t work, work and work,” Takeshi said.
“We have built an industry here, where people can work on international campaigns – you don’t have to move to Sydney or Melbourne to see this calibre of work.”
New York-based Old Boy Emlyn Allen ’03 is also breaking ground on international advertising campaigns, bringing 3D billboards to life for audiences in places such as Times Square.
The award-winning creative director, who recently completed a campaign with Rafael Nadal for tech giant Infosys, comes from humble beginnings, having worked his way from the bottom to the top.
“In the US, I spent the first six months job searching while living off the smell of an oily rag.
“I was living in Los Angeles and down to my last $600, when I finally convinced upcoming agency 360i to give me a job — I have never looked back.”
Emlyn’s career has spanned more than 15 years, having worked with many famous names, such as Serena Williams, Matthew McConaughey, Annie Leibovitz and Nine Inch Nails
The third-generation Old Boy traced his love for art back to the endless hours of drawing in school textbooks, during his years at BGS.
“I had very encouraging art teachers and would even spend my lunch breaks and after-school hours painting in what was, at the time, a state-of-the-art facility in the old gym.”
Emlyn highlighted the importance of robust arts programs in Australian schools in providing a foundation to explore the inherent complexity of the world.
This sentiment is shared by Old Boy Scott Griffin ’97, who is a tech entrepreneur but also runs an Off-Broadway franchise in the US, called Drunk Shakespeare.
“The future is multidisciplinary, and the combination of arts and tech will help us to compete with A.I,” Scott said.
After graduating from BGS, Scott cofounded a dot-com tax return company with his father and brother, of which he remains a director. He also paved a pathway for the first triple-degree (Commerce, Science and Law) at the University of Queensland, which he ended up completing via correspondence at Macquarie University.
It wasn’t until his 30s, however, that he decided to move to New York to become a theatre producer and co-founded Drunk Shakespeare, which has now been running for a decade. The comedy is an adaptation of Macbeth, where performers follow a script of sorts but room is left for improvisation.
“It’s an unusual company, where I have around 40 drunk employees every week.”
When asked for a career highlight, he said: “There have been many but when a famous billionaire’s daughter tried to get underage access to Drunk Shakespeare, I thought we’ve really created something here.”
Scott’s resume is interesting to say the least, but he said his unique skillset goes hand in hand in a rapidly changing world.
“I built a proprietary ticketing and HR system which we use to run our crazy company, so I’m actively coding daily.”
His career advice to BGS students is to give new things a go and avoid being pigeonholed.
“I recommend picking a dream — even at random. Trying anything is more important than waiting around to find the perfect ‘one dream’ to pursue.”
“I recommend picking a dream — even at random. Trying anything is more important than waiting around to find the perfect ‘one dream’ to pursue.”
