Course Details
Are you a practising Australian composer or sound designer looking to dive into the world of game audio? Immerse yourself in interactive creation, learn game audio workflow and tools, and engage with industry professionals in MESS’s Game Audio Intensive.
Developed by the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS) with support from the Australian Music Centre (AMC), this program is tailored to the needs of independent game development. Immerse yourself in interactive creation, learn game audio workflow and tools, and engage with industry professionals. Gain invaluable experience, expand your portfolio, and forge connections at a national level. With a focus on hands-on experience, networking, and capacity building, you’ll gain skills and essential understanding.Â
Apply now for this fully subsidised 8-week course to carve out your path in game audio creation. This course has been made possible by direct support from Music Australia.
Program Highlights
- Open to applicants Australia-wide
- Online course with in-person kick-off
- $2,500 bursary for each successful applicant
- A full day at the MESS Studio in Melbourne/Naarm
- Attendance at the 2-day High Score conference in October
- Additional travel support available to people in remote or regional locations.
- Free attendance for all aspects of the online course
Application Process
Course attendance is by application only. Applications close at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, August 27th, 2025.
Please note: Due to the number of applications we anticipate, we cannot offer feedback on unsuccessful applications.
Applications are open to individuals only. Applications will be assessed based on the assessment criteria, which can be found in the course overview document.
Prerequisites
Applicants and participants must meet the following requirements:
- Be at least 18 years of age and be an Australian citizen and resident.Â
- Be able to attend all classes and events as part of this course – see outline below.
- Please Note: this includes travel to Melbourne. Attendees will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation. Additional travel subsidy is available to individuals from remote/regional areas.
- Have access to a computer and a broadband internet connection.Â
- Be able to use:
- Zoom video conferencing software.
- Google Classroom education platform.
- Be fluent in the use of computers to create music and audio. Individuals must possess an intermediate to high level of proficiency in working with software to create and deliver completed music and sound.
- Have regular or ongoing access to a computer capable of running contemporary professional audio workstation software. (For example, Digital Audio Workstation platforms such as Ableton Live, Pro-Tools, Nuendo/Cubase, Reaper, Logic Pro, Bitwig, FL Studio, etc.)
- Be able to generate an invoice and receive funds via electronic bank transfers.
- Are not currently working in a professional (paid) capacity on a digital game project.
Course Facilitators
Byron J Scullin is one of Australia’s most experienced sound artists and designers. His works, including ‘Bass Bath’, ‘Siren Song’ and ‘The Rivers Sing’, have been presented at art festivals both locally and internationally. He is the co-founder and artistic co-director of MESS, the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio, a not-for-profit organisation that makes available one of the largest synthesiser collections in the world for use by the general public. He’s contributed sound to feature films such as ‘Wolf Creek’ and the documentary ‘Freeman’, as well as various contemporary dance and theatre productions by artists such as Lucy Guerin and Gideon Obarzanek. He has created numerous works for museums, galleries and public spaces, including the internationally renowned ‘Meet Graham’ road safety awareness campaign, Creation Cinema as part of First Peoples at the Melbourne Museum, ‘Wonderland’ at ACMI, and ‘Jem’ for Southbank Brisbane.
Mark Mitchell has been making music and sound professionally for over twenty years. As a performing and recording artist, he’s released music under the name Clue to Kalo on labels including Mush Records in the US and The Leaf Label in the UK, as well as locally on Australian labels Popfrenzy and Spunk. Mark has made commissioned dance and performance soundtracks for Hobart’s Dark Mofo Festival, including for their inaugural ‘Ogoh-ogoh’ burning, scored the Discordia performance at the Arts Centre in Melbourne, and co-composed and produced the music for Christian Thompson’s ACMI-commissioned VR work ‘Bayi Gardiya (Singing Desert)’, winner of the Best Use of Sound & Music and Australian VR Film of the Year at the 2020 Real World XR Awards. In 2021 he contributed music for NGV’s ‘Salon et Lumière’ as part of their Triennial exhibition, as well as co-composed the large-scale site soundtrack for Rising Festival’s ‘The Wilds’ with Pascal Babare. Since 2010 Mark has been a senior composer, producer and engineer at Electric Dreams Studio in Melbourne, where he has worked on music and sound for hundreds of television, film, and art projects.
Class Schedule and Delivery Mode
Course delivery:
Online and In-Person
Dates:
In-Person Sessions (Melbourne/Naarm, VIC)
- October 3 – MESS Workshop
- October 4 & 5 – High Score Conference
Online Classes (7-9PM AEST)
- October 14 – Landscape
- October 21 – Artistry
- October 28 – Workflow
- November 4 – Process
- November 11 – Tools & Techniques, pt 1
- November 18 – Tools & Techniques, pt. 2
- November 25 – Business
- December 2 – Career
Online Final Presentation Seminars
- January 20 & 21 – Presentation Class 1
- January 27 & 28 – Presentation Class 2
Location
The majority of classes will be held online via the Zoom teleconferencing platform. The course will utilise Google Classroom to share notes and resources where available and to communicate with the class.Â
The kickoff workshop (Friday, October 3) will be held at the MESS Studio, The Atrium, Federation Square, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Information on accessibility and getting to MESS can be found below.
The High Score Conference (Saturday/Sunday, October 5 & 6) venue is TBC. Successful participants will be updated when the conference location is confirmed.
Course Places & Fee
This is a fully subsidised course limited to 14 places in total. Attendance is by application only. Priority will be given to MESS and AMC Members.
Partners & Supporters
Program Partner
Supported by
Course Dates
October 3 until December 2
Course Overview
Learn more about the course, prerequisites, requirements and class schedule.
Apply now
This course is by application only.
Applications close at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, August 27, 2025.
