Sam Moran

• Thesis: Creative Agency in the Age of Generative AI
• Scholarship: Macquarie Research Excellence Scholarship (MQRES)
• Focus: Developing empirically grounded frameworks for creative agency in generative AI co-creation through practice-led prototyping and pedagogical translation.

Awarded in recognition of contributions to the creative and cultural industries.

Research focus: AI use as a potential children's screentime mitigator — turning passive media into a cognitively active experience.

Representative for Higher Degree Research students on the University's Academic Senate and Research Committee, contributing to governance, academic policy and student advocacy at the institutional level.

• Curriculum development: Convened and taught undergraduate (1000–3000 level) and postgraduate (8000 level) units in Creative Industries and Musical Creativity, developing lecture content, tutorials, studio activities and assessment frameworks across introductory, advanced, capstone and practice-based offerings.
• Unit coordination: Managed unit coordination and teaching administration across undergraduate and postgraduate offerings, including iLearn page design and maintenance, Turnitin rubric setup, student communications, attendance and record management, and iLearn Insights reporting to support convenor oversight.
• Hybrid learning: Coordinated hybrid and in-person delivery, managing Zoom-supported lectures and tutorials alongside face-to-face classes.
• Pedagogical translation: Systematically codified tacit practitioner knowledge into teachable frameworks, studio exercises and assessments reflecting current industry practice.
• Assessment design: Developed assessment tasks grounded in real-world creative and industry contexts, integrating industry-relevant tools, platforms and reflective practice.
• Student mentorship: Guided creative projects and industry placements, emphasising end-to-end production processes, workflow documentation and reflective practice across diverse cohorts.
• Industry placements: Fostered partnerships with organisations to provide authentic learning contexts, internships and placement opportunities.
• Collaborative teaching: Contributed to shared program vision and continuous curriculum improvement within a teaching-focused team.

• Practice-led prototyping: Design and conduct controlled experiments with generative AI tools — large language models, text-to-speech, voice cloning, image generation and real-time video generation — integrated into production workflows and interactive experiences.
• Frontier model R&D: Track new model releases and implement rapid prototypes to test capability boundaries (multimodality, controllability, latency), translating findings into production roadmaps.
• Systematic documentation: Maintain version-controlled artefacts, prompt libraries, decision logs and reflective journals.
• Cross-platform development: Direct development teams building cloud-enabled interactive applications (Unity, React, Azure), documenting socio-technical design choices that affect creative authorship.

• Controlled research environment: Retain full copyright control over music and video IP, enabling ethical experimental AI adaptation without third-party IP complications.
• End-to-end production documentation: Lead complete production cycles from concept to post-production, documenting decision-making where technology adoption intersects with creative authorship.
• Stakeholder negotiation: Collaborate with international partners including Republic Records (USA) and Universal Music Australia, navigating IP arrangements and attribution clarity under commercial pressure.

• Co-created and produced broadcast and digital content for international children's audiences, including Nickelodeon and Sony Music partnerships.
• Developed and implemented content testing and evaluation frameworks using audience feedback to iteratively refine creative strategies.
• Orchestrated music production workflows integrating digital technologies while maintaining creative intentionality under tight commercial deadlines.
• Documented production processes for cross-platform delivery across broadcast, streaming and digital, negotiating authorship attribution in collaborative, technology-mediated environments.

• Directed a production and post-production suite combining music, video and digital media; managed multidisciplinary teams across creative-technical boundaries.
• Led projects requiring systematic integration of emerging digital production technologies while preserving team members' creative contributions and attribution clarity.
• Developed digital content strategies requiring explicit negotiation between platform logics and creative intentionality.

• 250+ live performances annually; 10+ album and DVD releases; international touring across the USA, Canada, the UK, Japan, China, the UAE, Singapore and more.
• Systematically integrated digital recording, arranging and orchestration tools into music production workflows (2004–2005 as vocal producer).
• Directed vocal recordings for international versions in Taiwan and Latin America, navigating cultural adaptation while maintaining artistic coherence.
• Engaged with high-end digital film and green screen technologies, directly experiencing how technological mediation affects performer agency.