The change put Sen into contact with painting and photography. His mother married a newspaper editor, who gave him an old Olympus and lessons on photography and film-processing. Soon Sen was working for a newspaper and later enrolled in a photography diploma course at Griffith University, Brisbane. He moved on to film school at the same university and, one year later, to the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in Sydney. There he developed views which were contrary to the classical model of filmmaking taught at the school. Peter Robb wrote that, "in a rare moment of intensity and slightly raised voice, Ivan said this model produced directors who were monsters. He used the word several times." At this school he produced his first short films, working with the crew he continues to work with today.. He went on to produce numerous short films throughout the late 1990s, including TV documentaries for SBS and the ABC,