Question for the artsy people out of curiosity.

[lolheal]

Does anyone here happen to work in films, visual effects, or motion graphics? I'm just curious if there is anyone else that does around here.

[lolheal]

word, I've been in school for it for a while and as of the past 6 months or so I've started working in the industry doing different things. Just thought I'd ask around and see if anyone else worked with it. I do 2d/3d animation and I work a lot in after effects, 3ds max, and c4d. I also do a lot of dynamic/fluid simulation work with fumefx/real flow and ray fire.

[Orphic]

I just mess around in Photoshop. :/

[Dubbby]

WHAAAAAAAAT. Wait a minute. This is exactly what I want to pursue. I have such a passion for animation/visual effects and such - just the entertainment industry overall. I'm a senior in Highschool but I'm totally going to college for it next year. Where do you/did you go to school?

[lolheal]

I go to school at full sail university in Florida and I'm getting fairly close to being done getting my degree. If you're still in high school I would really suggest (and I can't stress enough the difference it will make) to start learning as much as you can now and really decide if it's what you want to do. It takes a ******ed amount of dedication, hours and frustration to learn the stuff. At least for me it is anyway, I work day in and day out most days and 90% of the time i come out feeling like I haven't gained an inch towards my goals. Also, the entertainment industry is EXTREMELY network heavy so if you're a person that isn't sociable at all it may not be for you.

[Dubbby]

I go to school at full sail university in Florida and I'm getting fairly close to being done getting my degree. If you're still in high school I would really suggest (and I can't stress enough the difference it will make) to start learning as much as you can now and really decide if it's what you want to do. It takes a ******ed amount of dedication, hours and frustration to learn the stuff. At least for me it is anyway, I work day in and day out most days and 90% of the time i come out feeling like I haven't gained an inch towards my goals. Also, the entertainment industry is EXTREMELY network heavy so if you're a person that isn't sociable at all it may not be for you.

First of all, thanks for the response and the advice. Means a lot.

I've visited Full Sail University. It is actually still one of my top choices, but I've researched for quite a while now and there are some other pretty amazing schools out there. According to their tour and a few buddies of mine that go there, Full Sail has you "working". Not going to school. I guess you could say that's good with getting the experience and all, but it doesn't seem like the place for me. Especially with the area and community around Full Sail.

My number one school is SCAD(Savannah College of Art and Design) right now - mainly because it's an actual 4 year College, versus Full Sail's 2 year degree in which they try to shove everything within 12 hour days. I also want to get the "College Experience" if you know what I mean. ;) I've talked to a butt-load of people all around that have told me if I don't have the passion, I won't succeed in this field. And dude, let me tell you. I'm willing to do whatever it takes.

Do you think that Full Sail could have been the problem? I've heard some bad reviews saying it wasn't worth the money.

Lastly, networking won't be a problem. I love socializing. :D

[lolheal]

A few things you should know in advance is one, the schedule SUCKS. I go to school and I work there to so I feel like I pretty much live there (I love it though). A good 75% of the student body is only motivated enough to clear their classwork, and don't bother going the needed extra mile to really get the full effect of the environment. Also (and this is bigger then people realize) but there isn't to my knowledge any other school around that has the networking capabilities of full sail. You can (if you try hard enough) meet people from each section of the entertainment industry from film to recording arts. The big thing is this though. You can go to school anywhere, or not at all, it won't really matter much. The only thing that is going to get you work anywhere is the work you have in your portfolio and your ability to be respectful, persistent, and reliable. You can learn the techniques from home if you really wanted to, a lot of people have. But I can honestly say that I had no idea what I could even be capable of,until I got about midway into my degree.

My personal experience so far has been really enjoyable. I'm confident that I won't have a problem paying back what it's cost me to attend the school. I work really hard, I know enough reliable people from different areas to get just about anything done. I'm constantly surrounded by people that really know their **** and it used to frustrate me that a lot of other students lacked motivation until I realized that they were my competition in the industry. xD Now all is gravy, I love what I do and I love where I'm heading. If you really want that "college experience" then this is NOT your school. I would suggest a cheap community college to get that out of the way, because if you're gonna drink and smoke your time away you're wasting your money anyways (speaking from experience).

No matter where you go know this, the community surrounding this industry is amazing. If I could go back and start over I'd do the same thing but I would start learning 3d earlier because that **** is ****ing hard. NEVER and I mean NEVER be afraid to ask questions, people love answering that **** when they aren't busy, because that's pretty much how everyone got to where they are now. I'm still a big noob when it comes to visual effects, but I understand how a lot of things work and if I don't know an answer to a question, I know how to find it so feel free to ask me anything at any time(I don't get on the forums much though). If you do decide to get involved, be prepared to live on little food and no sleep (but lots of coffee and other bad stuff). I'm writing all this on about 4 hours of sleep in the last 3 days and that's a pretty good run for me.

Above all else be humble. I have yet to see a talented D-bag do anything but burn bridges and work alone.

[Artsy]

Did anyone say artsy?

[Dubbby]

A few things you should know in advance is one, the schedule SUCKS. I go to school and I work there to so I feel like I pretty much live there (I love it though). A good 75% of the student body is only motivated enough to clear their classwork, and don't bother going the needed extra mile to really get the full effect of the environment. Also (and this is bigger then people realize) but there isn't to my knowledge any other school around that has the networking capabilities of full sail. You can (if you try hard enough) meet people from each section of the entertainment industry from film to recording arts. The big thing is this though. You can go to school anywhere, or not at all, it won't really matter much. The only thing that is going to get you work anywhere is the work you have in your portfolio and your ability to be respectful, persistent, and reliable. You can learn the techniques from home if you really wanted to, a lot of people have. But I can honestly say that I had no idea what I could even be capable of,until I got about midway into my degree.

My personal experience so far has been really enjoyable. I'm confident that I won't have a problem paying back what it's cost me to attend the school. I work really hard, I know enough reliable people from different areas to get just about anything done. I'm constantly surrounded by people that really know their **** and it used to frustrate me that a lot of other students lacked motivation until I realized that they were my competition in the industry. xD Now all is gravy, I love what I do and I love where I'm heading. If you really want that "college experience" then this is NOT your school. I would suggest a cheap community college to get that out of the way, because if you're gonna drink and smoke your time away you're wasting your money anyways (speaking from experience).

No matter where you go know this, the community surrounding this industry is amazing. If I could go back and start over I'd do the same thing but I would start learning 3d earlier because that **** is ****ing hard. NEVER and I mean NEVER be afraid to ask questions, people love answering that **** when they aren't busy, because that's pretty much how everyone got to where they are now. I'm still a big noob when it comes to visual effects, but I understand how a lot of things work and if I don't know an answer to a question, I know how to find it so feel free to ask me anything at any time(I don't get on the forums much though). If you do decide to get involved, be prepared to live on little food and no sleep (but lots of coffee and other bad stuff). I'm writing all this on about 4 hours of sleep in the last 3 days and that's a pretty good run for me.

Above all else be humble. I have yet to see a talented D-bag do anything but burn bridges and work alone.

Wow, tons of great information.

I completely agree. Networking is a CRUCIAL part to this industry. But honestly, I feel like the networking isn't going to be an issue no matter where I attend. And like you said before, it doesn't really matter where or if you go to school. You just need to know what the **** you're doing and have a kick *** portfolio. Which is why I am concerned mostly about the portfolio. And I'm thinking to myself, why would I want to get my degree and create my portfolio at Full Sail with 2 years of education under my belt when I can go to a college like SCAD that will give me twice as much of an education, while I'll be able to enjoy the college life (not saying you're miserable or anything).

As for the "College Experience", lol, I don't think you were catching my drift. It's not ALL about drinking and smoking. What about dorms, free time to do ****, FIND WOMEN, play WoW, go to concerts/sporting events, work out, etc etc? Now I don't know if you're able to do all of this but you're just making it sound like you have no free time, lol. Also, when I visited Full Sail, I don't think I saw one girl student. XD

I don't know the first thing about 3ds Max, Maya, or any of that ****. Oh, and thank you for telling me about the 3d animation. I need to look into that. All I know is that I would love to get pointed in the right direction and possibly get a head start to make things easier on myself. I too am a hard worker. I'm thinking ahead - If I had a job in this industry, I would wake up every morning ENJOYING what I do for the rest of my life. That's my goal.

Check this site out. Full Sail is #48 on this list. SCAD is #4. (Animation is what I'm looking for.)
http://www.animationcareerreview.com/articles/top-100-schools-animation-gaming-and-design?page=0,9

P.S - I'd love to get your in-game name and server or possibly talk to you through Skype or Vent or something man. We seem to share the same interests. :P

[Dubbby]

Did anyone say artsy?

Ahh, if it isn't the famous Artsy. :D

[lolheal]

I've heard great things about Scad. Vancouver film school is also supposed to be really good and the Gnomon school in Cali is full of industry leaders. Full sail has like, no chicks. It sucks in that regard. A lot. But! UCF is right down the road. :p and downtown Orlando is pretty legit when you have the time. I don't personally have much of a life outside of what I do. I made the choice to give up everything for my career and if your smart you will at some point do the same. Not saying I don't take time to have fun because I do. I play wow from time to time, I go out with friends from time to time. But 6 days out of the week I'm probably focused on studying. It will take a lot out of you, most definitely be prepared for that wherever you go. You seem to have a good mindset but rest assured it will get discouraging quite often. Fight through that **** and keep going! :) I'll hit you up in private with my skype details and you can hit me up on that whenever.