<p>Hi, Im a 16 year old Junior in a vocational High school. I currently major in Cartooning and Animation. I have a strong appreciation for Sci Fi, superhero fiction, comics and Japanese Anime, the only problem is, ive been having second thoughts for animation for a while. I feel film is a stronger form of story telling and that the same aesthetics found superhero fiction and anime can be shown through Movies. I want to go to a film college but now i feel like ive been wasting time in my cartooning class, as I could have been getting experience with a Film major learning how to Direct. Im a really talented artist by the way and I love to write (you could probably tell by now lol). All of my character drawings have a 2 page back story written in my head. I want to be able to see them live through film without anyone deviating my ideas (which is why i want to direct). Now i Don't know what to do. I just feel so doubtful. I heard NYU is one of the hardest and best Film schools to get into ( I think its over-hyped though but idk). Would Film colleges be interested in someone with 2 years of education in Animation and one year in film? I never really had my own film project before. Can anyone relate to me?</p>
<p>The advantage of NYU is the fact that they weigh your creative application portfolio equally with your academic stats. If you have a lot of experience with animation then apply to the film major and submit your strongest animation short film. I don’t think you have wasted any time at all studying cartooning and animation since you also edit, compose and tell stories when animating. Tim Burton is a very fine director whose main background is animation aswell.</p>
<p>The first question to ask yourself is what do you really want to do? You clearly have an interest in animation, but do you have the passion for live-action as well?</p>
<p>Don’t know the answer to that? You don’t need to spend A LOT of money of a filmschool to find out. First, if you don’t know the live-action process well, volunteer to work on someone else’s project. Volunteer on a few of them either at a nearby school or on someone’s indie project. Observe what they do and how the whole thing works.</p>
<p>When you feel comfortable enough, do you own short movie as a Director. Keep it short and don’t expect much from it beyond experience. There’s nothing you can’t learn in school that you can’t find out on your own for a lot less money and time.</p>
<p>The resources are out there. I can’t list them here, but the “hint” to get you started is below. </p>
<p>If you DO decide to go to a filmschool, again, FIRST figure out what it is you truly want to do then investigate the curriculum at various schools to see if what they offer will actually help you. Remember, YOU are the consumer and they are providing a product to you… they are they for you… you’re not there for them. Make sure they provide the education that YOU feel you need so you can have the career and life you’re interested in. Find alumni (most schools have alumni associations) to ask what they thought of their education and if that school actually helped them create a viable career in the professional film industry.</p>