<p>So I was all set to go to Northwestern, until I got my RISD acceptance today.
The schools really are completely different so I guess it's hard to compare them in any other aspect, but I am curious if anyone has any opinions on the film programs at each.</p>
<p>I love art but I am very involved in academics as well.
NU offers much for academics, but in terms of studio art... I'm not sure.
RISD offers a lot for art (obviously) and I love the idea of a foundation year. The academics though... I mean I don't doubt that they're fine and classes at Brown are available, but I think there are more academic opportunities and more classes at NU.
I live much closer to RISD, and NU requires a plane ride each time I want to come home or visit my friends or anything (plus, Chicago is really cold haha).
I know notable alumni have gone to each school... so that's a moot point.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any opinions about either?</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about the studio art at Northwestern, but I do know that my D who is a freshman LOVES it!!! She is a theater major so she had a bit of the same delimma you do – whether to go to a school just to pursue her passion, or go to a school with an excellent department AND top knotch academics. She is SO glad she chose Northwestern and loves the intellectual and creative stimulation she is receiving.</p>
<p>Yeah I am definitely confused as to what to do, but I do like the fact that there are so many options available at NU. The academics do seem REALLY amazing.</p>
<p>I really like the idea of having connections in the film industry from NU and the r/tv/f program seems really cool. I think having a large endowment helps NU there. However, RISD takes a more artistic approach to films (for obvious reasons), which is also really appealing to me. I absolutely LOVE Gus Van Sant (director of Elephant, Good Will Hunting, and Milk among others) who is a RISD alum.</p>
<p>Also… does anyone know anything about the adjunct major in animate arts? I am pretty sure (as of right now) that I want to do both film as well as animation (computer generated rather than traditional hand-drawn) and this program looks interesting to me. Does it compare at all to RISD’s program?</p>
<p>Cherrycrush, don’t know if you’ve made up your mind yet…</p>
<p>You’ve got to ask yourself, do you see yourself as an artist in the traditional sense? Because if you do, you’ll want the RISD foundation year.</p>
<p>But of course you can be an artistic film maker without it. </p>
<p>Northwestern offers a much broader education, and film/video requires a broader education IMHO to be successful. You need to know about history, the world, ideas, etc, in a deep way. Not sure you’ll have that opportunity at RISD. Especially if you decide that FAV is not your fave after you get to RISD.</p>
<p>I visited both and still can’t make up my mind haha.</p>
<p>They both have pros and cons.
I found the studio art department at NU to be a little bit lacking, which isn’t that great.
However, the film program itself sounds interesting and the liberal arts courses are wonderful.
I spent the summer at RISD so I love it there, but I don’t want to let that bias me, since I’m sure had I spent the summer at Northwestern, I’d love it there as well.
I love drawing and the foundation year sounds great. However, I am interested in just about everything so I could use some more liberal arts courses.
I don’t know, basically I’ve weighed the two and they’ve come out just about even to me.
The only thing I don’t know is what the student body is like at NU… I love the quirkiness of art school but I know NU is fairly liberal and has its own theater/music kids so maybe I could find my quirky niche there as well. </p>
<p>I am thinking I want to get an MFA in Experimental Animation from CalArts after college, & I’m not sure which school will prepare me more for that.</p>
<p>cherrycrush, I may be able to shed some light on your dilemma.
My daughter is majoring in digital design which is mostly web design with some animation and special effects and programing. As are result she has expressed interest in animation.</p>
<p>Like you, she felt she could go on for a masters in animation from Calarts in Experimental Animation. To our surprise, most people, inluding Calarts folks, didn’t recommend it!</p>
<p>First, a masters degree is generally NOT where you get your basic skills in animation. It is designed to hone existing skills. </p>
<p>Second, the basic skills are found in undergrad programs or in technical schools like animation mentor and Gnomon School of Special Effects. </p>
<p>If you are interested in going into animation, and are pretty sure that animation is the field that you will end up in, DEFINITELY pick RISD. They have a very repudable animation program that you can dovetail for a grad degree from Calarts. If you don’t, I don’t think you will have the same skill set at Northwestern. Northwestern is NOT known for its animation offerings. Check out the highlighted schools in the College forum at computer graphics forums. I can’t post the URL here because it would violate the terms of service. Just do a search for computer graphics forums and go to the “Colleges and Schools forum.” There is also a major listing there for North American and South American Schools that you should check out. Northwestern isn’t one of the schools that is mentioned.</p>
<p>I have mentioned this because animation is a tough field to break into. You have to be VERY good and have a great demo reel. If you are really passionate about animation, pick RISD. If you are not, don’t go to RISD. Take Northwestern with all their choices in majors.</p>
<p>So the bottom line question for you is really quite simple, “How commited are you to become an animator or specializing in some part of the animation pipeline such as testuring, shading, modeling etc.?”</p>
<p>I have a D who is in theater at Northwestern and I definately think you will find artsy, quirky, bright kids at Northwestern. I can understand your concerns about the department, but you will get such creative AND intellectual stimulation – in addition to the art – at NU. My D is loving all the course offerings she is taking in addition to her theater courses. There is so much creative stuff going on on campus. Perhaps its not in the art form you want. We were just visiting my D and my sophomore S went on the communications department tour. We also toured the film department. He is an aspiring filmmaker and was very impressed with the film facilities. There are SO many creative things going on on campus – films, theater, improv, dance, art exhibits – you can’t go wrong.</p>
<p>Sorry, Don’t agree with Alliesmom. You REALLY can go wrong!</p>
<p>Yes, you will find lots of creative, artsy kids at Northwwestern. Yes, it is a terrific school. However, it doesn’t seem to be the school for animation. You MUST have a strong demo reel to get a job in the industry. This means that you need to take a number of courses taught by industry professions about the various aspects of the animation pipeline. I don’t think you will get that type of training at Northwestern. </p>
<p>You can go there,but, if some part of animation is in your future, you will probably have to spend several years in retraining,which means that you will lose several years, not to mention all the money spent…Having a strong film, dance, english and ( insert your major) department will NOT make up for having a weak animation department and having sparse animation offerings.</p>
<p>I’ll say it again, if you are passionate about going into some aspect of animation, don’t go to Northwestern without specifically checking out their program thoroughly.Although I do see a major in animate arts, their link was broken so I couldn’t check out their program ( which doesn’t speak well for their program). I would bet that you would be better off at RISD for that. However, if you are unsure about your major or aren’t that passionate about drawing and animation then Northwestern would be a good choice. Even then, if you change your mind and become passionate about the field then you should consider transferring and not staying there.</p>
<p>Do you really think this is enough training?Compare this to schools akin to RISD and Ringling where there are dozens of offerings. Northwestern seems to be very research oriented and NOT oriented towards practicality. Again, really look at their offerings.</p>
<p>I will defer to Taxguy’s expertise in the animation field. I was just responding to the question about the student body at Northwestern and how Cherrycrush will fit in.</p>
<p>Okay, I agree with you about RISD’s animation program.
What about film? I definitely agree with niftydesign that one has to be well-rounded to really make good films. Are there enough opportunities at RISD to do so? I don’t want to let go of liberal arts completely, and I know that’s not a main focus at RISD despite what they profess in their accepted students open houses. Also, I don’t know much about RISD for film, or how it compares to NU’s film program.</p>
<p>My problem is, I don’t really have enough experience to really say which I want to pursue. That’s why I want to do at least a little of both in college. I mean, I come from a public school with VERY limited art resources, so I haven’t been exposed much to either art form. That being said, I do have a little experience in writing scripts. I love writing and storytelling, and I love creating works of art, so either film or animation seemed like a good fit for me.</p>
<p>Well, if you have a good enough portfolio to get into RISD, you should be fine for any major there. I can’t speak for the film production major. Maybe others can give you better insight.</p>
<p>However, I would suggest that if animation is a big possiblity, you go to RISD. They have repudably one of the best foundation programs around and certainly have a good animation program. If you decide that you solely want films studies, you can always transfer from there. It is much easier to transfer into a film program after a year or two then into an animation program, which tends to be much more regulated. In fact, you can have a bachelors in animation and then get a masters in film production.</p>
<p>These two schools are indeed completely different. Both are among the top schools in the country – but in completely different areas. NU is best-known for its professional programs in engineering, theater, journalism, music, and management, as well as programs in the hard sciences. RISD offers only art and design.</p>
<p>If what you are really interested in is the artistic side of film or animation, then RISD is the obvious choice, for all the reasons taxguy has pointed out. And let me allay your concerns – RISD is indeed serious about requiring a significant amount of liberal arts classes in order to graduate. (I know because S1 is a senior there.) One-third of your total credits have to be from liberal arts classes – including a minimum number in each of several areas (art history, English, and history/philosophy/social science) plus electives. You can take classes in theater, science, culture, and film at RISD as your liberal arts electives or you can broaden your choices by taking your electives at Brown (math, foreign languages, etc.)</p>
<p>But if you aren’t yet committed to film/animation or you are interested in broader areas of the film industry such as writing/producing/directing, then NU is the better choice for you, because the FAV major at RISD is very focused on the “art” aspect.</p>
<p>Either way, you have two excellent choices. Congratulations!</p>
<p>Both are great schools, Cherry, and both have great academics.</p>
<p>But, as you state, they are quite different in terms of size and environment. Given that many students change their minds about career during college, and assuming both offer a reasonably good education, I would focus on your feelings. Where do you think you would better fit in? The larger, multidimensional, socially complex school in a larger city? Or the smaller, focused, supportive school in a smaller city?</p>
<p>Northwestern is not for everyone, and neither is RISD. But both offer great opportunities to accomplish what you state you want to accomplish.</p>
<p>My D is in the same situation, accepted to both NU and RISD, and trying to decide between the importance of a liberal arts education and the chance to go to a great art school. She also was a bit disappointed with the visual arts at NU, but was very impressed with the academic offerings and the quality of the student body. However she doesn’t want to miss the opportunity of going to RISD, because of the quality of the arts education is something she really wants. However she hates to lose the opportunity to try out different subjects which she may ultimately like as much as she now likes visual art.</p>