<p>If your d wants to do animation, I can’t think of a better school than Full Sail University. It’s an amazing program with newly renovated facilities. It has open admissions so she wouldn’t have to worry about having sky high test scores, but it is highly regarded in the gaming and animation community. It’s fairly new, so it doesn’t have sky high rankings, but it is a great school with a great program.</p>
<p>I would skip Full Sail entirely for CA although they do put on a great circus show for someone to go there. Film might be better.</p>
<p>@gouf78 why</p>
<p>Full Sail is on the list as well… And SVA was the first to send a catalog. I know everyone thinks their kids are talented. I know art, I know what is good, what is interesting and what is amazing. My daughter has stuff that is all 3. Some is good, some is interesting and some of it honestly takes my breath away and I don’t know how she does it. But it was her reaction with HTTYD2 that really pushed me to start thinking further. Of course it’s her favorite movie, she was in tears the whole time… Not because of the story, but the beauty of the artwork… the way face features can be made to elicit emotion. We were all bubbling over with excitement after the movie and I asked her “can you imaging creating something like that someday that will mean this much to a child?” And without a beat she looked me dead in the eye and said “I know I can, it’s all in here”. She was dead serious in a way I’ve never seen. She plays 4 instruments, she is an incredible singer, writes her own music, and has more natural talent than I can express…I’m a musician. But her passion art and creating. She is still very young…she could change, but I don’t want to leave things to chance and feel I need to be very proactive in helping her reach her dreams… Dreamworks? @haveaharp I’ll be waiting to hear from you in the fall! </p>
<p>Certainly, moonpie! Your daughter sounds like a wonderfully talented young woman who knows her strengths! And I totally understand your description of the artist’s view of these pieces. My son looks at animation and can tell me what’s hard, what’s easy, what’s a new technique or one that is old school…there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. (What do I know? I remember “The Flintstones” with the repeating backgrounds!) </p>
<p>I urge you to learn as much as you can about the various art schools during the application process, because while many art schools have animation programs, if the school itself is more of a “fine arts” art school, the animation program may not get as much of the school’s resources. My son learned early on that actually going to the animation labs and seeing what they have was critical. (As opposed to going by the rankings of animation programs that you can find on the Internet. Those change a lot from year to year, so I wonder about the methodology used.) </p>
<p>Another big criteria for him, and what ultimately sold him on SVA, was the caliber of the student work that was created. He got into several other very well-known – and some would say more prestigious – art schools, but he thought the animation work was not nearly as advanced as what he saw at SVA. (Again, what do I know?) He told me he felt like he could learn a lot there, and I think that is probably about the most mature reason to choose a school. </p>
<p>Now…how he’ll do living in the big city remains to be seen! 
But he’s looking forward to it, and I will keep you posted!</p>
<p>Best regards to you and your daughter! </p>
<p>Hi - Hampshire College in Amherst Mass has an excellent animation program. <a href=“Animation and Digital Art | Hampshire College”>https://www.hampshire.edu/academics/animation.htm</a> Hampshire is a small college but is part of the five college consortium which also includes Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Amherst College and UMass/Amherst. My older son is a theater major at Hampshire and has many friends who are animation majors - they also take classes at the other four colleges. I can’t wait to hear where she ends up!</p>
<p>@haveaharp we will be visiting next year… Before her junior. My best friend lives in NYC and we are going to stay there and celebrate her birthday next August and visit some NYC and northeast colleges. Thank you for keeping me in the loop…so excited for your son!</p>
<p>Annie-- This probably applies to a ton of schools out there.
Full Sail is a for-profit school that hopes to draw students in and churn out graduates. It’s one of the schools that I say “don’t get fooled by their shiny computers”. We toured (and afterward researched) Full Sail The facilities will blow you away. My D loved it all! We all did! The tour was amazing and truly a three-ring circus performance. We finished our tour with a light show, band and appetizers and drinks (there’s a clue!) And it was on my list and then got crossed off after more research and more tours. My comments are ONLY about the animation department. I DO know film school grads from Full Sail who have been successful even though it was an expensive proposition for them. Every school has its strengths and weaknesses.</p>
<p>Full Sail has a “get through as fast as you can” plan. Rotating admissions, start when you want,take time off, don’t take time off, frozen tuition prices from when you sign up. The idea is that the harder you work the sooner you’ll make it through school faster and therefore save a ton of money. But the reality is that is probably NOT happening ( at least for animation). So all things equal, it is not cheaper than some of the best schools who definitely have a HUGE edge up on the education by super faculty. It’s an enticing sales pitch though (the food was great!). I don’t remember anybody needing a portfolio–only a check or credit card.</p>
<p>Vacuum cleaner sales people should take note. Their sales pitch focuses on new computer systems and software and how often it’s updated. Great animation schools (like Ringling or CalArts and I’m sure many others) do that automatically too. It’s a given. Facilities ARE a big deal for animation–your final reel, the “senior thesis”, is your final resume to apply for an industry position. If all it took was a computer you could do that at home and save thousands. Education is key–and that’s where FS largely fails in my opinion. . As to learning software “we have it all!!!”–some studios have in-house software (most every top movie studio comes to mind)-it’s more important to have the ABILITY to learn and be flexible–not just be trained on any particular program. So when you hear “we teach you these 5000 software programs–due to change in 3 hours”…don’t get too excited.</p>
<p>The industry loves to hire from certain schools because of the students ART backgrounds (and work ethic–overtime feels like a vacation after school) not just because they can work on a computer. Most major studio animation movies have an associated art book which shows its importance. Full Sail does not supply an art background. It is not an art school–it’s focus is on technology. Which is suitable for all sorts of animation–just maybe not major movie studio stuff. So it depends on your final goals and where you want to work ultimately…</p>
<p>All that said there will always be super stars in art, self-taught people who make great livings for themselves without ever attending any school. Talent always wins out. But if you have talent and need direction (hey, the price is the same–get direction too!) ? I’d direct you away from Full Sail. IMHO.</p>
<p>@Gouf78 Governors school is a program that kids audition/test for (here in Tn). They have music, music theater, theater, art, and then academics (physics, language, etc). If selected, you spend 4 weeks at a university, studying your specialty. It’s an amazing experienced for all who attend. The art students will focus on portfolio work for colleges. It’s very hard to get into, but it’s free if you do!! Most who go say it’s life-changing. My girl wants to audition for music one year and art one year. Every time I start looking at the list to visit and things to do before her junior year, I get stressed!!! </p>
<p>Moonpie, when S studied Design|Media Arts at UCLA, one of his classmates was very animation oriented and did very well as a an undergraduate. (They also did the pre-college program at Ringling the same summer.) His classmate stayed on to get his MFA in animation and now works at Dreamworks and worked on both “Dragon” flicks. Can’t say enough about both Ringling pre-college and UCLA.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks @Little Mother that sounds like a dream come true for my girl! UCLA is on the list to visit as well… Sooo many places! Definitely will be looking at summer programs for next year as well. I’ll be back asking for advice on that. I have a friend whose son is at NYFA right now. Can’t wait to hear about his experience. </p>
<p>My sister is an animator and went to USC, her animator/video producer husband went to Cal Arts. I can’t remember which was which but one was definitely better for one type of animation vs other forms. Anyway, they both have been mostly gainfully employed since graduation several years ago but it is not an easy profession by any means. Work is mostly project based so once a project is done, work is done. So are the paychecks and benefits. One things that keeps them employed is that they have great work ethics - come in early, stay late types. They don’t rest on their creative laurels and are always hungry for more. I’m saying it not to discourage but you should have your D think about back-up plans as she’s entering college. She will also need to plan well financially for lean times. It can be an exciting and rewarding life but it definitely has more risks than traditional career paths </p>
<p>Absolutely true depending on where you work and the type or work you do. Most of the top movie studios work on contract basis. They hire a lot of people and when the movie is done you hope for another contract. People move around a lot. Many of the studios are located in the west–sometimes changing studios means going down the street–or across country.
My D fortunately doesn’t work for a company that does this. They do hire temps but keep their core employees. Thank goodness.</p>
<p>Well… Crap. Now I feel like my bubble is burst. My daughter has some special medical needs and cannot be without health insurance… Ever. Something to think about in a contract work existence. </p>
<p>But now with the ACA, she can’t be denied for pre-existing conditions. And in the individual market, she’s in the same pool with the rest of us. So while our premiums have gone up, insurance is still available to those of us who are self-employed. I’d say as long as she’s aware of the likely cost, she doesn’t have to be limited by that.</p>
<p>(Not to start a political firestorm, but I basically hate the ACA. When my policy disappears at the end of this year, I will be paying LOTS more for a higher deductible and less coverage. But I have to admit, it does have a silver lining for people like your daughter! So I can feel better about it for that.)</p>
<p>It wasn’t meant to scare you off at all but you should be aware that a lot of people do work on contract basis but not all. And hopefully the insurance worries will be worked out.
.<br>
The animation industry has a lot of variety in it. Not everyone who majors in animation becomes an animator or gets into story or character design. That’s a reality also because of the competition–sometimes it’s more important to get your foot in the door than insist on a particular type of work. There are specialties in lighting, special effects, technical aspects–lots of things within the field. I had no real idea of the variety until D went into it and started working. When you see the credits on a movie move beyond the animator credits and keep reading about the lighters, renderers, special effects etc. There are a lot of people who worked on the movie. I will say this, D LOVES her job–the creative vibe at her workplace is palpable… </p>
<p>And the field is more than movies–networks, cartooning, advertising, gaming.
Ringling and Cal Arts are the top animation schools. Ringling for 3D and Cal Arts 2D. That “work ethic” mentioned earlier is one reason that employers interview at the two school heavily–their students are not only good at what they do but they already know how to work hard–you won’t graduate without working hard.</p>
<p>@moonpie - both my boys do as well. S1 is in theater - I’m figuring he’ll be on my health insurance until he’s 26 then move to ACA. I’m very grateful that pre-existing conditions are a thing of the past!</p>
<p>It’s all good… Opened up a new discussion today as I drove daughter to camp for special medical needs. I’m familiar withe ACA… Believe me. I work in health care… But as a consumer, you cannot begin to understand the cost until it hits you. It’s a reality we have to consider, her supplies and medications are thousands of dollars a month without insurance…and hundreds with GOOD insurance</p>
<p><a href=“Glen Keane - The Duet - YouTube”>Glen Keane - The Duet - YouTube;
I came across this beautiful Glen Keane animation short entitled “Duet” today and I thought of this thread. Hope you enjoy it!</p>