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Opinions / Stories of VFS? (Vancouver Film School)
Deusfaux
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Anybody from here attended or know someone who has? I'm considering going so I'd like to get some anecdotal evidence of what it's like to go there.
www.vfs.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Film_School
My impression is that it's a compressed (and thus very demanding of your time) curriculum compared to say, a university, and the focus is much less on theory and more on actually producing creative works and being enveloped in the industry and not just some classroom.
www.vfs.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Film_School
My impression is that it's a compressed (and thus very demanding of your time) curriculum compared to say, a university, and the focus is much less on theory and more on actually producing creative works and being enveloped in the industry and not just some classroom.
Deusfaux on
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What program are you trying to go for?
Why do you want to enter this kind of program? What do you want to get out of it?
Have you talked to people in the industry you are going for about these kinds of schools?
I ask this for this is what I asked when I went to a video game program. I learned a lot from the program, and had access to things like recording studios, really nice sound equipment, some good video editing programs and such (we took 3 sound courses during our program); which I would not have been able to try on my own. But, it cost a lot of money and in the end, people in the industry cared more about what I have done and what I was doing, then what I learned at these schools (though I'm sure if they touched on certain software/hardware, it might be a bonus).
The thing is, in the end, there are two things that should make you decide to go to a school like this. One is see how people in the industry feel about these kinds of places. If it's anything other than it would hurt you that you went (such as would not even look at your application), then it's fine. The other is out of any program there is, at this school, online, what you can find in the library/stores, or University/College, what could you see yourself getting the most out of? (Please note that this is assuming you want to do this the rest of your life..if you are unsure, not getting a strong base like a degree might hurt more in the end).
Thing I regret about going to the Video Game program and not getting a diploma/degree is for a lot of programming jobs I've applied to, most just cared about the damn paper than what I've actually done. There are some who prefer actual experience over schooling, but a lot of that experience either comes from working or stuff I could have learned outside of school.
I believe I got more out of the 18 months of the program than I did from the 3 years at University of Waterloo, but, had I graduated from UW, I'm pretty sure I would have had some more opportunities for jobs than I do now. Of course, had I not been lazy and programmed more on my spare time, I could say the same thing.
Anyway, I'll try to find those answers for you tomorrow. Good luck with your choice.
But I also gathered that mileage from said training varies greatly. It's quite expensive, and not a golden ticket, but in terms of offering a potential foot in the industry door and get a crash course in the tricks of the trade, you'd be hard pressed to find better. Making film is expensive business, and outside of that school, I'm not sure how you'd compile equally elaborate projects without the resources of the school and your peers.
That's what I got out of my mere reading, and even that was around 5 years ago. I hope somebody who has gone there can chime in soon for you.
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