Full Sail Computer Animation Degree Program
 

I have been seeing the ads for a college in Florida called Full Sail. They are an accredited college offering about six degrees in the entertainment industry, one of which is a Computer Animation Associates of Science. Most all of the animation techniques are taught using Maya, and at the end of the program you have a demo reel which can be sent to potential employers in conjunction with your resume.

My question is, does anyone here know someone that has taken one of the programs offered by the school, or has anyone here graduated from there? I am looking for any information that I can, so any response would be greatly appreciated.

You can view their web site at http://www.fullsail.com.

Thanks

Yup, but I graduated their audio engineering program (this is when they only offered audio and video post, not animation, back in '93-'94). The best advice I can give is, "You get out of it what you put into it." It was a good experience for me, personally. But after working in recording studios around nyc for a few years I came to realize that even if you walked in from the street, as long as you have a good attitude, are technical saavy, and spend the time learning the gear and practicing on your own, you have as much a chance of getting somewhere as the guy who paid lots of money for school. It's just something to think about. I don't regret going to FS because I learned quite a bit.

Anyway, FS is cool. The teachers know their stuff and are easy-going (most of them)....the classes/labs are diverse so I'm sure you'll learn alot and develop good foundation skills.......the projects are fun....you'll meet lots of interesting folks. Your best bet if you can arrange it would be to attend one of their open house things so you can get more of an idea what you'll be doing....it's a bit over the top with pyrotechnics but you'll have more of an idea of what to expect.

Open House
 

Yeah, I have a spot reserved for their open house on January 12th. It should be interesting. I will make my final decision as to whether I will attend or not by the end of Jan.

I've found that true in every industry I've worked in. I should have listened closer to my grandfather when he said "It's not what you know, it's who you know"..

Although, you still need raw skills and talent to do well in whatever field you get into.

It really is a matter of networking and having the right attitude. Some of my peers in the studio were very serious when there was any moment of free time to get in there, learning to program consoles or instruments and that's what you have to do, really. I sort of went halfway with it and didn't really have the personality for the job which probably explains why I do mostly web work today.