Hi,
Ed I noticed you work at Ringling in Sarasota. Can you (or anyone else) give me some advice please?
I live in Australia and there is a pretty good chance my husband will get a posting in December to Jacksonville for 2 years with the Air Force. We find out in July whether he's got it or not (fingers crossed). I'm pretty excited about the prospect of going, as you have a lot more to offer in USA with animation. I'm hoping that I can get some training and/or experience while we are there.
I wasn't going to look into things too much until we know whether we're going, but I've noticed that your educational year is different to ours, and I may have to get myself a bit organised now for the possibility that we are being posted.
Here's a list of questions that I've come up with:
I think I saw that SCAD starts in your fall (our spring) which would make it September? Is that standard throughout the colleges?
When are the actual cutoffs for applications?
If we were to get the posting, have I missed out already for the 2004 intake?
Is there anything in Jacksonville?
What colleges would you recommend in the area?
If I was accepted somewhere, my husband said the RAAF would allow me to fly ahead of him if the course started before his actual posting, so that's something I can consider. I look forward to hearing what you think!
Yes the traditional school year begins in the fall usually late August or early September and that semester will end in December and then the spring semester starts in January and goes until May. Some schools are on trimesters and they throw in summer classes in as well.
There are tech schools that start at various times threw out the year but those aren’t art schools and you have to make sure you know what you are getting into when it come to them.
For application deadlines you are usually looking at mid to late January for the bigger schools. But there are smaller schools who may be taking students up to the start of the semester but then you have to ask yourself “why is that?”
But you never know there are always students who say they are coming but back out for various reasons at the last minute.
This is where someone else will be able to help you because I don’t know much about what is in that area. In Florida in general there is UCF which is in Orlando but that’s a bit far from Jacksonville and there is Ringling and that’s on the other side of the state. I just checked out the AWN school database and nothing is listed in the area but that area is growing pretty fast and there most be some sort of school there.
After doing a few quick Google searches I was able to find out what is out there the biggest school looks like University of North Florida (which doesn’t look like they have anything animation) and then there are several smaller schools in the area.
The best thing to do is the do your research and post what you find out and get more feedback. You also have the disadvantage of only being in the states for maybe two years which makes it difficult to complete a degree program but if you want to go the certificate route you should be able to complete a program and use that as a stepping stone as you further your education.
Good luck and let us know what you find out and enjoy your time in the states.
ed
Department of Computer Animation
Ringling College of Art and Design
Sarasota Florida
Thanks Ed, I appreciate your help!
Ok I finally have something to contribute that can actually benefit someone else. I lived in Jacksonville for 15 years so I know pretty much everything you would need to know about the area. Most likely you will get stationed at Mayport Naval Station or one of the nearby Air fields in Georgia. Anyways as far as Animation goes there are not any schools specifically for or have good courses in animation.There are two colleges "JU" and "UNF" (and FCCJ is a community college) Jacksonville University or "JU" is a private school so its going to be more expensive. It had an Animation program I believe, but I believe it is more for 3D graphics and such not character animation. University of North Florida "UNF"(not to be confused with JU) is a commuter school really. Not much of a campus life. Feels more like a community college, but I have heard that they are actually a pretty hard school in academics. Savannah is about a 2 hour or more drive straight up Interstate 95. FSU in Tallahassee is 2hours 45 minutes west it has fine arts no animationthough, UCF has a growing Animtion program as well as the overpriced FullSail both in Orlando which is 3hours south down I-95south and I-4 west, Sarasota (Ringling) is about 5 hours away just keep following I-4 through Orlando, and Miami...is a different country so don't bother. If you have any questions about Jacksonville I would be happy to answer them. I would suggest looking at the JU website because I don't really know what they offer anymore. Cheers Mate
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that has been given to us." ---Gandalf
Somebody has done their homework, nice job.
ed
Department of Computer Animation
Ringling College of Art and Design
Sarasota Florida
hey ed....i didnt know you taught at ringling
im a huge fan of your product
www.EvilAsSin.com
for more movies and downloads
the fastest polygon in the west!
YEEEEEHHHHAAAAA!
Thanks.
I wish I can take all the credit but it all goes to the students; they work their butts off each year and it shows. I just keep them from self destructing and doing spaceships, robots, dragons, and fart jokes.
ed
Department of Computer Animation
Ringling College of Art and Design
Sarasota Florida
You gotta love a teacher with a sense of humour!
Thanks Hett for your advice! I'll have to bend your ear a bit about the lifestyle in Jacksonville when we know we are going or not. This is the hard bit.... the waaaiiiittting.
Hi guys... remember this thread? Well we got the posting, and we're moving to Jacksonville in December! Yay!
NIce time to move down, the humidity and heat are at pleasant levels. Then you will be gradually introduced to the summertime temps. Right now in Sarasota it's usually tops out at about 92, humidity is always high and the lows are in the upper 70's and stays this way into October.
On the bright side Jacksonville is a little further north and on the Atlantic so it may be a little bit cooler.
Best of luck with your move and come on down to Ringling when you get the chance.
ed
Department of Computer Animation
Ringling College of Art and Design
Sarasota Florida