I was wondering does anyone think the academy of art in San Francisco is a good place to learn animation for feature films? I attend UM and they don't really have a concentrated animation program but offer 1or 2 classes. I thought about transferring but decided to stay figuring I could just take the animation classes they offer and learn as much as possible and then attend a grad program in animation somewhere. Let me know what you think.
question about animation school.
By animatinglife | Saturday, April 2, 2005 at 2:46pm
#1
question about animation school.
That's cool!!!! :D
How far along in your undergrad are you? What are you majoring in right now?
I am actually considered junior status now. :eek: I won't be graduating until about 2.5 or 3 years from now. I started out majoring in chemistry but it just wasn't for me, I did well in it but I just didn't want to do it for a living so now I'm studying fine art majoring in graphic design. This summer I going to start working on my character animation skills by learning animation from a teacher who use to teach it.
Sorry, but to ask a stupid question, which "UM" are you talking about? Maryland, Michigan, Miami, somewhere else? In any case, I totally understand what you're going through. I majored in Biology for three years, realized it wasn't what I wanted to do and changed majors. At my school, the art program wasn't stellar plus my parents tried to push a "practical" degree on me. Soooooo, I decided to major in Computer Science and get as much side work in computer graphics and animation as I could. I'm now getting ready to attend grad school in the fall to get my master's degree in computer science with a heavy emphasis in graphics. I'm also planning on enhancing my fine art (drawing, etc) skills during the next couple of years on the side. I guess I said all that to say that it comes down to how driven you are. If you have 3 years left (because of changing majors), then it's totally fine to transfer schools at this point (it won't really hurt you). However, if you're happy where you're at, then go above and beyond and get your hands on everything animation related. Like Jason Scott said on the "Cal Arts vs. USC vs. UCLA MFA-wise" posting, "My experience is that the most successful graduates have been those who had to constantly work on their own to learn things that weren't taught to them". In other words, you'll only get out of the program (and your education) what you put into it.
Finally, I don't really know much about the San Francisco program. But, if animation is something you know you want, then pursue it now and apply to whichever school you wish. Contact the programs and find out if they accept some/all of your credits and any other info you'd like from them. I'd say don't wait until grad school for something you want now. But, if you know that you want to go to grad school then this isn't that big a problem.
Hope this helps, let us know what you decide and good luck!
Sorry about that I attend University of Michigan-flint campus. It's a extension of UM. I believe I'm just going to finish here and take a few animation classes at a community college and get a Independent study with the teacher that teaches animation. Then after maybe grad school, I want to attend Cal arts grad program in experimental animation.
Hail to the victors! Me mum's an a-lum...