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Vancouver Film School

post #1 of 6
12/19/09 at 2:21am
Thread Starter 
I'm planning on applying to Vancouver Film School. I had a great hour-long talk with the adviser a week ago, and it definitely sounds like the perfect hard-work environment to be in, but still, it's going to be a lot of (borrowed) money.

The Vancouver and BC Chewers thread has a few people mentioning VFS, and I'm wondering if there are any more of you out there.

If you went, what did you think of the place? Worth the money and time? Is the help they claim to provide to get you work in the industry any good?
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post #2 of 6
12/20/09 at 6:40am
The question is, what are you going for? Acting, sound, animation, film production?
Cause I've done the Classical Animation year course and I loved it all the way through, whereas I've heard mixed things about Film Production, but usually only involving things like not being able to use your ideas due to budget restrictions, and SOME of the teachers maybe not caring a much as they could for a better experience.
But if you're thinking about going for Classical Animation, I'd recommend it, the teachers are great if you're not an ass, and you learn what you need to know to animate an entire film yourself. There's no worry about budget for your films, it's just about how much work you can put into it.
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post #3 of 6
12/20/09 at 3:39pm
I took some one-off post-production classes back in the nineties and had a great time. Learned some really great stuff that I still use today.
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post #4 of 6
12/21/09 at 9:19am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, I guess I should've said which program I'm going for. Film Production it is.
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post #5 of 6
12/29/09 at 7:22pm
I graduated from Film Production in 06 and even though it's expensive I'd recommend it.

The people you meet and things you learn are pretty invaluable, the late night film theory classes alone make it worth doing. Not only do you learn how to make a movie and how to actually operate a camera and light a scene and edit you also meet people that you will more often than not end up working with later on. Everyone says it, but contacts really are the most valuable thing you can have.

A girl I graduated with at VFS ended up helping me get a job on a Canadian reality show as a story assistant later on, it was an awesome opportunity I never would have gotten if I had gone with my back up plan and attempted to make it on my own instead of going to school.

I've heard a lot of bad reviews of the VFS film program in the past, but personally I loved it so I'd recommend giving it a shot.
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post #6 of 6
12/30/09 at 9:54pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks all, for making me feel better about the investment.

Would you guys say that you (and any of your fellow students that you're still in touch with) have had the school lead to real work that has paid off, or started to pay off, the cost of tuition? It's so damn expensive, and I'm still working on my university debt. I'm willing to take more on, but it's gotta be for more than just an experience.

So while I'm pretty confident the experience will be great, I need to be practical here -- this school needs to end up paying for itself (with help from my own hard work, of course).

And the advisor I spoke to gave me a really high figure for how many of VFS' students actually end up working in the industry -- he "guessed" 80%. Do any of you former students have your own less-partisan guesses?
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