Hey,
I was searching for threads about this but all i could find are old ones.
so what to you say about this place?
i’m considering to take the VFX “course”.
is there a better place in the US for that? (i’m looking to get a BA/BFA).
would like to hear some thoughts and opinions from you guys!
thanks 
I went there, didnt like it.
Go to gnomon, you will save money and learn more. Savannah is a shithole too, nothing to do job wise aside from waiting tables. As far as BFA, no one cares about your degree in this field, there is alot of extra useless crap that the scad courses will waste your time with. They are just filler to extract more money from you.
I guess that the reason they teach you some “useless crap” like Math or English is because they have to, in order to grant you a BA/BFA, something that you can’t get from Gnomon.
And since i’m an international student, if i’m planning on staying in the US and work there, i have to get a BA/BFA so…
Yes, your portfolio will be very important in determining job interviews but don’t knock connections. These can be vital too.
First, there are numerous threads about the importance of getting a college degree. Just do a search for these threads.
As for other schools, I do agree that SCAD is located in a wasteland. You will find it harder to get internships and make connections from there. Let me recommend some other choices.
If you want the east coast, the best known 3d school is Ringling. Although they do have a number of studios who interview from there, they too are not located in the best area for internship connections. They do, however, have studios that interview there and are an increasingly well known school for both animation and VFX. They are difficult admission due to a large number of applicants. However, their admission is primarily portfolio based.
School of Visual Arts , however, is in Manhattan. They not only have a very strong program in both 2d and 3d, but you also can’t beat their locations for connections. Undergrad admission isn’t difficult. Their grad admission , however, is much tougher.
Pratt Institute is in Brooklyn NY. Although not as well connected as SVA, they are in a very good location and provide a great program. NOt that hard to get admitted to.
I think FIT has a new program that is worth looking at. In addition, they are part of the NY state university system that makes their tuition reasonable. Having having a new program makes their connections questionable.NOt that hard to get admitted to.
RIT has also a relatively new program in both 2d and 3d that is quite strong. However, they are in Rochester NY. Enough said!Their admission is fairly difficult.
RISD in Rhode Island has repudably a good animation program,but is supposedly very 2d oriented and not VFX oriented.They too have tough admission standards for both academics and portfolio.
In the west coast, you have USC and UCLA, both of which is well connected in LA. You also have Cal Arts,which is both in a great location and is well connected. Be advised though, all the west coast schools, particularly Calarts, tend to be very 2d oriented and more so than the east coast schools. I don’t know why that is the case. The west coast schools that I noted also have very difficult admission standards too. Please note that difficult admission standards don’t always translate into a better program. USC and UCLA require higher SATS and GPAs than most of the other schools mentioned.
Sheridan up in Canada is both in a great location and is well connected and has a strong program in both 2d and 3d. I don’t know how hard it is to get into.
Ok, first of all, thanks for your reply!
second - who says that i’m planning to stay in Georgia after i graduate? maybe the top studios aren’t located there, but these top studios do visit SCAD each year for job offers and such.
i’m also considering SVA, although their VFX program doesn’t concentrate entirely on VFX, and needless to say that the living expenses in Manhattan are far higher than Atlanta’s.
none of the other universities in the US that you listed have a VFX program… so i don’t know why you mentioned them. and please correct me if i’m wrong.
Canada isn’t an option right now. and if it was, VFS was the obvious choice.
Elad, VFX is simply a subset of animation and 3d modeling among other skills such as Matte Painting etc. Knowing these skills will certainly give you stronger VFX skills. So don’t ignore them. For example, knowing Matte Painting can be very useful to VFX work. My daughter, who is a grad student at SVA, noted that probably the best teacher she has ever had teaches Matte Painting there. In fact, so far, she finds that all of her professors are top notch. Since I don’t have any experience with other schools, I can’t comment on them.
Yes, as you noted, SVA is in Manhattan,which IS EXPENSIVE; no question about it. However, the connections and contacts that you make may well be worth it. In addition, it has some top people teaching there since they are all working professionals in NY.
I also noticed that you are in Israel. Israel is known for having strong technical education. Isn’t there a program there that teaches animation and/or 3d modeling?
As for the other programs that I mentioned such as RISD, Calarts etc, Yes, they are very 2d oriented,but they will give you STRONG fundamental skills that you can hone with a graduate degree or by going to Gnomon afterwards. Don’t discount the benefits of having strong fundamental skills in drawing and 2d animation too. I believe Pratt is decent in 3d animation too.
As for Math and English being useless crap, I think you will strongly regret feeling this way. Having good writing and reading skills can be very important in the future if you ever want to enter management. If you want to stay a low level drone, don’t improve your English and writing and reading skills. However, I assume that you want to rise in the profession. You never know when these skills will serve you well. For example, my daughter majored in motion design. However, one of her first projects at an internship was to read over the script for a movie, summarize it in writing and develop a proposal for a trailer. This was her chance to shine in front of a number of management personnel, not to mention to shine in front of representatives of the client. If she had poor writing or reading skills, he presentation would have been awful. By the way, the firm that she interned for offered her a job that she had to turn down due to her attendance at grad school. She did, however, get a motion project while in school that is paying her about $70 per hour! Try getting that while you are in SCAD in Savannah or some other hinterland location.
Far and away, however, I would strongly consider applying to Ringling College of Art. It is widely considered to have the best 3d animation program in North America.Personally, I think SVA would be second best and easier to get admitted to . They have wonderful connections being in Manhattan.
Finally, as for top studios visiting schools such as SCAD and Ringling, SVA et al. this may be true. However, it will be harder to get internship, meet prospective clients, get connected if you are in bumcrap Iowa or Savannah vs. being in the center of NY or LA. Let’s get real about this.
There’s no doubt you made some sensible points about SVA being located in NY. i will look into it.
and i didn’t say that Math and English are useless crap, i just quoted stooch’s reply to the topic.
we do have some courses offered here in Israel but all of them are of poor quality from every aspect. don’t know why… i guess that it’s just because the VFX/3D industry isn’t developed here as in North America or England, for example.
i’m also planning to stay and work in the US at some point, so a BA/BFA is a must.
once again, many thanks!
and if you have more information about SVA i would love to hear it.
Since my daughter is attending SVA, although as a grad student in Computer Art, if you have any questions, I can try to ask her for you.
Also, if you are interested in attending schools in England, take a look at University of Bournemouth. They supposedly have the best animation and 3d program in UK.
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