Vancouver Film School

#1248

I agree completely. This was one of my main reasons for going. Both financially and mentaly I didn’t want to spend another 3-4 years doing a university program. I just wanted to get in, get out and get working.

#1249

Same reasoning here. After trying a couple previous colleges for 1 year and really disliking the slow pace, unfocused course load and my desire to learn what I wanted fast VFS was the choice.

#1250

I got in. :slight_smile:
I’ll start the advanced character animation program in july of 2010.
And they gave me a small, but helpful, scholarship.
:bounce:

#1251

That’s awesome! Congrats Lola!
Once you get to Van, be sure to check out some of the cgtalk meetups. It’s a great chance to network.

You’re gonna love it here. :slight_smile:

#1252

Welcome, Lola ! I was just touring VFS today with some of its students and had a blast ! You will find that there are so many passionate students here in this school who will be your “comrades” in this war of finishing your program. Work hard and see you in July 2010 :slight_smile:

Oh, and congrats to the current VFS students on getting those big fancy monitors :smiley:

#1253

Woop! I leave for Vancouver in about 15-20 days or so. Starting 3D Animation/Visual Effects on August 31st.

Hope I can find somewhere to live, haha.

#1254

vfs has a decent housing board where you can try to meet up with other people who are looking for roommates. if you can, try to get something downtown near the school (as others have said), commuting is a bitch. I live about as far as you would probably ever want to walk… off in Yaletown near the stadiums, and it’s a good 20-30 minute hike each way… not pleasant in this heat either I can tell you that. I have a lot of friends who live on the west end and they like it a lot. if you try to get a place by yourself you can expect to pay around $1000 per month or more (my place is ~$1500, plus an additional $150/mo for parking). You can certainly find cheaper places, if you’re willing to sublet or find a roommate. If you have to find a place further away from school, try to get a place near one of the skytrain stations. though a couple of friends have been stranded at school a few times because they missed the last skytrain (which runs around 2am i think).

VFS also has an apartment locator… she doesn’t actually work for VFS, but she’s married to one of the bigwigs and deals almost exclusively with VFS students, so that counts for something. While I can’t personally recommend her (bad experience), I’m sure that I’m in the minority and she normally does a great job.

#1255

I was considering just staying at a hostel/hotel once I get down there until I find a place. I figure it’ll be easier to ride around (bringing my car) and check out some places than it will be to look at them online. Probably going to exhaust options like craigslist and that roommate board you were talking about as well. I posted up two ads on there but haven’t gotten any replies yet.

#1256

Look for places on Alberi or West Georgia on the west side of Burrard.

Parking is expensive, $200-300/month for secure parking… So plan on that if you stay in a hostel. You’ll generally get 1 stall when you actually rent a condo/apartment, which means a roommate with a car will mean getting a second stall at $100(or less)/month.

We rent our second stall off of another person in our building without a car at $60/month.

Edit***** provided you’re going to the campus at Hastings and Homer St.****Edit

#1257

When I moved to vancouver in 2005 I found this website useful www.mywestend.ca it costs $25 to get access to but they walk around the west end looking for for rent signs. A lot of landlords don’t bother listing their places online. If you can come to vancouver without having a place organized you can have a lot of luck just walking around looking for signs.

I just moved out to Burnaby because I wanted a bigger place than my 1 bedroom box downtown. But now I really miss the downtown lifestyle so I’m going to be moving in closer once this lease is up :slight_smile:

#1258

God damnit. My cosigner for my student loan ($63,500 USD including everything) for VFS was denied by Sallie Mae. It’s odd because I know he has really excellent credit.

I have no other cosigners available so I’m pretty much screwed. And I’m supposed to start at VFS on August 31st.

Any suggestions? I’m so screwed at the moment because I already preemptively quit my job, and my boss already found somebody to replace me. Is there a company that would do student loans for VFS for a US Citizen? VFS told me only Sallie Mae was available to me.

#1259

That is unfortunate to hear :frowning: I wonder if it is possible for you to just get a regular line of credit from your local banks instead ? They will cost more but you are kind of stuck in a limbo right now.

#1260

Man that sucks. Well, if nobody will give you the $63,500… see if you can borrow $25,000, buy an awesome computer, take a year off and work your way through a bunch of DVD’s (Gnomon, etc…). You’ll probably end up with just as much value, at less than half the cost.

You’ll lose the ability to network with other students, but compensate by joining organizations and groups in your area.

Not what you were hoping for, I know… but honestly, it’s not a terrible alternative. VFS is expensive, but you really only get out of it what you put into it (i.e. learning on your own).

Good luck with whatever you choose.

#1261

Yea thats a totally awesome alternative :rolleyes:

#1262

Better than being jobless and not doing 3D. At least this gives a year off to do/learn 3D. That is the big advantage to the school system. Outside of that, you’re pretty much learning on your own anyways.

Search CGTalk, you’ll find many people have opted for the self taught route. You shouldn’t need a school to tell you to be at a desk working if it’s something that you truly want to do.

Nobody hires you based on the piece of paper that you graduate with… it all comes down to the reel.

#1263

Or, he could get a new job, save up money, not have to worry about debt after he finishes school, and learn it while he’s working.

Or he could do it your way. Blow $25k on DVD’s, have no contacts or references, and no guidance or feedback. But hey, maybe when he wants critiques he can ask cgtalk :lol:.

#1264

I didn’t say blow $25k on DVD’s now did I? If you’re not driven enough to pursue your passion without a taskmaster, don’t for one second think the rest of the world is the same. Plus, $25k invested in hardware, learning materials, and a year off to focus means that it is $25k invested in himself. Which isn’t a lot of money. School didn’t get me a job afterwards, I did. And learning while working doesn’t allow enough focus.

I’m not saying this to devalue the school, in fact I have a fair bit of respect for VFS, having just worked on a short film with them. I’m suggesting it as a way to get him going in 3D right away. After he’s done that and gotten into it a little, then maybe he can consider the shorter intensives (if they still offer them). Then finish out the $25k with more self-study.

Someone who quits their job to chase down their dreams isn’t going to be happy ‘getting a new job, save up money’. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

If there’s something out there that I want, I go for it. And it’s worked pretty darn well for me so far.

JMHO

#1265

To some extent I agree… but DVDs and tutorials will only take you so far. The point of VFS is not to have a taskmaster, as you’ve pointed out a couple times- since students are given pretty much complete freedom (Though mentors and instructors are there to assist). The point is collaboration, networking, and learning from others; not just instructors. There are hundreds of students all with varying levels of expertise and different background knowledge that you can learn from, which is pretty difficult to do when you’re locked in a room by yourself. Getting involved with local groups is all well and good, but unless you live in a cg hub like LA, Vancouver, etc, that may prove fairly difficult.

However, in a situation like this, options are limited. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. Take a step back, come up with a plan, and carry it out as best you can. If a school like VFS has suddenly been ruled out as an option, then look at the alternatives. In this case Pixanaut’s suggestion may be the only way under the circumstances, and maybe not. VFS is certainly not a golden ticket into the industry… it can give you a leg up, but like Pixanaut says, the VFS logo isn’t necessarily going to get you any interviews, just some inside contacts that might get you some second looks at your reel. If your reel sucks, it doesn’t matter where you went to school. In the end, all you have to realize is that where there’s a will, there’s a way. Make it happen.

#1266

Are there any other schools similar to VFS that offer a fast paced year long program? If it were in the US it’d be easier getting loans for it.

#1267

How about Gnomon?