This came across my desk at work today:
Does anyone know of an animation school in the Orlando area? A friend’s 16-year-old son is interested in pursuing animation as a career and is looking into classes he can take now as well as college programs for the future. If you have any insight, please pass it along.
Just doing a google search returned a bunch of crap, so I wanted to help this person out with information you could snack on:
UCF’s Visual Language program is top-notch. In Orlando, I wouldn’t recommend anything above the UCF School of Film and Digital Media. They also have a graduate program at the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA).
The Valencia Graphics program has some animation stuff as well. I blogged some students’ motion graphics projects at Orlando Video. I think high school students can take VCC classes before they graduate.
They offer some stuff like that at the Orlando Tech Center – it’s run by the Orange County Public Schools – right near the Amway Arena. They have a Computer Animation lab, a 3D printer, a motion capture stage, an Audio Recording studio and a TV studio. There are also several tech or vocational schools in Orlando (besides the OCPS), but I don’t have any information about one over the other.
Has anyone mentioned the DAVE School to you yet? They are/used to be located on the backlot of Universal Studios, but that has nothing to do with what they teach there, it’s just the space that they use. They are focused only on animation, and I think they take students of all ages.
And then there’s FullSail, of course (the school, not the beer). Little-known fact: most FullSail teachers were students from last year’s graduating class – the law of diminishing returns will have to catch up with them sometime. I’m not saying it’s impossible to get a good education there, but from what I understand, there are lots of folks at the school looking to get somewhere without really trying. If one works hard, a good education can be obtained despite the reputation an institution garners for itself.
If you in the blogosphere can think of any other programs of note, please leave them in the comments.
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I’ve always been under the impression FullSail has a good reputation, and their students go on to great things. Is this not true? Of course, I’m not really part of that community so I could be way off.
You states “Most FullSail teachers were students from last year’s graduating class.”
Actually, that’s not the case. While the school does have former students employed there, most of the instructors aren’t graduates. A large percentage of lab technicians, on the other hand, probably are.
You mention the DAVE School and they are located on the back lot of Universal Studios theme park, in the largest sound stage. They have been on the property for over 11 years now and focus on 3D modeling, Animation and Visual Effects. Their green screen is 65 x 25 feet, they work in simulation and motion capture. Very accelerated program, not for the weak of heart.
this post was based on my limited knowledge at the time. I’m sure all of these institutions have changed in the last 4 years.