Full Sail?

[Hander]

Hey! I was wondering if anybody has heard of Full Sail in Orlando, FL. They are a relatively small college with only 6 or 7 accelerated courses, and my older brother is planning on going there for game development. If you have heard of them I'd appreciate your opinions! Thanks alot!


Here's a link. (http://www.fullsail.com/) Check them out, and let me know what you guys think! I might look into their Film program.

[Katfayheirti]

Maybe it's just me, but I've heard that they tend to focus more on programming and learning various programs than the art side of things. I've heard of several people who went there thinking they'd get to be drawing things for films or animation, but then dropped out when they discovered that they were stuck in a bunch of programming classes, but that there seemed to be no classes that taught the fundamentals of art.

[Hinovae]

I have two friends that are hoping to attend there next year. I had looked into it a while ago too. I was turned off by it because it's such a new and different thing. Putting a 4 year degree into 2 years just seems like it'd be lacking important content.

You also never get full breaks like a 4 year college.. like I think the summer break is only a couple of weeks. There aren't any dorms either, so you HAVE to live in an apartment.

I really doubt they spend much time on the fundamental arts just like Kat said.. It seems like a purely technical school to me. Not my thing, personally.

[Hander]

What have you guys heard about the film program? From what it looks like it seems pretty good. I'm just looking for second opinions! Thanks

[IcyM]

I attended Full Sail sometime ago and it was an ok school. Some things were ok, many were not. There were no classes in art foundations or design. The classes I had were a mix of digital, audio, and film. While they are areas mixed in the professional world. Getting a sample than focus wasn't a good thing at all. Several classes ended just had a computer and people just going thru tutorial exercises. No tricks, ideas, methods, or thinking. The only people that felt they were gaining from the degree classes were the audio students, programmers, and some film guys.

On the bright side they have excellent facilities and studios for your use. Everything was always being updated and remodeled for new equipment. Its a very impressive campus. I imagine now it must be even more glorious?

Overall, I think the program was too long with much filler classes. You could get what you need in a few classes and then move on. Don't think that Full Sail is the end of your art career, its only a step. Its not an alternative to any art school. But if you're looking for a good tech school, I think you should visit the school and see for yourself

[Hander]

The few school's I am interested are RISD, Savannah School of Art and Design, and possibly Full Sail. I still have to visit each school, but if you were to compare the 3 Film programs, which do you think would be the most beneficial? I still have alot of time to decide what I want to do, and where I want to go so there are alot of unknowns at this point. Thanks for the input!

[Seedling]

Granted, all I know about Full Sail is what relates to games. Their Film and other departments may be fantastic. So take the following with a grain of salt:

My husband graduated as a Full Sail valedictorian, and I’ve been down there with him to lecture. If you want to be a 3D artist in the games industry, then make sure you get a proper art education somewhere else first. If you want to be a concept artist, go study Illustration somewhere like RISD.

As of about four years ago Full Sail had a grand total of one single non-computer art classroom. They have a policy of not ever failing anyone out. Anyone who sticks around there long enough gets a certificate. So, at least in all games-related fields, they produce a lot of graduates who aren’t qualified for jobs, who have just bought a useless bit of paper.

However, almost all of the technical artists where I work (Turbine) - such as my husband - came from Full Sail. Those students who do go to Full Sail highly motivated can get an excellent education out of it. Since they teach tools, and not art skills (3D programs are tools) these grads tend to be good in the specialized and sought-after role of tech artist.

Tech artists are responsible for character rigging, maintaining art pipelines, maintaining modeling standards, being Maya gurus, keeping file structures for art organized and other technical tasks. Sometimes our tech artists do a bit of animating or work with particle effects. They are the problem-solvers of the art team, and they are invaluable. However, they don’t do what most artists consider to be art.

Two year tech schools like Full Sail would live up to their potential for artists better if they functioned more like either a graduate school, or as a two year program following a two-year program in traditional arts. But without traditional arts, their art programs are a bit like a head without a body.


By the way, there is a link in my sig to info on the games industry for anyone interested.

[x_xinsomnia]

I don't really trust that college at all. If it takes any normal art school four years to get a degree, I don't see how it only thats them two. Maybe its like that some of you guys said, there no fundamentals. Like many say, "you can't draw on computer until you've drawn on paper." Plus that place is so expensive!!! The 3D animation I think was $65,000. Not sure if it was two years or one though.

[Hander]

The thing about Full Sail is that there are not many long breaks for 2 years, so it's about the same ammount of classes, without the breaks. Their reason for doing so, is that graduates can get can out and start working sooner.

-Harrison

[Rdmlegend]

I'm plan on starting Fullsail on the 5th of Feb. I've visited the school for the Computer animation degree and i it looks absolutely amazing and I can't wait.

[Vulture]

I am currently in Full Sail. It is much more a tech school than artistic. I was in the Computer animation program, which is 21 months. We had a 2 month art foundation class. Not nearly what I wanted. So now I have switched to Digital Art and Design, after 6 months of the C.A. program. If you complete 30% of your program you will get refunded 60 % of the 65,000 dollar tuition. You will pretty much live at the school, becuase you need the technology they have to finish your projects, and barely have the time to finish work for both classes you have that month. Its great for technical people, but the artists need to go to Ringling or SCAD, In my opinion.

[Hander]

How about the film program? That's what I'm most interested in, and it would be nice to get some input, if any. I'm going to visit Full Sail in March with my older brother and his wife, and I'm also going to check SCAD out around that time. I just want to get kind of a second opinion. Thanks!

-Harrison

[Dermont]

Synopsis of my experience with full sail

I might be able shed some light.
I have graduated from Full Sail with an Associate of Science in Computer animation. Planning on going back and finish up to get the Bachelors of Science in Computer Animation. Take note that it is a science degree and not an arts degree. I have gone thru all the emotions after graduating from the school from praising it, to hating it, then to just accepting it.

First it is accreted school with an origination who deals with more vocational tech schools; Full Sail is defiantly heavy on the tech side of things. But for the computer animation class it does have traditional art classes. Four courses that are in the fine art realm; are 2D Animation, Art history, Object Perspective (covers a lot of the learning to draw on the right side of the brain book, figure study, perspective, painting, sculpting armatures and your basic drawing 101 curriculum), and Animation Preproduction (Storyboarding, character design more sculpting and scale modeling with foam core).

Its all about how GD expensive this school is. Well a few things cost of living in winter park is cheap. The tuition covers also the price for books and materials, and access to labs with any tool you need 24 hours a day 7 days a week. On top of that you can re take the class free after you graduate if new tech comes in the industry or to shake off the rust.

Now onto the hallmark accelerated philosophy of the school. They are not saying this for shits and giggles, one class that last for 4 hours with a mandatory break has about three quarters of a month of information crammed into it. To back up my point I have taken college courses out side of this school and its feels like a dead stop compared to what Full Sail puts out in one lecture. You have a final exam and a final project at the end of the course. That is why they can pull off a 21 month bachelors program with two classes each month instead of four to six. On top of the lecture work load is the labs; first you have your schedule class labs that last also for four hours with its mandatory break. Then is the open labs or labs you can shadow in (other class labs with open computers) and work on stuff, these are open almost 24 hr a day 7 days a week and monitored by students approved by the Department head. Most of these students work as apart of federal work-study and you have to befriend every signal one of them since they keep the doors open to save your ass during crunch times.

Onto the faculty/staff this is were it gets a bit hazy on and I am not going to much into since I do not know much beyond what I have observed so take what I say with a grain of salt. The motto of the school is “real word education with real world industry professionals”. This is a half truth; yes they are professionals that have min of three years in the industry. But some of them come from the “industry” in different capacities and roles. This school relies on more adjunct faculty members then members that have the right educational credentials. That leaves with some loop holes the school heads had to jump thru to get accredited for bachelors. One is being that not many of the staff have masters, so they have an faculty member who has a masters to over see several courses instead of just one and delegates to other non-masters holding instructors to plain and teach the class in there stay. Now what I know from my limited experience with the new structure of the offered bachelors is pretty much no difference then normal college; with the hierarchy of professors, assistant professors and instructors. But the credibility of some of the staff is up in the air since they do not have any venerable industry vets like in other schools (like Tony White at digipen). The big names that are thrown around a lot of the times are apart of the advisory board and they get paid mad money to make sure the image and curriculum of the school fits with the trends with the industry. But they do not teach hell most keep there normal jobs and make this on the other side.

This is a good segway into the fact this is a “for-profit school” now this just means this school is privately owned and operated so a lot of state federal laws for education that is applied to state funded schools is thrown out the window. There are plusses and minuses to going to a for profit school. One of the big pluses is the school is constantly changing and adding to make it self appealing and staying up-to-date. The bad they have to keep students to keep on coming and going to make sure the school is viable. So full sail has a very strong marking regiment; you can easily see there ads for their school in magazines web banners and in industry web sites.

It is a very ran well Career college that just takes in way to many bad apples who are happy to give there money away with little hope for successes. The school provides help but they can’t help the persons if they don’t want to put in the leg work and make a very well done portfolio and demo reel. That is the bottom line of it all is the final product that you can make a portfolio you can sell. Full sail defiantly proved the tools to do the job but you have to show you know how to do it.

So things to take away this school is for
- Someone who may already have a degree in a more liberal arts side of education
- A very driven individuals; hell I know some guys who are leads now since they put 100% and times that 10 times over the other students while the were in class.
- You have the tools but you have to show you are capable with a well done demo reel.

This school is not for
- A rich kid who has no concept of real work and is riding his or her parents pockets to get in. (ie: wearing polo shits with flipped up collars ,trucker hat and a crappy par of aviators)
- Some one who does not have a strong fine arts background. If you don’t have that your work will suffer. Period.
- Some who plays games way to much… if you like WOW don’t come to this school you will be suckered in thru the easy classes and then hit hard after the no point for return on tuition

I tried to squeeze all I could thing of in a two hour sit in I hope this clears up any thing.