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[quote=Anonymous]Congrats on all her acceptances!  Our DD was also greatly interested in animation and visual effects for awhile, although is currently more uncertain, so I learned quite a bit about the animation and visual effects schools.

One of the biggest questions which will help you get the answers you're looking for is...does she want to do animation or visual effects?  Those are 2 different tracks, although they might seem pretty similar on the surface.  Animation is much more story-driven and character-driven.  The best programs for animation are a more broad list: CalArts, Ringling, SCAD, RISD, Pratt, Carnegie Melon recently...basically the ones on your list.  If you look up Top 10 Animation Schools and see which ones are repeatedly in the top 10, that'll give you your answer.  They are rigorous programs and have the advantage of all the state-of-the-art equipment and servers on their campuses.  They are heavily recruited out of because animation companies know those students are prepped from the rigorous programs and can hit the ground running.  And are capable of hitting the deadlines they'll have since they made it through one of those programs.  You can complete an animation degree at a state school with an animation program, and it's definitely cheaper, but you'll need to be prepared to hustle more to be recruited.  You can be, but you'll need more hustle to get there.

Visual effects is a different ballgame.  Visual effects is much more photo-real based artwork and technical skill, and the program covers more of the pipeline than the animation programs do.  Animation programs focus heavily on story building and character creation, and a significant portion of your 4 years and projects will focus on that.  Visual effects programs focus more on the various stages of the pipeline and creating...visual effects on screen, lol.  Like making the scene look like it was shot in Thailand when it was in a studio with a green screen.  Or making it look dark and dreary when it was sunny outside when the scene was shot.  Or making magic swirl through the scene like in Fantastic Beasts, etc, added after the scene is shot.  It requires even more technical equipment and software programs than animation, which is why a lot fewer schools offer specialization in visual effects.  The few schools with this specialization are heavily recruited out of...SCAD, Academy of the Arts in San Francisco, Gnomen in LA.  You also can do 1-2 year intensive programs in visual effects training courses at places on the west coast, but those programs cost about $35K with no degree at the end of it.  They're primarily meant for folks with some training who want to specialize in VE, or someone who wants less time in school and doesn't care about a degree.  They are particularly located in Vancouver since Vancouver has become the center of the VE industry.  Industrial Light & Magic, the holy grail of VE, is there now.

Our DD completed 2 weeks at SCAD this past summer in animation summer classes, and we had the fortune of talking with one of her teachers about the industry for an hour and received fantastic input.  He said that the animation industry has become extremely competitive, particularly with all the animation programs that are beginning at various universities.  Animation is a small portion of the pipeline and the films/visual products that are put out every year, but there are more and more students vying for the animation jobs.  It can be cutthroat to get the job, and it can be cutthroat to keep it.  Because of the competition, there is less of a teamwork atmosphere at animation companies versus everyone trying to outdo each other.  They do it anyway because they love the animation field, but particularly if she's interested in working for a big animation studio, she'll need to be prepared for that culture.

Visual effects on the other hand, because there are far fewer programs that train you for it, is much wider open, at least for now.  It covers more of the pipeline so there are more jobs available, with fewer folks trained to fill them.  VE companies and departments are also more teamwork/we're all in this together because there's less competition amongst the employees.

So it would be her thinking about what she wants to do in her job, what kind of atmosphere she can handle/wants to work in, whether she is absolutely positive this is it or is it possible she may change her mind (therefore being at a state school is better, since the expensive class credits she would be taking wouldn't apply to non-art degrees), etc.  One to potentially add to your list is Bournemouth in England.  You finish in 3 years rather than 4, and can add a 4th in between 2 & 3 as a months-long internship that gives you experience already on your resume when you graduate.  It can be cheaper per year than the art schools in the US even after merit aid.  They have one of the top 5 Visual Effects programs in the world, and have a strong animation program as well.  Worth taking a look at.  They're located in the south of England on the coast.

One more thing I learned...if she thinks Visual Effects is the way she wants to go, she needs to start working NOW on photo-real art samples if she doesn't have them already.  As close to a photograph as possible.  They will want to see that in her portfolio.  SCAD won't be that stringent about it but Bournemouth and possibly others will be.  When we spoke to the Bournemouth folks about their portfolio admission requirements, that was a big thing they stressed.  Won't get in to their VE program without those samples.

Best of luck to her!  It's an exciting industry.[/quote]

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