school and career things
I've been thinking a lot about school, now that I'm unemployed.
I apologise if any of this comes off as naiive or ignorant -- I really wasn't taught "how" to look into schools or choose schools or whatever. I was going through therapy for the first time at that time everyone was looking into college, so I'm really not as... good at this as most people are, it feels like, and I know I tend to say things that come off as kind of ignorant.
I'm currently waiting for August so I can sign up for the American Animation Institute classes at the Animation Guild in Burbank. I've gotten recommendations for these classes particularly because the same professors who teach also teach at CalArts. I was originally going to take a storyboarding class, but I think I may start with figure drawing instead. If I have the money to take a second class, I'll consider taking storyboarding as well, but the classes are $200 a pop and I'm not sure what my finances will look like.
If things go well and this is something I really want to do, there are a few different options.
I'm still trying to understand the difference between going to art school, film school, and a general radio/TV/film/telecommunications program. I'm interested in doing pre-production or post-production work on films and TV (particularly animated), but right now I'm purposely trying to keep my career goals loose and flexible. I'd prefer not to do something just specialized in animation, but I do want the focus on storytelling that I wasn't getting from my English major. I want to have as many skills as possible so I can be more flexible. I really don't want to be pigeon holed into *just* screenwriting or *just* storyboarding, at least not right now, but those are both things I'm willing to do.
If I just go with a general Telecommunications program, I plan to go back to my community college and finish up some prerequisites in the Telecommunications program and transfer out to one of the nearby Cal States. If I go to Cal State Northridge, I'd probably major in Telecommunications and minor in Animation. This is probably the cheapest and most financially feasible option, but it is also the most distant -- it is about a 45 minute, ~35 mile drive one way, every day.
If I were to go to art school -- and I know art school is so, so expensive -- I can go to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. The Entertainment Design undergraduate program sounds exactly like what I'm looking for, and I've gone to their open house a long time ago (unknowingly, anyway -- they had an art showing, and it turned out to be an open house, but not really advertised as such). I really enjoyed their school and the exhibits they put out.
I'll admit that I'm the most hesitant towards the Art Center though -- I am well aware of how little I can pay for it, and considering that California isn't really the cheapest place to live, I might be digging myself a financial grave. I know that a high school friend of mine went for her undergraduate degree and has had trouble paying off her loans, and she comes from a relatively well off family. I would be getting no financial help from my family (other than continuing to allow me to live with them), so the responsibility is all on me.
There are a lot of film schools and schools with Film degrees in the area (I live in Los Angeles, after all), but I'm hesitant to really choose any particular schools that could be potential choices until I really understand the difference between film school and art school. There are a few that offer Animation as part of their Film program, the famous UCLA Film school being one of them.
I don't know. This is the most I've thought about school for a while, so I'm gonna stop here before I make myself too anxious or something.
I apologise if any of this comes off as naiive or ignorant -- I really wasn't taught "how" to look into schools or choose schools or whatever. I was going through therapy for the first time at that time everyone was looking into college, so I'm really not as... good at this as most people are, it feels like, and I know I tend to say things that come off as kind of ignorant.
I'm currently waiting for August so I can sign up for the American Animation Institute classes at the Animation Guild in Burbank. I've gotten recommendations for these classes particularly because the same professors who teach also teach at CalArts. I was originally going to take a storyboarding class, but I think I may start with figure drawing instead. If I have the money to take a second class, I'll consider taking storyboarding as well, but the classes are $200 a pop and I'm not sure what my finances will look like.
If things go well and this is something I really want to do, there are a few different options.
I'm still trying to understand the difference between going to art school, film school, and a general radio/TV/film/telecommunications program. I'm interested in doing pre-production or post-production work on films and TV (particularly animated), but right now I'm purposely trying to keep my career goals loose and flexible. I'd prefer not to do something just specialized in animation, but I do want the focus on storytelling that I wasn't getting from my English major. I want to have as many skills as possible so I can be more flexible. I really don't want to be pigeon holed into *just* screenwriting or *just* storyboarding, at least not right now, but those are both things I'm willing to do.
If I just go with a general Telecommunications program, I plan to go back to my community college and finish up some prerequisites in the Telecommunications program and transfer out to one of the nearby Cal States. If I go to Cal State Northridge, I'd probably major in Telecommunications and minor in Animation. This is probably the cheapest and most financially feasible option, but it is also the most distant -- it is about a 45 minute, ~35 mile drive one way, every day.
If I were to go to art school -- and I know art school is so, so expensive -- I can go to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. The Entertainment Design undergraduate program sounds exactly like what I'm looking for, and I've gone to their open house a long time ago (unknowingly, anyway -- they had an art showing, and it turned out to be an open house, but not really advertised as such). I really enjoyed their school and the exhibits they put out.
I'll admit that I'm the most hesitant towards the Art Center though -- I am well aware of how little I can pay for it, and considering that California isn't really the cheapest place to live, I might be digging myself a financial grave. I know that a high school friend of mine went for her undergraduate degree and has had trouble paying off her loans, and she comes from a relatively well off family. I would be getting no financial help from my family (other than continuing to allow me to live with them), so the responsibility is all on me.
There are a lot of film schools and schools with Film degrees in the area (I live in Los Angeles, after all), but I'm hesitant to really choose any particular schools that could be potential choices until I really understand the difference between film school and art school. There are a few that offer Animation as part of their Film program, the famous UCLA Film school being one of them.
I don't know. This is the most I've thought about school for a while, so I'm gonna stop here before I make myself too anxious or something.