Emily Carr University (or Institute, as it was when I attended) is a well-renowned art school in the heart of a beautiful city. Its animation program is unique in Canada in that it provides a well-rounded training ground for independent animators in a degree-granting environment.
Choosing Emily
When I was in my final year of high school, I knew that I wanted to go to an arts school of some kind for university. I wasn’t 100% sure that I wanted to go into animation, but it had been one of my passions from a young age and I wanted to go to a school where I would have the option of taking such a program.
I had been down to the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary on a few school trips, but hadn’t been really drawn to it in any way. Though I had never visited Emily Carr, based on the research I did online (and from word-of-mouth from friends) it seemed that it had a very good reputation. I was looking forward to a small population of students, an animation program that intrigued me, a degree-granting institution, and a school that had many other interesting programs if I decided not to go with animation. It sounded like just the thing for me. I was fortunate enough to go to an arts high school, and the work I had done in my IB Art classes had given me a lot of material to choose from for my portfolio. I also applied and got into a local community college just in case, thinking that if I didn’t get in, I could go there for a year and try to transfer. However, I applied to Emily Carr and was accepted, and packed my bags to move to Vancouver that fall.
Even though I quickly decided that animation was the right program for me, I feel that it was really important to have that foundation year.
Foundation
As others on this site have mentioned, the first year for any student in the undergrad program at Emily Carr is taken up by the Foundation year. I know some of my classmates had differing opinions about first year, but I found that overall it was really helpful, especially for a student like me who ended up going into a more focused stream in second year – this was a year to experiment and try a variety of different things. Even though I quickly decided that animation was the right program for me, I feel that it was really important to have that foundation year.
Socially, it helped as well – I missed the deadline to register for classes properly and thus was not placed in a “pod” as they are called, but basically the intent is to have a group of people that you are in all your main classes with. Often times after first year you all end up into different departments, so it’s nice to have had a year to gel with people who end up in Industrial Design or Painting rather than only ever getting to know people in the same discipline that you are in. It also probably helps for people who are coming to Vancouver not knowing anyone, in that you have an automatic group to hang out with (I wasn’t in a pod, but a number of my highschool classmates and friends had been accepted the same year that I was, so it was never an issue for me). By the end of the semester, sure that I wanted to go into Animation, I talked with a few of the peer mentors over email for tips on putting together a portfolio and interview (though I’m quite sure that now the requirements and process have changed entirely). I made it through somehow and was accepted, along with 29 other students, into the Animation Program.
Hello Animation
I didn’t know entirely what to expect from the animation program – the department had just restrucutred the way the program was run the year before we applied, so the first year of the new program was still in its testing stage. I don’t know what the system before was, but I found the program as it was when I experienced it to be nicely set out. There was a good mix of academic and studio classes, and though they keep crowding them with more and more students the facilities were great.
My focus is more on 2D animation, and I found that the teachers were really receptive to that – and likewise with students who were more interested in 3D. In fact, the instructors are a big part of what makes the animation program so great – though they’re not all perfect, a lot of the studio and discussion-focused classes were led by people with years of experience as independent filmmakers.
I think the thing about the Emily Carr animation program is that it’s well-rounded and not industry-worshipping.
The visits to some of the various studios around Vancouver were interesting and informative, and lectures from guest artists also brought in a variety of perspectives on what it means to be an animator. It’s funny, because though some students have complained that not enough technical skills are taught, I feel that I did learn a great deal about the technical side of animation while in the program. I think the thing about the Emily Carr animation program is that it’s well-rounded and not industry-worshipping.
It’s also so much dependent on what you bring to the program. Emily Carr is a university, not a technical college. There’s drop-in lifedrawing, challenging assignments, chances to exhibit (or curate!), shows in the Concourse Gallery, and you’re expected to keep up with the academic side of things as well as your own studio practice. It can be a challenge at times, but that’s what school is about – challenging yourself, and learning just as much outside of the classroom as you do in it. In the animation program, often the fourth years call for assistance on their films, which was a great way to get a peek into the ins and outs of what is essentially the thesis project of the degree.
Making Pictures Appear to Move
The final year of the animation program (as well as the tail-end of the third year) is all about making your Grad Film (or grad reel or project if you choose to do something other than a film; however these people are generally in the minority). I found this to be a very educational part of the program, as it teaches you all the aspects of what you need to be an independent filmmaker. You share the development of the film with your classmates and instructors – an experience that can be painful and frustrating as well as helpful, but one that heavily echoes the kind of dialogue that one must keep up with freelance clients, studio directors, or grant agencies – thus, a great learning device. Budgets, pitches, contracts, proposals, applications, promotion… all of these things we had to work on and I have subsequently have had to deal with in the post-graduation world. The wonderful and excruciating process of creating a short animated film not only teaches you about all the aspects of being an independent filmmaker, it helps you have the confidence to get out there and make more animated films! I definitely don’t think I would have felt sure enough about my ability to make a full film if it weren’t for having gone through that program, and it has made subsequent film projects easier to approach because of what I learned at Emily Carr.
I feel like the experience that I had at Emily Carr has definitely helped me in the path I’m on right now.
The Verdict
Since graduation from Emily Carr, I moved from Vancouver to Halifax, where I have been doing a bit of freelance and a bit of dayjobbing. The animation industry here took a big blow after I arrived with a major studio shutting down, so though there was no hope of a studio job. I decided to try my hand at simply making more films. I made one 16mm film through the One Minute Film program here at the Atlantic Filmmaker’s Coop and am currently working on a second thanks to a grant that I received from the Linda Joy Media Arts Society. I feel like the experience that I had at Emily Carr has definitely helped me in the path I’m on right now – though I still have a lot to learn to get where I’d like to be, I’m enjoying the journey I’m taking to get there.
To see what I’m up to, check out http://www.littlefoible.net.
(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)
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Thanks for the review, but I want to ask you, did you make a demo reel while attending Emily Carr?