I attended Vancouver Film School’s Acting for Film and Television program three years ago, from September 2005 to September 2006. I was 19 years old, moving across the country without knowing a soul at the other end, living on my own for the first time. Needless to say, it was quite the experience.
In VFS’ case, search engine optimization is definitely a good strategy.
I had just finished my second year of studies at Ryerson University for my BFA in Acting. I was unhappy with the type of training I was receiving, and the atmosphere of the school, so I started searching for alternatives. I sat down in front of the computer and typed in “Film Schools in Canada” and like so many other friends who I have talked to this about, VFS was the first link listed on the page. In VFS’ case, search engine optimization is definitely a good strategy. I checked out the website and liked what I saw. I was looking for an acting program that was short, comprehensive, and focused mainly on acting for film, instead of theatre like my previous program. VFS seemed like a perfect fit for me and my search ended there.
The Application
I phoned the school and was hooked up with an advisor, who was very positive and friendly. He made me feel totally at ease and answered all my questions knowledgeably. I decided to make an audition video, and shortly after speaking with the advisor, I sent my package to the school. The entry admissions process requires you to write a short essay about why you want to attend, and a video audition of 2 monologues and any special skills you might have.
There is another component of the Acting program at VFS, an Essentials semester which lasts four months where you learn the basics of acting. I had been acting for many years at this point, and did not consider enrolling in the program. If you are a student who wants to break into acting for the first time, you will most likely be REQUIRED to attend this course as well, making the program 16 months long instead of 12 and adding another 5 grand or so to your tuition.
My parents just so happened to be heading out west to Whistler for a ski trip, so I asked them to check out the school for me. They agreed that the school was an excellent place, great facility and friendly staff. They met with the head of the Acting Program, Bill Marchant, and quite liked him and the impression he gave. The tuition was quite expensive for a program like this; I ended up paying $15,000 for my year of studies, but international students paid up to $20,000 for the same program.
Shortly after, I was accepted to the school and began preparing for my cross country journey.
Terms 1 and 2
I arrived in Vancouver in August 2005, and found a place to live with two other acting students. VFS does not offer housing, but does offer help with pairing roommates, finding vacant places close to school, etc. I was quite happy with my living arrangements during the course of my year there.
The first day was an orientation of all new VFS student entering into studies that year. We watched a video presentation and met our classmates. I was quite surprised by the large amount of students in my class (27 people) and how eclectic and diverse they were. There were people right out of high school up to 35 years old from every walk of like. I guess it’s true that everyone wants to be an actor.
We then went to the acting school to meet out teachers and get acquainted with the program; they did brief introductions and spilt us up into our smaller classes, groups of 8-10 that we would form for the first four months of our training. After four months, we switched these groups around and I worked with 8 different students, and then once more for the final term.
Apparently the 1st semester is very similar to the 4 month essentials program.
The first four months of school were basically a repetition of everything I had learned in University. Apparently the 1st semester is very similar to the 4 month essentials program, and the students who had joined us from the essentials program also said they were bored with the repetition. I was by no means challenged my first 4 months of studying at VFS, although it was a quite a thorough education on the basics of acting. It was a great way to get back to the basics of acting, and to re-learn skills I had forgotten. We studied the basics of acting in term one and two, including voice, improv, audition technique, scene study, singing, dialects, movement and worked on monologues for a term-end showcase. Basically, besides our on film camera and audition classes, there was no film involved at all.
The class atmosphere was mostly friendly, all 27 of us tended to get along quite well as a general rule, and we were a tight knit group throughout our year together. I keep in touch regularly with many of my classmates from school, and am lucky enough to have found a few kindred spirits along my journey who will be lifelong friends.
Terms 3 and 4
The goals of the third and fourth terms were to study human behavior and achieve self discovery through traditional theatre training using different acting techniques. The film projects started in this term as well, we wrote and filmed mockumentaries, sitcoms, and our “moving masters” this term. A moving master is a film which is contained all in one shot.
I enjoyed both terms, though the level of training was still not as in depth as I wanted it to be. It did get deeper and more focused on the individual’s actor strengths and weaknesses, and how to begin to shape a career.
Terms 5 and 6
The final two terms prepared us to go out and join the ranks of the working actor, we prepared demo reels with a showcase of our scene work, produced three more short films that we wrote, and took courses on the business of acting (something other schools don’t do and which I really valued). The year long course ended with a musical showcase, basically a stage show which we presented our singing skills, and our graduation.
The Grad
Graduation day featured a day-long presentation of our filmed work and the stage show. It was a time to meet everyone’s family, and pile on the sugar and syrup about what a unique and talented class we had. The teachers spoke about us, our friends and family spoke about us, we watched some films, and then that was it! We were graduated, budding little actors who were high on all of the praise and goodness that we were wrapped in at school.
The Best Parts of VFS
When you are studying, there is a strong sense of community and ensemble that you develop, which you can call upon after you graduate.
The facilities are clean and bright, your classes are well run and organized, and you feel safe within the school’s environment.
They TRY to integrate you with other programs at VFS, involving you with the production and writing programs for a project of two. This is something I wish we had done more of. If the film school has so many great departments that work together in real life, then why keep us segregated in school?.
The teachers at VFS are working actors, some were very dedicated to teaching and extremely helpful, while you could tell that others were just there for a paycheque and not much else. For the most part, the teachers were fabulous, but you could tell who didn’t have the heart or stamina for teaching acting.
You graduate with a business plan, a headshot package, a promo reel and a DVD with all of the great film work you did.
The Worst Parts of VFS
My biggest complaint is about the quality of films we graduated with. When I reviewed my films from VFS a few months ago, as I was putting together a professional demo reel, I found only one clip that I was proud of using. What seemed to be such great material to me then, now looks like crappy film school shorts that I would be embarrassed to show to an agent or casting director.
I always wondered why singing was such a big part of our curriculum, the method that was taught there and the amount of time we spent on singing seemed useless to me. Not everyone one can sing, and at school we were taught exactly the opposite. The musical at the end of our term was AWFUL, since nobody had and real musical theatre experience, and I felt it was counter-intuitive to the other goals of a FILM ORIENTED program.
Honestly, VFS pretty much accepts anyone into the acting program, whether you are good or not. Be prepared to work with actors of all skill levels, and ones that are seriously deluded about how their careers are going to end up.
I noticed over the year that the whiny, obnoxious and just plain lazy people seemed to get more attention than those of us who worked hard and wanted to be there. Sometimes the atmosphere reminded me of high school, and I witnessed a lot of immature and unprofessional behavior.
Everyone is told there that they can MAKE IT and that they will have a career if they only try. THAT IS NOT TRUE. Acting is an incredibly competitive and difficult profession, and if you are not prepared to work hard every day of your life to get what you want, you wont get it.
No city needs 30 new bright shiny acting grads every four months. The volume of acting schools pumping out grads in Vancouver is unbelievable. Be prepared to hear from every server, barista and trainer that they are an actor, too.
My Tips For Surviving Film School
- Don’t bother with another job: school will be your life for the next year. I hope you saved some money.
- Prepare for a wake up call when you graduate. Life as an actor is hard, you are NOT going to get famous, NOBODY is going to give you a break, and you have to fight to get an agent, fight to get a job, pay for constant training, and pretty much spend every penny of your disposable income for further classes, headshots, casting director workshops, etc.
- Try to live near the school, within walking distance. Commuting is a bitch and takes up lots of your time.
- Don’t goof around. You are wasting your time as well as your classmates if you pay a whole bunch of cash to sit in class and be unresponsive and mope.
- You get what you give at VFS. If you form real relationships and try hard to improve, then you will get a lot out of the program. If you wait for someone else to light a fire under your butt, then you are going to waste a lot of your own time and money.
If you are someone who wants to try acting out, or you want comprehensive acting education in as little time as possible, then by all means, VFS is the place to be.
Bottom Line
I don’t think I would necessarily recommend VFS to a working actor who is already active in the industry. If you are someone who wants to try acting out, or you want comprehensive acting education in as little time as possible, then by all means, VFS is the place to be. Just don’t expect to be truly prepared for the amount of work, heartache, and drive that it actually takes to be an actor in the real world.
About Me
After graduation from VFS, I hit the ground running hard. I did my headshots (which were included in tuition, bonus!) right away and found an agent within a month. It took me several months to book my first paying job. In the same year I was booked twice more, all through my agent. I also produced and acted in a play directed by a former teacher and several classmates.
Being a professional actor is tough. People have a lot of misconceptions about what you do, and it is NOT glamorous life. Somehow, though, when the phone rings and you hear that YOU GOT THE PART, its all worth it. :)
After a year I was tired of waiting for the phone to ring, so I started to produce and act in my own films. I recommend this process to all budding actors, because it teaches you about the entire film making process, how much work it takes to make a film, and how to be a better actor in front of the camera. When you are producing your own work, the only money you are wasting is yours, so you want to do the best job possible!
This self producing has brought me more work and respect than being an actor alone. After spending three more years in Vancouver, I got fed up with working a day job that left no time for acting work, and moved home to Toronto, where I could pursue acting as a full time job more freely.
These days I work as a full-time actress, model and producer. I have appeared on national TV programs like Psych and The Two Corey’s, as well as several commercials, corporate videos, web videos, student films and everything in between. I spend much of my time auditioning for everything that comes my way, taking more acting classes, and working part time as a Disney Princess at little girl’s birthday parties. This job brings in the cash I need to sustain my career, as well as being a fun way to earn a living. I get to sing, dance and act, and GET PAID! My agent gets me the calls for film, television and commercials, my modeling agent gets me print and catalogue modeling work, and I do the rest, promoting myself, managing my online presence, and finding auditions for student films and local productions.
I am quite happy with my level of success so far. I know that I have a long way to go, but I love the life I live as an actor; I have the best job in the world! To be a hard worker with plenty of drive and business sense will get you farther than having all the natural talent in the world. To be an actor these days, you’ve gotta hustle!
I hope I was able to give you some insight on why studying at VFS was a good idea for me at the time, but is not necessarily a good fit for everyone.
I am available to audition for any interesting film projects you might be working on and am an experienced and professional actress who would be an asset to your production! Feel free to check out my acting demo reel, modeling portfolio and resume, and contact information by visiting my website at danikaczubak.com. You can also follow my career at dreamevenbigger.wordpress.com.
(5 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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ERIC
Thanks for the review, this was a very insightful opinion and I very much appreciate it as I am currently looking for some classes to attend. If you have any opinions into which schools/classes/workshops you really loved I would love to hear them!
Thanks!
:)