Before entering the Digital Design (DD) program at Vancouver Film School (VFS), I graduated from the Foundation Visual Art and Design program. I definitely recommend Foundation for anyone that is lacking experience or just doesn’t know which area they are the most interested in. Before I started at VFS I had very limited exposure to most types of media. I only used my computer to check email and write essays in Microsoft Word. Foundation changed my life dramatically; all of a sudden it was my business to create. Deciding to go into the DD program to gain more training was an easy decision.
The Location
The DD program is housed at 420 Homer St, which is right in downtown Vancouver. Some people may say the area is a bit sketchy, I would disagree. I never felt at any time that I was in danger there, even when I was hanging out outside at 3am. There are a lot of homeless people around, but that is true of most of Vancouver. If you can’t deal with homeless people asking you for money Vancouver isn’t the city for you.
Ladies, you should be aware going in that it is a pre-dominantly male campus.
The People
The student population at VFS is quite multi-cultural, which always makes for interesting conversations. It also allows for lots of different graphical styles to flourish. In my DD class there were about 20 people, only 4 of us were females. Ladies, you should be aware going in that it is a pre-dominantly male campus.
The instructors at VFS are some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. They are all active in the fields that they teach in. They are enthusiastic and are always looking to help their students succeed. I would go back and teach there in a heart beat if I was ever asked to. It would be such a great place to work at.
It’s not a program you can succeed at if you’re not committed to it.
The Workload
DD is intense. The year is split up into 6 terms. The first 3 are by far the most rigorous. Some people leave because they can’t handle it. It’s not a program you can succeed at if you’re not committed to it. Some days you have three classes in a day and are at school from 9am to 9pm. The amount of homework that you have is just as intense as the amount of hours spent in class. The people that tended to succeed the most were the students that spend the most hours inside the school walls. The facility is open 24 hours a day so there is no reason for not getting your work done. You could do the entire year without a computer at home because you have your own computer at school.
The intensity of the workload is what makes the program unique. In one year you will accomplish what it takes to do in 3 or 4 years in other programs. There is something said for taking things slow, but if you work hard and are ambitious, why not do it faster. After graduation your skill set will still continue to grow rapidly if you keep applying yourself. For 12 months straight you’ve already been a learning machine.
VFS is bloody expensive, for that reason it’s not for everyone.
The Money
VFS is bloody expensive, for that reason it’s not for everyone. My tuition for DD was around $28,000, add the cost of living in Vancouver to that, plus any type of social life and you’re looking at about $50,000 or more. I don’t come from a wealthy background and I was some how able to swing it. Student bank loans are usually the way to go. Unfortunately, working during school isn’t really an option. I picked up a part-time job a couple times, but I always felt like I was split focus then and my work always suffered. If you could do it without working I would definitely recommend it. I have no regrets about spending as much as I did on my education. It was an unparalleled experience that has left me with a skill set to branch into many different fields.
The Now
I graduated in Dec. 2008 and I started a 3-month internship about a month out of school. The experience was fantastic and I was definitely able to pick up and understand things quickly in a work environment. I’m doing freelance work now until I find the right fit for a permanent position.
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Hey, dude, thanks for the review… but i have a question: the $50.000,00 was for the whole graduation, right?