Animation Mentor, post graduation thoughts and advice
admin
Hey everyone.
I'm currently facing a bit of a decision, and I'm doing some research before I make the choice.
I got accepted onto the Animation Mentor program back at the beginning of 2011, and unfortunately had to pull out due to lack of funds. I am taking a student loan to cover the majority of the fees, but they can only cover 80% and I fell a couple grand short of the final fee.
So, I've saved the money I need over the past few months and am now in a position to reapply, but I just want to make sure it's really a good choice by finding out a bit more about the potential upon graduating. It's a lot of money for sure, but I don't want that to be the deciding factor.
I know every single student currently on AM has nothing but fantastic things to say about it, which I can believe. Their reel is always impressive, and the alumni they spotlight on their website is definitely impressive. However, I guess it would be sensible to expect that a fair number of graduates are not as successful post graduation.
I'm not completely new to animation, I've studied traditional animation a bit (in the form of reading old papers, books etc) for quite some time, and I've worked in 3D (Architecture) for long enough to know my way around Maya, but putting into practice Character Animation is something I think I need assistance with to really take my stuff to the next level.
When I first found out I couldn't raise the funds initially I was pretty devastated, I thought I would try to 'teach myself', but it really didn't work out. I did ok, but I really felt I needed a bit of guidance and interaction with some professionals and fellow students, which is why I'm still keen to apply again.
I know the amount one benefits from AM is proportional to the amount of effort one puts into the course, but even then, we all know there aren't limitless jobs out there and surely not everyone takes to it well, even with the high level of instruction which is why I'm curious. Add to this the fact I'm in the UK.
It seems like a no-brainer, but $20k is a lot of money, and of course I will have to pay it back, I just want to make sure it's worth every penny.
Many thanks
I'm currently facing a bit of a decision, and I'm doing some research before I make the choice.
I got accepted onto the Animation Mentor program back at the beginning of 2011, and unfortunately had to pull out due to lack of funds. I am taking a student loan to cover the majority of the fees, but they can only cover 80% and I fell a couple grand short of the final fee.
So, I've saved the money I need over the past few months and am now in a position to reapply, but I just want to make sure it's really a good choice by finding out a bit more about the potential upon graduating. It's a lot of money for sure, but I don't want that to be the deciding factor.
I know every single student currently on AM has nothing but fantastic things to say about it, which I can believe. Their reel is always impressive, and the alumni they spotlight on their website is definitely impressive. However, I guess it would be sensible to expect that a fair number of graduates are not as successful post graduation.
I'm not completely new to animation, I've studied traditional animation a bit (in the form of reading old papers, books etc) for quite some time, and I've worked in 3D (Architecture) for long enough to know my way around Maya, but putting into practice Character Animation is something I think I need assistance with to really take my stuff to the next level.
When I first found out I couldn't raise the funds initially I was pretty devastated, I thought I would try to 'teach myself', but it really didn't work out. I did ok, but I really felt I needed a bit of guidance and interaction with some professionals and fellow students, which is why I'm still keen to apply again.
I know the amount one benefits from AM is proportional to the amount of effort one puts into the course, but even then, we all know there aren't limitless jobs out there and surely not everyone takes to it well, even with the high level of instruction which is why I'm curious. Add to this the fact I'm in the UK.
It seems like a no-brainer, but $20k is a lot of money, and of course I will have to pay it back, I just want to make sure it's worth every penny.
Many thanks
Replies
I didn't even start last time because I couldn't raise the difference between the student loan and the final fee (~£2500). So I didn't actually pay anything.
I've looked at iAnimate, and sure it looks good, but unfortunately they aren't seen as 'accredited' by the UK govt. so I can't get a student loan for it. AM is recognised though.
Interesting point about the ego thing, I hadn't heard that. To be honest, I'm not specifically aiming to work in games, I don't mind film/TV, or games would be equally awesome.
My friend recommends AM. He's usually very picky about things and not easily pleased so I trust him on this one.
There's certainly plenty of people who can't say enough good things about it. I'm not sure if that's just because it is simply incredibly and that's that, or whether the people who didn't get much out of it are hiding in the woodwork, too ashamed to speak up!
I'm kinda thinking I should just go for it, I'm sure I'll regret it if I don't.
If his massive change in skill is any indicator, they have a good program.
I did specify games studios. For as many film/tv studios there are that won't even look at someoners reel WITHOUT seeing AM on their CV, there are games studios that won't touch em cause they had bad experiences where AM graduates freaked out when they joined a studio and expected to be given cutscene work and instead got lumped with in-game cycles. :thumbup:
Sounds awesome, good to hear even more great stories like this.
This sounds a bit silly too...and more like a single 'case' example than
a general rule for 200-ish AM graduates per year.
I'm currently in class 5 at AM and have yet to have been taught any sort-of
'ego'...if anything, it's the exact opposite with the general gloves-off
style of critique one gets from mentors and peers (critiques are about
the work, and not whether we're cool animators with brilliant ideas).
On the other hand, I think it's fair to say that the school is 'mostly'
slanted towards character performance/acting---which is arguably less
present in game-cycle work. We start with a class of basics, then
we go thru 2 classes of body mechanics, and then we get 2 classes on
acting, and finally a class to work on our portfolio/demo.
In my experience there's no brain-washing going on from the
school that might try to intimate that game work is any less of an awesome
animation opportunity than film/ads.
Likewise, 1 guy I know went straight into games out of AM and another is currently participating and has nothing to say but good things. results wise both improved massively during their time in AM.
This just sounds totally biased and unprofessional. Companies have interviews to check the applier's personality and what not.
There is certainly an undocumented boost that seems to happen with AM grads applying at studios where their mentors are supervisors, but that isn't limited to AM or the animation industry. People tend to hire people they know, for better or worse. Sometimes it's to the disadvantage of someone with a better reel, sometimes not.
I would say it's disappointing that AM has morphed into a machine whose primary purpose appears to be selling a dream. I've worked with a number of AM grads and have good things to say about their abilities and attitude, but the way the school promotes itself is unfortunate. And like all groups that form in a relatively isolated environment, it is not hard to find cliques of AM students who drink the Kool-Aid and are heavily skeptical of anyone who didn't attend AM.
@Tharle-
I must admit I wasn't all that impressed by the reels I've seen from Escape, but then again I'm only going by what they had on their website. It certainly didn't blow me away. The main issue though is the fact it would be office hours, and on location. The beauty of AM is that I can work on it during nights/weekends and still work full time to earn a salary. I've got a house, car etc so there's no way I can just take 3 months out from work.
It's not so much about the time it will take, more the fact it's a kind of 'now or never', because I have the money, and I'm at a point in my career where I can either go head-on into moving up in that (arch-viz, which is stable, pays well and is occasionally fairly enjoyable) or I can put 100% into AM and hope I can work and learn hard enough to be an employable animator afterwards.
I mean sure, I could go back to arch viz if it all goes tits up, but that would be one he'll of a waste of $20k, hence the tough decision!
I'm curious, these stories are all obviously very positive, but a lot of these grads are already animators with some degree of experience.
Is it possible to go from beginner, to competent through AM do you think? As I said in the OP, I'm not entirely new to it, but I'm certainly not anything special. I've also got until January when the program begins so I have a bit of time to further myself before I start.
AM is good too, but i suggest you watch the 2hour webinar for iAnimate. it might answer alot of your questions. and it even compares the two schools in a good way. saying they are both great schools, jsut do things a bit differently
@Slipsius - Yeah iAnimate and AnimSchool both look good, but as I mentioned, I can only secure student funding here in the UK for Animation Mentor since they are the only 'Animation School' who are accredited by the UK govt.
if you`re working full time, or have a credit card, its $1000 (500 a pay cheque), and you can do it in 14 week chunks. dont have to keep going. so you can pay it off, then start the next, 3 months later. gives you time to practice, and, you might find you dont need / want to do all the sessions.
Both of those guys were already seniors working in the games industry, And they both had tremendous things to say about it.
The issue with Animation Mentor in regards to game animators (as was touched on before), is that a majority of the program is revolved around performance animation. They teach animation without technical limitations, compression, and primarily how to be an amazing 'Digital Actor'.
When they're asked to no longer do ANYTHING revolving 'Performance Animation', and stick to walk cycles, mo-cap cleanup, and 'Finger Animations', then yeah they do feel a bit jilted, when they aren't using the meat n' bones of their passion.
So the 2 guys I've worked with got a heavy workload of key-frame-driven cut-scene animation (which is a rarity in the games industry - and almost non-existent in AAA production),
In the end (from what I can tell) you will learn a tremendous amount, be an overall kick-ass animator, but most typical games animation will be a lower level of animation challenge but a higher level of realtime/technical challenges. And depending how you feel about that, along with many of your other classmates and peers landing jobs doing performance animation at Dreamworks/Pixar/Disney.
I actually enjoy putting together cyclic animation, it's one of the few things I have covered in what I've been learning up until now. I mean, I have zero experience with things like Motion Builder, or even working within a realtime pipeline in terms of the joint setups and baking, but I guess having this outside interest in games, and knowing about the workflows before doing AM, I'll know what to expect, and how to tailor my reel upon finishing.