Gnomon School Master Classes 2013
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After attending for the last two master classes the lineup looks really impressive. Great place for networking and asking all those questions that trouble you in a private forum during the master classes - presenters respond in record time.
Gnomon School Master Classes 2013, December 16th-31st.
Check the artists presenting their work and pipeline and sign up at - http://www.gnomonschool.com/master/2013/
Gnomon School Master Classes 2013, December 16th-31st.
Check the artists presenting their work and pipeline and sign up at - http://www.gnomonschool.com/master/2013/
Replies
Not really, in my opinion (signed for it twice before). It's a better deal if they run it for 5-6 weeks AND allow you to download the videos. Or, cut the fee to $75 for just 2 weeks of access. Or, pick and choose the videos and instructors you like carte blanche style for a more flexible fee rate. You'll find that some course look good just from the catalog but you might be disappointed with the quality of the instruction or it's too technical and advanced for your needs. For me it was mostly the film related techniques like compositing. Interesting to watch for a bit but I wouldn't really pay for such a workshop if it was offered separately.
If you have a day job or school, you'll have to cram watching all the videos before the cutoff. I had to watch sessions while at my old modelling studio job just so I could have a life during the 2 weeks it was on. Instructor feedback was pretty uneven in the two masterclasses I've been too. It was forum based. You post your questions and may have to wait days to get answers. Some were better than others at responding.
Gnomon School changed to an "interactive" online course system this year. I took several courses under the old system. In the old system you watched uploaded videos (2.5 to 3.5 hours worth a week) and read uploaded supporting material. You then had to post a weekly assignment by Friday midnight Pacific time or receive an F for that week. You also had to complete a final project that you began working on around week four or five. Each week the instructor would upload a video critique of your assignment.
I have taken one course with the new interactive system. Under the new interactive system you log in using a webcam. You have a three-hour classroom each week and can see and interact with the instructor and other students. You still have to post a weekly assignment and have a final project. The instructor spends the first part of each class in a "public" critique of your assignment. You can post questions in a forum during the week. Usually the last hour is spent working on an assignment and the instructor makes your screen "live" so others can see what you are doing and then advice is offered.
What I like about the Gnomon courses is that you have to get your shit done or fail. You cannot miss more than one class out of the ten. The instructors are all working pros and most have been good at providing feedback.
The reason that you do not see any posted work is that you cannot download the videos nor access the course after it ends. Only if a student posts a final project on his own web page will you see it. Typically the classes are small and only three or four of us finished our projects to an acceptable level. I've heard a few negatives about some instructors (don't respond regularly), but under the new system the Gnomon system admin checks in each week. The courses that I took were not for slackers. You have to be willing to devote the time and get your shit done. Some students rushed their work and were critiqued accordingly. Like any course the more you put in the more you get out. I met a fellow Gnomon student at GDC last year that took a course with me. We had both worked our butts off. He was looking for a job (I wasn't) and presented his course project as part of his portfolio. He received an interview.
I've taken a few CG Society workshops, but they are not "graded." Typically only about four to six people out of the 25-30 that start actually keep up and post work. Critiques are posted in the forums for everyone to see, but are usually paintovers with comments. A few instructors do upload video critiques. Lately CG Society seems to be offering one hour weekly interactive question and answer sessions, but Gnomon costs twice as much and you can get a failing grade.
In my Gnomon lighting course (with one of the best lighting pros in the industry) I had to resubmit an update on my project 23 times! Each time I resubmitted I received an updated critique. The guy was brutal, but I learned a ton. It is a great feeling to have the instructor tell you "you paid your dues and it shows--excellent work!" I guess what I'm telling you is that to get the nod from a pro teaching for Gnomon you will have to attain a high level of quality. You can always check into an instructor's background before taking a course.
Generally I've googled each workshop's title and see if people have work on blogs, etc from the course. Not found very much. The biggest concern though is if you're outside of the USA - doing live, webcam classes is pretty crazy and means you can only attend if you're within a reasonable timezone. I don't fancy getting up at 4am for a 3 hour webcam class then going to work. It also limits their customer base too.. kind of odd. Having said all that, some of the courses do get my mouth watering..
I would put CGworkshops above gnomon. The instructors put a ton of time into giving feedback (paintovers, sculptovers) and there are live sessions with Q&A.
I noticed that you took Scott Eaton's course (I took his Anatomy for Digital Artists and Digital Sculpting. Scott is a great teacher).
There was one guy in Australia that had to log in around 4 a.m. in the morning his time in order to take the Gnomon course! From what we were told they believe the interactive--live method is the best approach and most of the instructors work in LA.
You can email the system admin at Gnomon with questions about a course and they will forward your email to the instructor. I asked about a course a few months ago and did get a reply.
The best CG Society course that I took was Jon Rush's 8-week course (Jon was at Bioware for many years and switched jobs last year and no longer has time to teach). Jon went out of his way to provide individualized short videos to help you with particular techniques related to your personal project. The CG Society courses don't "drive" you as hard as Gnomon courses, but you can drive yourself hard and make up for it. The advantage with CGS is that the course material remains accessible after the course ends. However, most students, at least in those workshops that I took, do not keep up nor post updates. It helps when your classmates provide feedback and encouragement. I was only disappointed by one CGS course (will not mention publicly). The new weekly live webinar feature for CGS is nice, but having an instructor live for three hours a week and being able to ask questions was valuable for me. When you have an instructor checking in on your progress live--it tends to make you do your best (at least in my case).
http://www.hexeract.org/101412/1071196/portfolio/unit-06-t9
http://www.hexeract.org/101412/936995/portfolio/hyperion-defense-system
http://www.hexeract.org/101412/937014/portfolio/ambrosii-bot