Gnomon visual effects students

[scottcanto]

Hello,

I

[victoria]

hey dude...
this coming fall 03 semester, i plan on attending the school for their certificate program. i have heard some things about the school.

1. my 3d animation teachers have both said that the school is good and extremely well respected. and one of them actually have had received remedial training there cause back then her job was to teach for Pixar.
2. another guy, who works in the video game industry and who also worked on final fantasy said that the people there are good and they know their stuff.
3. another guy who works for konami has said that he went there for remedial training for modeling and texturing. he said that they teach at a tremendously fast pace. that part scares me. but then again i dont know if it was the "maya fast track" or the "ten week course". big difference there.

take a look at their student animation reels they are hot. but in my opinion, their training videos suck hard. i bought one on polygonal modeling and it blows.
be prepared to show a solid art portfolio as well. i spoke to the administrator on the phone and she said that last year about forty people applied for the certificate program and only eight got in. in my opinion, it looks great especially since the ten week courses are specific and concentrated, i.e. modeling @ ten weeks, texturing @ ten weeks, lighting/rendering @ ten weeks, etc. but prepare to study hard cause the price is a arm and a leg and then some. not to mention that the industry is flooded with even more fresh newbies like you and me.
contact me if you want to know more, im going in for a interview in early june of 03.

[midda]

Hi Poly_cube,

I'm currently enrolled in the Certificate Program at Gnomon, and I might be able to help you out with your questions...

I can start by saying that the school, and particularly the instructors, blew away my expectations. First of all, the instructors are experts in their respective fields, and have the credentials to prove it. I began the program a mere 6 weeks ago, but in that time, I've already surpassed what I learned in over a year's worth of doing 3d as a serious hobby.

As for things I don't like about the campus? The only thing I can honestly say, is that the bathrooms are a total pain to get to. They're in another building and up a couple of flights of stairs. Other than that one nit-pick, there's nothing negative I could possibly say about the education I'm receiving.

The best part about Gnomon, that you don't really see until you've been around there a little bit, is the sense of community, and the contacts that you make. For instance, one of the certificate students who graduated just got a job at 'Rhythm and Hues.' Now we have one more contact in that studio, and another foot in the door when we're looking for a job. Every student becomes a contact for every other student, and there's a person at the school who's simply in charge of industry relations. She finds jobs, talks to studios, and manages these contacts.

Hope that helps you out a bit...