Full Sail University

Date: Mar 02 2009
Major: Other (This Major's Salary over time)
If you are looking for a film program that can give you a Bachelors degree, this is the place. If you are looking for a film program that can answer the technical questions you've always asked about

how did they do that?

, this is the place. If you are looking to learn about 50-75% (that last 25% can only be learned by doing) about each position in the film industry in the place. If you are looking for training on being a Director, this is not the place (Their directing class is quaint at best) however as a director, you need to know a little about every job so this still a good place to start. If you are looking to ONLY learn how to be a DP or an editor or other such specific field, go to AFI.

This place is perfect for getting the kind of general knowledge you need to start out as a GOOD PA, an above average grip/electric and a decent camera, gaffer, dolly grip… etc. Producers can also learn a lot by doing. Since Full Sail is a business FIRST they really make you hustle and work for any special treatment to do projects on your own time, which is as it should be. Good training for those producer-wannabes out there. As a note, if you think you're a good writer, you probably aren't. I have only seen ONE good writer come out of that school and HEARD of only one other that sold a script right out. You are no diva, so don't act like one. It just pisses everyone else off. There is no actor pool of any worth out there either, so dont get your hopes up of making anything of any worth.

If you want to stand out, dont be your “average Full Sail student. Youll learn quickly enough what that means if you pay attention. There is a system, it isnt perfect, but it is MUCH more fluid to complaints and change than any other campus youll find. There is no organized social life to speak of, so this is no party school. There is no on-campus housing, there is no student life center, just labs, classes and things related to those things. They have some of the best and most film equipment youll ever see in a Film School so if you make the right friends, youll want for naught when it comes time to make your short on the side.

DO NOT depend or lean on staff there however, there is a reason the work there and not in LA, mostly for a steadier family life but a LOT of them are flakey at best so dont be surprised then a 16mm teacher suddenly stops answering your calls when he promises to edit your video.
If you go in expecting your education to be handed to you, youll be sore and will be one of the people online complaining on how Full Sail is a crock and stole your money & didnt care about you. NO they wont care about you unless you give them reason to. Do you know HOW MANY students they see come and go every month? Its insane. You gotta WORK for your education. And unlike some schools where if you put in 50% youll get back 25 there, theyll give you back exactly what you put in. So hearing some alumni whines “I dont have a job, they should GIVE me a job. SCREW THEM. They gotta earn it, they didnt they get nothing.

One HUGE note on the Masters of Entertainment Business though: STAY AWAY! It sucks more than hard core. The teachers dont really teach you anything, they expect you to merely regurgitate what you read in the books they assign you. Now from the experience of every single other person who has ever taken a REAL masters course this is about the level when you stop regurgitation & start taking the 2s in the book & making 4s. Your own thoughts based on the information. However when regurgitating you will get As. BS info and you will get As. Start thinking for yourself & taking the questions seriously & you will get Cs at best. Their system is so messed up that in order to fix it they need to chuck it completely and start from scratch. Which they never did from the beginning, which is their main problem. All courses are specially designed for students who either wanna make a t-shirt company, or sell their own music; the course was designed after their MUSIC BUSNESS course. That means all of you who are in the film business & want to take the course, who would NORMALLY use a production company as their business model: they know NOTHING about how that model works. I could quite literally go on for pages on the fraudulent nature of this degree, but Id rather not waste the energy. Needless to say I have a friend who tied to argue a grade with one teacher to only have the teacher threaten “maybe I should recheck ALL your grades then. Very mature. So what have we learned? STAY AWAY from the MS:EB.