Garrett Lexell
New Member
Hello, I had the chance to interview a Full Sail graduate a few months ago, and I thought Id post it here to hopefully help you guys out.
Now Full Sail isn't a college about boats (don't let the name fool you now) it is a digital media type college (that is a basic way of putting it) They have film programs, web design, music, screenwriting, stuff of that nature and they all use state-of-the art equipment.
Full Sail is in Orlando, Florida and here is the website http://www.fullsail.com
Now whenever you see Garrett: that is me and Full Sail: is the graduate.
-----
Garrett: What were the requirements for you to get into Full Sail?
Full Sail: There are no real requirements, other than having a high school diploma, and more importantly, a way to get the huge student loans you'll need. FS is a business after all, they _want_ you to attend.
Garrett: Ive been told that %70 of the students who graduate actually work in
the film industry, does that mean there working for a news station, or
working with a film crew out in hollywood, or what does that mean?
Full Sail: I'd say it was more like 50-60% of my class, and we're all doing different things, doing it in different ways. I did both ways you suggested... I was a producer for a CBS station, and I also worked a bit in Hollywood (even did a production on the fox backlot)... but ended up coming back to Florida and getting married (that's actually when I worked for the CBS station).
Garrett: When you graduated, how many other students graduated, and do you know
how many of those students are succesfully working in Hollywood or
with a film company making films today?
Full Sail: We were a class of about 40 film students. I know of about 10 students in LA (a couple close to being able to join a Union) and about as many in NYC, with a couple people doing film/video in other parts of the country.
Garrett: What are the students like?
Full Sail: They all would be out in LA or NYC if they had thought about it before hand and actually planned it out financially.
Garrett: What are the dorms and classrooms like?
Full Sail: There are no dorms, you have to live in a nearby apartment.
Garrett: Do you have little-none or a lot of homework each night, if so what
kind of homework is it, is it finishing a screenplay or working in a
soundstage, writing an essay...
Full Sail: There isn't much homework because much of what you do requires labs (you can't exactly do Quantel work at home for instance). The courses with writing, like your three months of general education and then your screenwriting course, do have homework. You should really want to do as much as possible. it shouldn't be home "work", but home "play" really. if it's work, and you think of it as homework, you shouldn't be paying for FS. The kids that got the most out of FS are the ones who actually did as much as possible, and did projects on the side of classes.
Garrett: Also what is the schedule for classes like?
Full Sail: Classes are held 24/7. You'll have weeks where you'll have screenwriting three days a week at 9am-1pm, dv editing four times a week in 4-hour labs starting at 9am, 1pm, 5pm, 9pm, 1am, and 5am. your schedule actually changes every month, so it's impossible to hold a job (don't even consider it, if you have to, you shouldn't be paying for FS). It's actually very exciting. The hours and scheduling help prepare you for the real world.
Garrett: So whats the campus like
Full Sail: It's continually growing. they had just opened a new building in my final months, and there are now several more.
Garrett: Is it as futuristic as the brouchurs and website make it sound?
Full Sail: Inside, yes.
Garrett: What's it like on the interior?
Full Sail: The original building is a tech building, so it's cool and covered in glass... but the expansions are in renovated (as in, completed gutted and practically re-built) shopping center. Lots of interesting design, lots of style. gets you into a good artistic mode. Oval windows, slanted dorwells, etc. Lots of color.
Garrett: I heard there are 4 soundstages?
Full Sail: I'm really not sure what they're at now. They have three new additions since I graduated.
Garrett: Now are the students allowed to use the soundstages with permission of the faculty or are there only aloud to be used for labs?
Full Sail: they're exclusively for labs. having said that, if you're friendly with the lab instructors and professors, it can be possible to schedule in some extra time... but because of the large number of students using them, and the fact that they're used 24/7, it's very difficult to get time. if you do, it'll likely be a 4am-9am block. The implication there is that you can't really use them until you reach the class where you have labs in them. We were able to schedule extra editing time for 16mm films in the avid labs after we promoted past the class, but it was very late. It's really all about networking with the faculty and being well liked. Just like the industry.
Garrett: So do they take you in and teach every little detail about using theese cameras and stuff like that and make sure you know how to use them before the labs?
Full Sail: Those are the labs. Your first labs in any production course will be to gain familiarity with the equipment. In 35mm for instance, we had two separate labs to learn how to load the film into the cameras and prep them for shooting. That's 8 full hours of hands-on work. 8 hours is a lot of time! you'll find some people becoming expects by continuing during the duration, whereas other students will stop once they think they have it down. Did 2nd AC on a couple indy 32mm films in LA after graduation... I was able to get right to work without anybody showing me how to do it or anything, it helped us greatly.
Garrett: Did 2nd AC on a couple indy 32mm whats that mean?
Full Sail: 2nd Assistant Camera. It means loading the film and helping the 1st AC wherever they need it. I could have also worked 1st AC because of my training, which made me valuable to the 1st, because I knew what they needed help with.
Garrett: Is this a good school to go to if you want to be a director and/or producer one day?
Full Sail: Sure, because you become familiar with the entire process and everybody's job. You're able to talk the talk. And know when somebody isn't pulling their weight.
Garrett: So when I graduate full sail and Ive done everything I possibly could do to succeed 100% and i just got handed my diploma or whatever they hand out at graduation, what do I do the next day when I wake up, to I fly straight to hollywood....
Full Sail: That's the tricky part. If you counted on the expenses of leaving, yes.
Garrett: What if money isnt a problem?
Full Sail: If you're going to do hollywood, you have to be prepared for how difficult it is to get into it there. they'll help, and there are plenty of networking opportunities... but you'll have to do a lot too (like putting out flyers to assist other student projects or searching job boards). At first, if you're doing hollywood, many of the jobs you do will not pay anything. They'll be for credit only. As you establish some credit, you start moving up and you start getting paid. little bit by little bit, it grows and grows. Eventually you're making enough and have worked enough, that you can petition to join a union.
Garrett: What is a union?
Full Sail: These are things you'd learn at FS. Hollywood is union based. you _can not_ work for Universal unless you're in a Union. You can't get into a union until you've met their requirements for hours of paid work in your field. And then the unions regulate how many days you have to work in an entry position to move to your next, and then how many days until you can promote again. etc. If you're in a union, you're probably making 80k+ (annually) A couple FS grads I met up with, were making over 100k after their 4th year there. but they had to go a couple years barely surviving.
Garrett: What is a job board, is that like another name for job listings in a newspaper or something similar of that sort?
Full Sail: Job sites like monster.com, but for film.
Garrett: Your friends that are in the union currently, what was there latest project
Full Sail: I haven't kept up with many of them. but when I left one had just finished work on Terminator 3 as a Rigger.
Garrett: Rigger being...
Full Sail: A position in the electrical / grip department for creating the structures that hold lights and what not.
Garrett: So me wanting to be a producer, being a rigger wouldnt make me very happy are there any other basic jobs in the union once you join it that might help you get closer to being a producer one day
Full Sail: Not really. A Producer is "above the line", part of the creative force that makes a movie... they follow different rules. above the line means that you don't have to "pay your dues" to climb up a union. for instance, in the DGA, you qualify as a member the moment a studio hires you to direct... the same with the WGA. for bellow the line positions, the studio can't hire you until you're a member. I don't think there's a producer's union/guild. you're basically as valuable as the properties you can control (script, director, actor, etc). Many people tend to work into producing by doing other jobs and just building up a big enough network of friends they can rely upon when in negotiations with a studio.
Garrett: So when I go to full sail I should try and make friends with some other people who want to be producers and stick with them?
Full Sail: No, producers are your enemies. People who are creative are your assets, your goods. Having a writer friend, who's work you can pitch to a studio, is an asset, having connections that can help edit, is valuable. If you want to produce, what I'd focus on at FS is getting people in your class together for out-of-class projects. Since a producer is sort of an orchestrator of people.
Garrett: Am I aloud to use the 16mm cameras to make out-of-class projects or do I have to use my mini dv camrcorder from circuit city?
Full Sail: No school property, a dv camcorder and computer would be the best. If I were about to attend FS, I'd be sure to have a G5 mac with Final Cut and sony's new HD Z1U camera. It's sad but true for hollywood, where vanity is the name of the game, the better the equipment the more people will want to be a part of it. if you can offer something cool, like working in HD, everybody will want to work with you. it may not be feasible because of cost. Having something like that though, you'd be able to also pitch your services to other film classes at FS too, which means a lot more contacts for you and even more footage to put together in a reel (which you normally don't have when leaving FS)
[EDIT - Added line breaks for readability]
Now Full Sail isn't a college about boats (don't let the name fool you now) it is a digital media type college (that is a basic way of putting it) They have film programs, web design, music, screenwriting, stuff of that nature and they all use state-of-the art equipment.
Full Sail is in Orlando, Florida and here is the website http://www.fullsail.com
Now whenever you see Garrett: that is me and Full Sail: is the graduate.
-----
Garrett: What were the requirements for you to get into Full Sail?
Full Sail: There are no real requirements, other than having a high school diploma, and more importantly, a way to get the huge student loans you'll need. FS is a business after all, they _want_ you to attend.
Garrett: Ive been told that %70 of the students who graduate actually work in
the film industry, does that mean there working for a news station, or
working with a film crew out in hollywood, or what does that mean?
Full Sail: I'd say it was more like 50-60% of my class, and we're all doing different things, doing it in different ways. I did both ways you suggested... I was a producer for a CBS station, and I also worked a bit in Hollywood (even did a production on the fox backlot)... but ended up coming back to Florida and getting married (that's actually when I worked for the CBS station).
Garrett: When you graduated, how many other students graduated, and do you know
how many of those students are succesfully working in Hollywood or
with a film company making films today?
Full Sail: We were a class of about 40 film students. I know of about 10 students in LA (a couple close to being able to join a Union) and about as many in NYC, with a couple people doing film/video in other parts of the country.
Garrett: What are the students like?
Full Sail: They all would be out in LA or NYC if they had thought about it before hand and actually planned it out financially.
Garrett: What are the dorms and classrooms like?
Full Sail: There are no dorms, you have to live in a nearby apartment.
Garrett: Do you have little-none or a lot of homework each night, if so what
kind of homework is it, is it finishing a screenplay or working in a
soundstage, writing an essay...
Full Sail: There isn't much homework because much of what you do requires labs (you can't exactly do Quantel work at home for instance). The courses with writing, like your three months of general education and then your screenwriting course, do have homework. You should really want to do as much as possible. it shouldn't be home "work", but home "play" really. if it's work, and you think of it as homework, you shouldn't be paying for FS. The kids that got the most out of FS are the ones who actually did as much as possible, and did projects on the side of classes.
Garrett: Also what is the schedule for classes like?
Full Sail: Classes are held 24/7. You'll have weeks where you'll have screenwriting three days a week at 9am-1pm, dv editing four times a week in 4-hour labs starting at 9am, 1pm, 5pm, 9pm, 1am, and 5am. your schedule actually changes every month, so it's impossible to hold a job (don't even consider it, if you have to, you shouldn't be paying for FS). It's actually very exciting. The hours and scheduling help prepare you for the real world.
Garrett: So whats the campus like
Full Sail: It's continually growing. they had just opened a new building in my final months, and there are now several more.
Garrett: Is it as futuristic as the brouchurs and website make it sound?
Full Sail: Inside, yes.
Garrett: What's it like on the interior?
Full Sail: The original building is a tech building, so it's cool and covered in glass... but the expansions are in renovated (as in, completed gutted and practically re-built) shopping center. Lots of interesting design, lots of style. gets you into a good artistic mode. Oval windows, slanted dorwells, etc. Lots of color.
Garrett: I heard there are 4 soundstages?
Full Sail: I'm really not sure what they're at now. They have three new additions since I graduated.
Garrett: Now are the students allowed to use the soundstages with permission of the faculty or are there only aloud to be used for labs?
Full Sail: they're exclusively for labs. having said that, if you're friendly with the lab instructors and professors, it can be possible to schedule in some extra time... but because of the large number of students using them, and the fact that they're used 24/7, it's very difficult to get time. if you do, it'll likely be a 4am-9am block. The implication there is that you can't really use them until you reach the class where you have labs in them. We were able to schedule extra editing time for 16mm films in the avid labs after we promoted past the class, but it was very late. It's really all about networking with the faculty and being well liked. Just like the industry.
Garrett: So do they take you in and teach every little detail about using theese cameras and stuff like that and make sure you know how to use them before the labs?
Full Sail: Those are the labs. Your first labs in any production course will be to gain familiarity with the equipment. In 35mm for instance, we had two separate labs to learn how to load the film into the cameras and prep them for shooting. That's 8 full hours of hands-on work. 8 hours is a lot of time! you'll find some people becoming expects by continuing during the duration, whereas other students will stop once they think they have it down. Did 2nd AC on a couple indy 32mm films in LA after graduation... I was able to get right to work without anybody showing me how to do it or anything, it helped us greatly.
Garrett: Did 2nd AC on a couple indy 32mm whats that mean?
Full Sail: 2nd Assistant Camera. It means loading the film and helping the 1st AC wherever they need it. I could have also worked 1st AC because of my training, which made me valuable to the 1st, because I knew what they needed help with.
Garrett: Is this a good school to go to if you want to be a director and/or producer one day?
Full Sail: Sure, because you become familiar with the entire process and everybody's job. You're able to talk the talk. And know when somebody isn't pulling their weight.
Garrett: So when I graduate full sail and Ive done everything I possibly could do to succeed 100% and i just got handed my diploma or whatever they hand out at graduation, what do I do the next day when I wake up, to I fly straight to hollywood....
Full Sail: That's the tricky part. If you counted on the expenses of leaving, yes.
Garrett: What if money isnt a problem?
Full Sail: If you're going to do hollywood, you have to be prepared for how difficult it is to get into it there. they'll help, and there are plenty of networking opportunities... but you'll have to do a lot too (like putting out flyers to assist other student projects or searching job boards). At first, if you're doing hollywood, many of the jobs you do will not pay anything. They'll be for credit only. As you establish some credit, you start moving up and you start getting paid. little bit by little bit, it grows and grows. Eventually you're making enough and have worked enough, that you can petition to join a union.
Garrett: What is a union?
Full Sail: These are things you'd learn at FS. Hollywood is union based. you _can not_ work for Universal unless you're in a Union. You can't get into a union until you've met their requirements for hours of paid work in your field. And then the unions regulate how many days you have to work in an entry position to move to your next, and then how many days until you can promote again. etc. If you're in a union, you're probably making 80k+ (annually) A couple FS grads I met up with, were making over 100k after their 4th year there. but they had to go a couple years barely surviving.
Garrett: What is a job board, is that like another name for job listings in a newspaper or something similar of that sort?
Full Sail: Job sites like monster.com, but for film.
Garrett: Your friends that are in the union currently, what was there latest project
Full Sail: I haven't kept up with many of them. but when I left one had just finished work on Terminator 3 as a Rigger.
Garrett: Rigger being...
Full Sail: A position in the electrical / grip department for creating the structures that hold lights and what not.
Garrett: So me wanting to be a producer, being a rigger wouldnt make me very happy are there any other basic jobs in the union once you join it that might help you get closer to being a producer one day
Full Sail: Not really. A Producer is "above the line", part of the creative force that makes a movie... they follow different rules. above the line means that you don't have to "pay your dues" to climb up a union. for instance, in the DGA, you qualify as a member the moment a studio hires you to direct... the same with the WGA. for bellow the line positions, the studio can't hire you until you're a member. I don't think there's a producer's union/guild. you're basically as valuable as the properties you can control (script, director, actor, etc). Many people tend to work into producing by doing other jobs and just building up a big enough network of friends they can rely upon when in negotiations with a studio.
Garrett: So when I go to full sail I should try and make friends with some other people who want to be producers and stick with them?
Full Sail: No, producers are your enemies. People who are creative are your assets, your goods. Having a writer friend, who's work you can pitch to a studio, is an asset, having connections that can help edit, is valuable. If you want to produce, what I'd focus on at FS is getting people in your class together for out-of-class projects. Since a producer is sort of an orchestrator of people.
Garrett: Am I aloud to use the 16mm cameras to make out-of-class projects or do I have to use my mini dv camrcorder from circuit city?
Full Sail: No school property, a dv camcorder and computer would be the best. If I were about to attend FS, I'd be sure to have a G5 mac with Final Cut and sony's new HD Z1U camera. It's sad but true for hollywood, where vanity is the name of the game, the better the equipment the more people will want to be a part of it. if you can offer something cool, like working in HD, everybody will want to work with you. it may not be feasible because of cost. Having something like that though, you'd be able to also pitch your services to other film classes at FS too, which means a lot more contacts for you and even more footage to put together in a reel (which you normally don't have when leaving FS)
[EDIT - Added line breaks for readability]
