Schools training: need to brush up on the latest software update? Eager for a career in post production? You have many options

Post, Sept, 2005 by Debbie Galante Block

Teachers are all working professionals. Students in a class range from five to 20. Required classes can be a bit bigger. Over 5,000 students are in attendance in a year.

STUDENTS: Courses are designed for those who need to learn film basics. A large international student population exists. According to Chlipala, they can get a visa to come here and study, while keeping 12 units per quarter. "We also train local people, such as the local PBS who send their employees over for re-training."

HOUSING: No formal service, but they help students to network.

TUITION: Charge per class, one-day classes range from $75 to $1,000

CHALLENGES/TRENDS: "Everything is going digital, and it's much more affordable for students to purchase their own cameras and make films on their own," says Chlipala, "so we are tailoring the curriculum in that area."

FUTURE MEDIA CONCEPTS

(www.FMCtraining.com)

LOCATION: Started in New York City in 1994, FMC now has six locations on the East Coast with centers in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Miami and Orlando.

CURRICULUM: Licensed by the New York State Education department, FMC started as an Avid authorized educational center and soon expanded. They are now authorized training centers for Adobe, Apple, Avid, Boris, Digidesign, Autodesk, Macromedia, NewTek, Softimage and Sony. "The curriculum is developed by the manufacturer and is only available at an authorized training center," says co-founder Jeff Rothberg. When students take a course, they leave with a certificate of completion. Classes are offered weekly. A schedule is planned out six to eight months in advance. Some applications, which are not as popular, may be offered monthly or quarterly. All classes have a maximum of eight students; most have four to six, some even less.

STUDENTS: The student breakdown is 70 to 75 percent people already in the business looking to enhance their skills. The other 25 to 30 percent are looking to break into the business.

HOUSING: "Since must courses are short in length [five days] housing isn't really an issue. We have preferred rates with the local hotels in area," Rothberg says.

TUITION: As a rule of thumb, cost is $400 to 500 per day of training with most two-day courses costing about $925.

CHALLENGES/TRENDS: "As software becomes more sophisticated, the need for providing quality training has never been more evident, and the challenge is making sure that instructors as well as equipment and software are current," says Rothberg.

SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN

(www.scad.edu)

LOCATION: Savannah, Atlanta and Lacoste, France

CURRICULUM: Savannah offers graduate certificates and masters of arts. The School of Film & Digital Media offers six different majors. "We have an accredited masters in visual effects as well as in broadcast design and motion graphics," says, dean of Film & Digital Media, Peter Weishar. "We have the only master in sound design that deals with sound image. Our sound design program is very closely linked to our film school." In addition to traditional classes, he says for the last two years the college has offered a strong E-learning program. The same courses that are offered online are taught on site with the same professors. Some students take some classes traditionally while they are taking courses online for convenience.