Vancouver Film School (VFS)

One of my biggest regret was attending this school for Game Design and now I'm paying the price for it (figuratively and literally).Why pay tens of thousands for a one year tuition when there's already plenty of great resources about game development available for free online? There is absolutely no knowledge that they teach that isn't already available on the web.Attending this course will not guarantee employment in the industry at all. Please don't be fooled by their misleading marketing statistics.I don't mean to discourage anyone from pursuing a career in game design, I'm just saying there's much better alternatives than this diploma-mill school.Just keep in mind: most of the people who created your favorite games didn't go to these types of schools for game design, they went to schools that specialized on art or programming specifically.

(game design - >5 years ago)Overall their handling of learning disabilities is abysmal at best. Hopefully they improved, and no longer stigmatize people with learning disabilities. This was years ago, but my experience there was traumatizing. I must add this treatment is regardless of what your grades are. Even if you have 90-100% they still act like you are failing class.I'm not giving 1 star because I did learn a lot in the short time I was there. However I went to a different school and they teach the same thing.Another down side of VFS is that their courses are not individualized. This means if you want to focus on learning 3d modeling, UX design or programming, you won't be able to.The facilities are better than what other schools have. However, due to the short school year, you might not have time to learn everything you wanted to learn.

VFS has one of the best Game Design programs in the world. Their program is very well rounded and they really make an effort to help student find where their passion lies within the gaming industry. I came into this program with zero knowledge of 3D software and now I am walking away as a 3D environment artist. I would recommend this school to anyone interested in the gaming industry as they are your fastest route into the gaming world.

I have a few criticisms to make as someone who graduated from the acting program. VFS is a program that is set up in such a way that basically anyone who was already poised to successfully make it in the industry before graduating will be the ones who actually make a career in acting. As someone who was in the acting department I feel as though there probably wasn't enough criticism on people's acting abilities so people who maybe needed it wouldn't grow in the ways they need to. It's structured in a way where everyone is a loving family and when you're there you'll feel like everyone is your best friend but In the cutthroat competitive world of acting this everyone loves eachother and is best friends" mentality isn't how people get roles. There isn't really much collaboration with other departments aside from film production and the projects you work on when you collaborate with them are not used as demo reel footage when you graduate. There's also virtually no collaboration with the animation department which I feel like would be detrimental in learning about the world of voice acting and again that doesn't go into your demo reel either. Instead your demo reel is a cut of you standing against a black wall re enacting scenes from movies and tv shows and your voice acting demo reel is comprised of you writing a character to act and reading off of material that already exists and already has a voice actor so again you're not really bringing anything unique to your demo reel. Having certain classes and teachers be on your resume certainly is helpful when contacting agents but I feel like there's not enough collaboration that can be used to showcase your growth and ability as an actor and I hope VFS can recognize this and adjust their curriculum to not just "encourage" collaboration (and by encourage I mean sort of off handedly saying "oh yeah animation students sometimes need voice actors for projects you can do that I guess") it would be significantly better if these collaboration were baked into the learning experience and were part of the curriculum so that 1- you can learn about networking in a way that allows you to actually learn about what collaboration with different people on projects is like and 2- you could then use that project as a part of your demo reel. I feel like if this were adjusted and we didn't spend so much time on making other students read a monologue about other students traumas in front of them we might see a higher rate of successful actors who graduate from this program."

I have recently started Game Design, and so far my impressions on the program and the institution as a whole are mostly positive. The program sure is intense - their recommendation of not working in parallel with studying is not exaggerated in the slightest - but it is very much oriented towards the industry, and even though I am not new to the area as a whole, I admit I have been learning some pretty valuable stuff since I started the program - and that's been just a little more than one month. The instructors are great - they are definitely interested in helping out the students and in providing them guidance through the industry, and the fact all of them have actually worked directly in the industry is a huge bonus. In short, it's been a challenging experience for me so far - especially having to deal with serious time management - but, on the other hand, I actually feel like I am gathering valuable knowledge, and I feel that is what matters the most in the end. If you are still unsure about the idea of giving VFS a go - and if you are okay with working hard as long as it is fulfilling - I think it definitely deserves your attention.

It takes genius to recognize genius, and there is no guarantee the teachers are even at average IQ. There wasn’t anyone courageous to do anything provocative it was a total waste of money. Kevin Smith left the school and got a refund, he used that money to make Clerks. Don’t go if you have any artistic fiber of your own.It’s no honour to be accepted there, they’ll accept anyone who will pay the outrageous tuition.I seriously doubt they read the script I submitted.

For anyone interested in enrolling into the VFS’s writing program - DON’T. When you graduate, you’re back on your own. There will be no connections in the industry. They bite off way more than they can chew and trying to get quality one on one time with the teachers is rare. If you want to learn how to write a screenplay, google a screenplay of your favourite movie/television show and there ya go. Emulate it, add in your original idea and boom, you’re now a screenplay writer. Just one last tip, it’s not the credential (VFS diploma) you have, it is who you know that lets you into the industry.

A small disclaimer before I begin... There are probably many former students that have provided testimonials and thoughts on the program, and have focused on the knowlege they gained from the course materials in the Digital Design program at VFS. My testimonial differs slightly. I'm going to tell you about the life lessons I learned at VFS.Make no doubt about it, the Digital Design program at VFS is very challenging.The curriculum comes fast and hard, and requires a keen mind and disciplined approach to catch it all. In my opinion, the true challenge is that, as a student, VFS really forces you to look at what you want to do with your life and design career after graduation.Here's why; when I attended VFS, there were two specializations: Interaction Design and Motion Design. Both were very appealing and taught by engaging and extremely knowledgeable instructors. So from the outset, you are confronted with that classic fork-in-the-road decision.I had great difficulty choosing which stream to commit to. On the one hand, I was naturally inclined to do well in Motion, but on the other, learning about Interaction Design was exciting and challenging as it was completely new to me.I knew that the choice would dictate what I would learn over the next 12 months, but I also had to remember that these would be the first few steps towards a life and career that I wanted to be rewarding and fulfilling. It was a choice that I couldn't take lightly as it not only affected me but also my young family.I took a long hard look at myself. I asked, what did I truly enjoy in life? What things really irked me about the current state of the world? What personal strengths do I have that will make me a more objective designer? What professional strengths can I leverage to help me get a job once I graduate? And of course... what topics did we discuss that will get me up in the morning and keep me up at night?So what did I choose? For me, it was Interaction Design, and I couldn't be happier. Why? Because I took the time to really question what I wanted out of that year, and what I wanted in the years to follow. I took the time to do the heavy lifting in the beginning, to make the rest less difficult. I made the right decision for me, based on the tough questions I asked myself.If you are a prospective VFS student, your story might be different. You might know exactly what you want to do, and that's great! However, I'm hoping that my insights help shine a light on the less talked about aspects of student life like: personal growth, life assessment and self reflection. You'll need to do that for your entire career after VFS, so thinking that way in advance is a good habit to get into.My opinions on VFS?Yes, you will learn from some of the industry's best. Yes, you will learn to become an amazing designer, and look at the world with a new set of eyes. Yes, you will make life long friends and make memories that will last a lifetime... and Yes I do highly recommend this school if you are thinking of becoming a Digital Designer.Just know that the knowledge you will gain here does not begin and end with your scheduled classes. It happens at all moments... in the interactions you have with your classmates, the life lessons you gain from your instructors, and even the random moments on your way to school or on the way home.Always have an eye and ear open, be a good person, and try to leave things a little better than when you got there.You do that, and I'm sure you'll do great at VFS... and everywhere else.Stay inspired.

ACTORS BEWARE!!! When you work on a VFS set, expect to not get your footage at all. I've been waiting on a couple of mine since 2019.We work to get footages and add them on our reels, showcase it to our agents, and to potentially work. But we can't even do that because the students don't reply to our emails any more once production has been done.UPDATE: the VFS Heads has reached out to me regarding my concerns of the missing tape, and I would like to update every actor out there: When submitting, please ask if they are in Term 3 Short Story or Term 5 Final Project, as they are REQUIRED to complete their projects. It will help determine if it is best to move forward with the team, knowing that they will give you your demo reels. I thank them for reaching out to my agent and wanting to help resolve this, otherwise this issue would've stayed the same.

I started at VFS just a few weeks ago and I’m already in love with the school. I was nervous for the first few months leading up to when I started (moving across the country to go to school will always be scary),but as soon as I got to orientation I felt really welcomed. A couple weeks in I’ve made so many great friends with similar passions and aspirations. Every class I find myself learning new things from the very talented staff who are equipped with all the knowledge I’ve been wanting to know for years. I’m in the Animation Concept Art program and I feel like going to school here is the best decision I could have made for my career.