Options for Graphic Design Courses

[smrt]

Oh! I have some questions for you then Hope this doesn't hijack the thread - it's still related to GD.
My son's interests are working with things like movie and photo creating/editing. He especially likes to make youtube videos and input special effects or make videos of a video game being played (apparently that's a popular thing) and edit them too. Do you have any thoughts about how to use that in a career?

He's getting a bunch of good video editing experience he can take with him to a career.. Trouble is, every kid with Minecraft and a Twitch account does too. Just like 15 years ago every teenager with a pirated copy of Photoshop picked up the skills to start them off in a graphic design career. There's going to be a ton of competition, so he needs to differentiate himself. Marketing would be a good path that can involve video creation. Basically any form of internet-based media needs a video editor of some sort.

[SweetSecret]

Oh! I have some questions for you then Hope this doesn't hijack the thread - it's still related to GD.
My son's interests are working with things like movie and photo creating/editing. He especially likes to make youtube videos and input special effects or make videos of a video game being played (apparently that's a popular thing) and edit them too. Do you have any thoughts about how to use that in a career?

Again, I'd point you to DigiPen if he wants to do game design, where he'd also use those skills to create video ads for games and game samples. People may laugh about going into game design (hence the comic earlier) but its a massively growing field for teaching medical sugeries, teaching how to use airplanes, biology, etc.

If he doesn't want to do game design then I'd say go for learning movie special effects, but personally game design seems more useful with so much revolving around interaction. If he wants to do special effects though his best bet is to go to school at a college in where he can make industry connections & start interning right away while in college. It seems like special effects are harder to move into, and having those connections by the time of graduation could make things easier.

For me, I just can't continue to do it. Between my dance career (& injuries from that making sitting or standing still horrible), and the migraines from staring at the computer screen - I really just need to transition to something in the "regular world" that involves more variety. I'm glad I had the skills as a backup after the injuries left me without work, but it took a long time to find employment again since I had a long gap from a years of travel on the road through the agencies.

I really think other degrees that allow more freedom of options can be good though, because eventually a person can realize that being behind a computer all day isn't so fun... and I used to LOVE computers.

[cookderosa]

Again, I'd point you to DigiPen if he wants to do game design, where he'd also use those skills to create video ads for games and game samples. People may laugh about going into game design (hence the comic earlier) but its a massively growing field for teaching medical sugeries, teaching how to use airplanes, biology, etc.

If he doesn't want to do game design then I'd say go for learning movie special effects, but personally game design seems more useful with so much revolving around interaction. If he wants to do special effects though his best bet is to go to school at a college in where he can make industry connections & start interning right away while in college. It seems like special effects are harder to move into, and having those connections by the time of graduation could make things easier.

For me, I just can't continue to do it. Between my dance career (& injuries from that making sitting or standing still horrible), and the migraines from staring at the computer screen - I really just need to transition to something in the "regular world" that involves more variety. I'm glad I had the skills as a backup after the injuries left me without work, but it took a long time to find employment again since I had a long gap from a years of travel on the road through the agencies.

I really think other degrees that allow more freedom of options can be good though, because eventually a person can realize that being behind a computer all day isn't so fun... and I used to LOVE computers.

Thank you! He's absolutely NOT interested in video game design. He is interested in movie editing/ special effect/etc. Thank you so much for your help.

[cookderosa]

He's getting a bunch of good video editing experience he can take with him to a career.. Trouble is, every kid with Minecraft and a Twitch account does too. Just like 15 years ago every teenager with a pirated copy of Photoshop picked up the skills to start them off in a graphic design career. There's going to be a ton of competition, so he needs to differentiate himself. Marketing would be a good path that can involve video creation. Basically any form of internet-based media needs a video editor of some sort.

Thanks! I'll consider that, my older son is taking marketing now.

[bluebooger]

He's getting a bunch of good video editing experience he can take with him to a career.. Trouble is, every kid with Minecraft and a Twitch account does too....

twitch ???

[cookderosa]

I wanted to add something to this thread- our local CC offers many Game Design classes online. These are through an applied technology department, so transfer is limited.
High school students in grades 11 and 12 can take these as well. For NC high school students, the tuition if free. For NC high school graduates/adult learners it's $76 per credit for out of state it's $268/credit.

This is the free diploma for high school students: http://www.cpcc.edu/hsprograms/approved-...nt2015.pdf

They offer other pathways that say "Graphic Design" in the title, but those are on campus only.

[SweetSecret]

I wanted to add something to this thread- our local CC offers many Game Design classes online. These are through an applied technology department, so transfer is limited.
High school students in grades 11 and 12 can take these as well. For NC high school students, the tuition if free. For NC high school graduates/adult learners it's $76 per credit for out of state it's $268/credit.

This is the free diploma for high school students: http://www.cpcc.edu/hsprograms/approved-...nt2015.pdf

They offer other pathways that say "Graphic Design" in the title, but those are on campus only.

For what he wants to do the only ones I would recommend on that list would be 3D Modeling I & II. Most colleges will teach either Maya or 3Ds Max software, and many actual companies will have their own design software (or use Google Sketchup) but expect employees to have a good idea of how to design based on other software. In the US the modeling, rigging and key framing are probably the most important components to know about design and special effect animations, as a lot of the "tweening" (creation of in between frame animations) get farmed out to other countries where labor is cheaper.

You can read a bit more about this here: 3ds Max vs. Maya: Is One Better than the Other?

Autodesk owns both of the big softwares, and really just going through their training program and certification exam might be a great start without having to invest in college course. This way the student can learn from real experts on the software and develop a portfolio at their own place to receive portfolio credits towards electives for a more useable degree.

[cookderosa]

thanks Sweet- that's great advice!

[SweetSecret]

thanks Sweet- that's great advice!

You're welcome! I just think sometimes getting specialized training through the software companies is better. I've only had 1 college professor ever that taught software with any sort of enthusiasm or real knowledge. The others have actually been assigned to teach software courses that they didn't know anything about or just weren't great at themselves. The one really great professor I had was a guy who was part of Banned From the Ranch and had worked for George Lucas. The way my professor told it, he and his buddy were at an employee party at Lucas' ranch where they had a bit too much fun and wandered into Lucas' personal home office. They decided to kick their feet up at his desk, check out his cigars, etc. They got busted and Lucas was so pissed that he fired them and banned them from the ranch. They connected up with a lady in the industry and started "Banned From the Ranch" which eventually became so big that as Lucas was searching for talent to work on his films again he eventually had to forgive them and hire them as consultants. It was pretty interesting, and I felt really lucky to have the opportunity to learn from someone which such professional experience. Again though, that was in California, where most filming happens.