# Full Sail feedback



## Inaki2 (Jul 3, 2004)

OK, I know this has been many a controversial topic here. So I'll give you all my opinions on it.
The place, physically, is amazing, everything is nice and tidy and they got basically any piece of equipment your heart can desire.
The classes so far are very good, the teachers are cool people, not stuck up professors. There are lots of former students teaching as well. Pace is extremely fast, if you're not in track from day 1 you will stay behind, yes that is somewhat weird, but its the way the classes go.
Yes I will admit they sound too over-eager in the management staff to say "This is the best place in the world" I find that a bit annoying, but its just marketing.
So I'm not defending nor slandering, the place has tons of pros and cons, you just gotta evaluate what's good for you, and whether the cons overthrow the pros.


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## zac850 (Jul 3, 2004)

OK, now I do not know anything about this program, so I was wondering, what makes it different from the other programs that makes people dislike (or like, I guess) this program over others?

Whats different about it?


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## Inaki2 (Jul 3, 2004)

You mean the rest of the FS programs? I have no clue. I think most people just dislike the whole teaching method of the place. I came here with the attitude of getting as much as I could out of this.
People get mad because the books are the manuals for whatever they're using. As far as I've seen they gave me 2 books, none which is a manual. One printed in FS and one is not. And if they give me a manual, when thats what I'll use as well as the hands on experience and the notes I take.
It is a lot of money, and some people expect more than what they get. I think the place is great.
As for the rest of the programs, hell, the recording studios are top of the line, the PCs and Macs are top of the line. Dunno what they want!!


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## sallyj (Jul 6, 2004)

I will admit that I haven't done much research on the Full Sail program- I only observed the last heated debate on this forum a couple of weeks ago. But from what I have heard, I believe that this program follows a different teaching philosophy from the normal "academic" setting. This is what can cause debate, because someone's philosophical approach to education can be as deep rooted as religion. 
I work in a mainly academic setting, with a professional slant to it. I trained in a conservatory, which helped me nurture the mercenary side of me. I believe Full Sail probably develops the mercenary nature of it's students. It seems to give alot of hands on training and maybe not as much theory. Sort of a need to know thing. I believe this program teaches Show Technology- focussed mainly on Concerts, maybe Industrials, and Sound Engineering. This area of the field grew out of traditional theatre, but I sort of consider it something like a high tech cousin to traditional theatre. We share many of the same philosophies (puttin' on a show), but the approaches are totally different. For that reason the training programs will be different. Full Sail seems more specialized; "academic" theatre usually has a more generalist approach. Nothing wrong with either. So I guess this is a long winded "me too" to the last two posts. You get out of a program what you put into it. Nothing is handed to you either way, except opportunity.

SJM


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## Inaki2 (Jul 6, 2004)

I totally agree with you. The program is very hands on. You get the theory you need to do the practical aspects of things. You don't go deep in maths, just what you need to calculate the Inverse Square Law or whatever. It may seem shallow, damn, I come from an Electrocustical Design career, I've seen tons of maths and theory, but that doesn't make me diss Full Sail's method of training.
Also you must keep in mind the program is only a year long, they can't dwell on too many things and keep it both short and comprehensible.
But yes, you do get out of it what you put into it, the stuff to experiment with is there, the knowledge base is there, and you must continue to investigate on your own means. I know a lot of what I know not by a theatre program (none of that in Argentine schools), but because I dowloaded manuals, white papers, bought books and read articles. Most fo the guys in FS have done very little and small, if any, industry related work!!! You gotta strive for knowledge...not expect it to be handed to you.


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## Mayhem (Jul 6, 2004)

So would I be correct in saying that (from what I have read here) those who will benefit the most from this program are those who are willing and motivated to read around the topic in their own time. FS will give you the info directly related to the pracs but you will achieve much more if you actually "top this up" with external sources.


sallyj said:


> I believe Full Sail probably develops the mercenary nature of it's students.



Now this gives a whole new meaning to the term 'shotgun mic'!!


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## digitaltec (Jul 7, 2004)

Inaki2, we will have to meet up sometime. I am currenty out of town till the 12th. But feel free to send me a PM and we can meet up.


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## Inaki2 (Jul 7, 2004)

Well, I dodn't mean it that way. I personally think all programs everywhere won't be much good without one actually wanting to know. The practical case in my previous university was that most of our strarting class (30 persons) were guys with bands that wanted to touch stuff, as soon as we started getting equations, people started dropping off. We finished being 6, the recording degree was about 12 people I guess.
Full Saill will show you how a line array should be hung and why you should use it, but it won't show you how the acoustic chamber works and how the wavefront is shaped. What you learn in FS is great, but I always need to know about how something work to understand the nature. I'm more of a physics guy than a "its just the way its done" type. Thats why I'm saying if you really wanna get to the point of things you'll have to lread on your own. Once again, the career is only a year long.


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## Mayhem (Jul 7, 2004)

Inaki2 said:


> I'm more of a physics guy than a "its just the way its done" type. Thats why I'm saying if you really wanna get to the point of things you'll have to lread on your own.



In my opinion, that is the best method of learning. If you are able to understand the reasoning behind what you are doing, it is much easier to learn for yourself once you are out of the classroom. It is a bit like learning to drive. You don't actually start to learn until you have your license and out on the road all by yourself.

The other advantage is that once you know how/why something works, you will be able to figure out why it doesn’t work. Additionally - you will (or should) know where to start looking for the answers to your problems or questions.

One drawback however is that the more you know – the more you know that you don’t know 8O


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## Inaki2 (Jul 7, 2004)

Mayhem said:


> [One drawback however is that the more you know – the more you know that you don’t know 8O



True...that does get on your nerves, I tend to stop when I can't understand whats going on in, say, molecuar physics and equations get mile-long. I'd love to see how the air molecules get bounced around in a speaker cabinet, but that gets kinda messy in a mathematical point of view.


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## digitaltec (Jul 7, 2004)

> I'd love to see how the air molecules get bounced around in a speaker cabinet



Just wait till you get to your 11th month :roll:


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## Amy (Oct 6, 2004)

my fellow sound tech at the place we both work at attends it. i also requested information from the online about a week ago. haha i wanna go now!


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## Inaki2 (Oct 6, 2004)

Well, if you wanna come and have any doubts or questions, PM or email me, I can also send ya some pics of the place so you see their gear, etc.
Also, if you can, come take the Behind The Scenes tour so you see the whole place.


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