Everyone has an opinion

I found this post tonight on Thinking Animation.

Apparently some guy in the industry went to a Sheridan Animation Open House Night and watched over 60 student films back in 2007. He wasn't impressed at all and blamed the school for producing such a lack of talent. At first this disturbed me, as I want to go to Sheridan and I don't want to spend money on a bad school.

I went to the source and read the article in its entirety. Pretty distressing stuff.
But then I read the comments. And as I sifted through the rants and raves, I discovered some vital points.

Number one:

Who the heck is this guy?

I mean really - he says he's in the industry, but he doesn't list who he is. And his blog only had TWO posts TOTAL - an introduction and a slam against Sheridan. Personally, I believe that if you have that much vitriol you need to be courageous enough to admit who you are. It looks like he cut and ran while he could get outta dodge with his skin intact.

Second - this is his opinion. And that's all it is - an opinion. None of us saw these films. None of us are able to judge them on their merits, or lack thereof. We are dependent solely upon the musings of some nameless guy. I'm assuming it's a guy. It could be a dwarf for all I know.

Third - I've seen the blogs of many Sheridan students and the work of most of them is first rate. Having been in ASIFA and attended screenings I've also had the privilege of seeing a lot of drawings and a lot of films from around the world. And the student work from Sheridan is on par with the work I've seen from SVA, SCAD and CalArts kids.

Fourth - no school is perfect. One of my friends who graduated from SVA told me that he learned more at his first job than in the four years he spent at school. No one I know from SVA liked the administration. And I've heard the same from RMCAD students. I believe that it's not only the administration and the teachers, but the effort put forth by the students. If you really want to learn animation, then you'll learn animation, with or without an institution. Teachers help of course, and you should find the best program you can, but to take one person's ire as canon is frankly, silly.

Now this guy may be completely right. He truly may be an industry insider. And the school may absolutely blow. Or at least been substandard back in 2007. But considering the only proof we as an audience have is an anonymous blog rant, we should be skeptical. Blogs are great but they're not truth on a biblical scale by any means. It's a sad state of affairs when we view forums like this as absolute truth. I would not want anyone to read this post, for example, and completely agree simply because they found it on the interwebs. That'd be scary. I'm not the authority, I'm only expressing my own opinion. What I am saying is that since all of us have been granted minds we should use them to analyze information and take what we read and hear with a grain of salt until we can prove those so called "facts" to be actual facts.

So for those of you thinking of going to school, as I am, continue to pursue your dream. I intend to go to Sheridan because based on what I've researched and heard from people who attend it's a good place to be.

If it sucks, I'll transfer. If it's fine, great.