I had done some research online beforehand on other schools with similar programs. PAVI happened to be the first school that I looked into. When I contacted the school, everyone I talked to was super helpful and gave me tons of information on the program. They even helped out with questions I had about moving to and living in Vancouver, since I come from Alberta. After talking to a couple other schools, none of them seemed to match-up, and the decision was made to go to PAVI

I didn’t have a ton of education beforehand. I grew up playing in several bands, but aside from trying to self-promote any of the projects I’d been involved in, and going on the road a few times, I didn’t have any formal experience. I wouldn’t say I was completely green, but by no means was I an expert.

The program consists of 3 semesters, with 4 classes per semester. I won’t go into too much detail about each of the classes themselves, as all the information pertaining to each individual class is available on their website (http://pacificav.com/filmandmusic/filmandmusic.html) and it’s a pretty accurate assessment of what to expect. Each class lasts 4 hours (with a 30 minute break) and for this particular class you were generally finished up at 1:00PM, which was perfect if you needed a part-time job, or if you wanted to get some extra experience interning outside of school. I thought this was key. The spare time that I had to dedicate to getting involved in the industry through internships and networking opportunities has provided me with real world experience and an even greater set of contacts to use when I had graduated.

The classes themselves are obviously set-up so that someone with zero experience can stand a chance. At times I’m sure people that were completely new and had no experience were a bit challenged, but that’s kind of the point of school isn’t it? And for people like myself who had a bit of experience, sometimes the projects could seem a bit routine, but the instructors would still try and challenge you to go above and beyond what you already knew, so I really think it worked well in both cases if the student was willing to put in the effort. Some students didn’t give it any extra effort and that was their loss, but the students that did put in the effort really excelled in the course (and continue to excel within the industry).

As a whole my experience was pretty positive. I went into the course with an open-mind and didn’t really have any expectations of what the course would or should be like. The classes provided you a great overview of the varying roles within the film and music industries. In honesty, I wasn’t really interested in the “film” portion of the course beforehand. But the bit of film that was covered was interesting, and a lot of things learned in the film specific classes transfer over anyways (intellectual property, marketing, budgeting, etc). That being said I think the vast majority of the students were there for the “music” side as opposed to the “film” side, and the curriculum definitely slants that way (approximately 1 out of 4 classes each semester are film specific). So for me it provided something a bit different and in the end I really came to enjoy the film portion of the course. But as a whole it’s an excellent overview of the entire industry, giving you insight into all the roles within it.

"The classes became an open forum where instructors and students could talk about changes in the industry, current news pertaining to music and film, and opinions in general from both the instructors and fellow students."

Aside from the curriculum itself, being able to pick the brain of your instructors was one of the things I took away the most from. The classes became an open forum where instructors and students could talk about changes in the industry, current news pertaining to music and film, and opinions in general from both the instructors and fellow students. Obviously the information and knowledge you gain from the curriculum was there, but hearing varying opinions on how to implement that knowledge was invaluable.

The instructors themselves were all industry professionals, that were for the most part still out in their particular field working. I thought this was great for two reasons, firstly they’re up to date on what’s happening in the industry and could adapt/amend the curriculum to keep it relevant to an ever changing industry, and secondly you immediately have an “in” within the industry. In an industry where the cliché “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is still true, being taught by industry professionals is a huge bonus.

The instructors kept the classroom atmosphere pretty laid back. The instructors made you feel comfortable and by and large “facilitated” your learning, as opposed to “teaching”. Nothing was thrown in your face and I personally thought that this approach that most of the instructors took was key to why I enjoyed the course so much. But because it can be laid back, I think it’s important to note that some students that just simply don’t have the self-motivation, will not succeed in this course (or in this industry). If you get lazy, you’ll do subpar work, and achieve subpar results... that should go without saying I suppose. I never personally had a problem with this approach, but I always noticed the students making any sorts of complaints about the course, were also the students in the corner, checking their Facebook page constantly on their laptop, paying no mind to what was going on at the front of the class. Anybody who actually paid attention, and gave some extra effort did well in the course, and now are doing well in the industry. It all seems like common sense, but I digress.

Since graduating I began working at a national booking agency without a hitch. I definitely credit PAVI for it going so smoothly right from the beginning. There is always a learning process when you begin a new job, but what I learned at school definitely fast-tracked that process… and in my work with the agency I keep running into other PAVI alumni. One of my favorite promoters to work with, and one of the best in the city, happens to be a PAVI graduate.

But I think most of all, it provides you the confidence to step straight into the field and make a go of it. Confidence is definitely the right word for what PAVI gave me. I would definitely recommend the program to motivated people trying to find their way into the music industry. Like I said earlier, it’s a great overview of the entire industry, whether you aspire to become a promoter, booking agent, tour manager or to start your own independent label. It definitely provides a solid base for motivated individuals to start from, and I certainly credit PAVI (and a bit of hard work) for my successes thus far.