Northwest Film Center

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CLOSED NOW - Opens atTomorrow 9:00am

NWFC used to be a decent film school for the money. Now it is a COMPLETE FARCE. They do not deliver what they promise since they lost most of their quality personnel. My last two courses were an absolute joke. In the advanced DV Editing course, we ended up working for free on the instructor's poorly shot film, and I learned nothing. $1100 down the drain. Then I took Sound Recording & Post Production. We hardly touched a microphone, learned about mixers and mics from manuals, and the software we used for post-production (Apple's Soundtrack Pro 2) is an outdated buggy version, that didn't work with Final Cut Pro, for the students OR the instructor. In fact, not one student could produce a sync-sound portfolio quality piece using STP2. Another $1000+ wasted. I emailed the Education Director, Ellen Thomas, to request a refund because the course failed to deliver the three objectives NWFC stated in their course description: “Through hands-on exercises in small groups, students will learn to record dialogue, narration, sound effects, and ambience through single system (camera-only), double system (field recorders and camera), and wild sound (field recorders only) methods.” “This will be followed with extensive instruction in editing and mixing using Final Cut Studio and Sound Track Pro 2. Working individually with chosen picture source(s) and with audio material recorded both individually and by the groups, each student will use the Film Center's digital editing lab to sync sound to picture, layer and manipulate the edited audio tracks, and mix them into a final soundtrack.” “The intention is for participants to come away with portfolio-quality pieces which demonstrate both technical proficiency in sound recording and their understanding of sound's creative potential as a fundamental part of the moving image experience.” Here are two excerpts from Ellen Thomas' reply and denial of my refund: "Apple has certainly put us in a pinch by overstating the capabilities of its SoundTrack Pro2 software, and by failing to provide adequate written training materials for classroom use. I believe Wayne has done a good job of creating work-arounds by asking students to use online resources...We will certainly upgrade the digital editing lab when we can." "...a class description is not a promise or a contract, nor a set of deliverables, but rather a good faith statement of intent...I am denying your request for a refund." The only reason NWFC is still around is that they're the only game in town -- in my opinion (my attorneys told me to say that).



If you want to be an employed professional filmmaker, go to a different school. Bait & Switch.

This theater shows some movies that you can see in the regular movie houses. It's very enjoyable to see unusual movies in a nice comfortable theater.

This is such a great museum. I love just taking an afternoon and wandering through, always finding new corners and passages, and seeing the constantly changing special shows. A perfect showcase for art, both of Portland and the world.

If you love art, why not give the Portland Art Museum a chance? Yes, they take themselves a tad too seriously from time to time, and occasionally they don't seem to know exactly what they want to be. But they're trying to please a large range of people with a limited budget. This isn't New York or Chicago, after all. It wouldn't hurt to occasionally pay the price of admission and enjoy all the work that's been done. (The sunken ballroom is one of Portland's great venues.)

I love to visit and wander on a rainy day. the regular collection is a bit dull but the special exhibits are great..

This is a local museum, and not really in the league of the great international art museums. But over the past fifteen or twenty years, it's gone through a period of amazing expansion and growth. With a large special exhibition gallery that brings major traveling exhibitions to town several times a year, you can see some of the best art in the world depending on when you visit. The museum has dedicated two spacious galleries to the art of the Pacific Northwest, and shows some of the best contemporary regional arts. It also has a new four-story wing devoted to 19th and 20th century art, ranging from impressionism to contemporary. There's also a print gallery in the basement, and an impressive collection of English silver. The museum as a whole is large enough that you can wander all day and still feel like there's more to see.

Give it a try. Many wonderful pieces and a great atmosphere. They get many beautiful traveling exhibits.