Studio Mercier (reviews)

This is a small school and at the same time a production studio in the heart of Paris. The expertise of their staff is clearly shown in the clientele of the studio, which produces and publishes music videos as well as a mobile game for major names like Iggy Pop or Marky Ramone (ex-drummer of the Ramones nowadays on a solo career), and have won several prizes since its foundation in 1996. Those same people that are responsible for creating such high-stake pieces of art are the ones that teach their techniques to the students.
It is a very personal experience, as it is a family business: Laurent, the director, gives courses in digital production and management as well as things like writing and personally takes care of letting the creative spirit flourish in every student, always with his full dedication, while respecting each individuals personality in doing so. Bonus point, he is an incredibly humorous person, although certainly it is an artist abstract and sometimes dark humor, so stay away if you can’t handle/respond that.
Anaëlle, his wife, secretary of the school, and co-producer of the studio, is very friendly and takes care of any administrative task as good as possible, even if those represent bureaucratic difficulties like for example internships abroad, something that even large public universities fail to do properly.
At the time of my degree, there were a total of three teacher employed, all of which are absolute experts in their fields with 10+ years of experience. There are also workshops and talks by industry professionals several times a year.
The classes were mostly learning by doing, with the first hours in the morning being tutorial-type, meaning that the teacher showed examples of how the intended result could be achieved, and the rest of the day individual work to achieve those same results with a personal note.
The student is graded not by regular exams or projects (there are, but they are simply for orientation) but by presenting their build portfolio, something that is essential for the later job-hunt.
There are two possible degrees that can be achieved, one title of RNCP 3 which is given after the portfolio is graded by an independent jury, and one “extra” title of RNCP 2 (bachelor level) which can be obtained through a complete project in which the student needs to function as a producer, i.e. creating a full short film or game prototype according to his or her own budget.
On a final note, this is not a school for everyone, as both content and personalities are very specific. It is very centred on practice, and very centred on the careers of either artist or producer, meanwhile code is hardly touched (only for automation in the field of 3D art), and while there is also an optional course in-game art that can be taken, the main focus is on film, which of course shares the same basis but in practice does have its differences.
The strongest selling point of that school might be the admission, since it is the ONLY school in France to accept students regardless of their degree, and it follows a “VAE” meaning that it also accepts students starting in the second or last year depending on their already present knowledge.
The only downside is that, due to being such a small scale, there aren’t many facilities. There is a classroom for every year, and that’s it. The location is good, it can be reached in a 5-minute walk from Gare de Lyon, which is a major train station that is reachable comparably fast from anywhere in Paris. Of course, there is no accommodation nor housing aid, although I am sure that the staff would be happy to do anything in their power if asked.