Left to right, Shawn Kelly, Carlos Baena and Bobby Beck, cofounders of Animation Mentor, at the school's Berkeley administrative headquarters.

"Every quarter, students are assigned a new mentor, so they end up studying with six studio animators, all of whom have worked at different locations, with a unique set of directors," clarifies Beck. "The mentors pass on this plethora of experience to their students. They talk about the many personalities and directing styles they have encountered and how they impact the animator's job, explain the various studio pipelines, and share the tricks of the trade. The same can be said for the experts who deliver our lecture/demos, which are rich-media files that students download each week to learn the fundamentals of the craft.

"The goal of our program is to teach the principles that were developed in the '30s and that somehow got lost in the shifting emphasis to computer software," continues Beck. "We believe it is the best way to develop a deep and lasting knowledge of the craft. At the moment there might be more talking animals in feature films, but animating animals comes from knowing how to animate dialogue. There might also be more animated creatures, but creating a great creature boils down to your knowledge of physics and body mechanics. No matter the storytelling trend, the skills are transferable and the fundamentals remain the same."

In addition to individualized one-on-on feedback, students also "meet" online in regular weekly Q&A sessions using a proprietary platform that includes web conferencing and real-time chat technologies. Animation Mentor has created an online peer-to-peer community where the school's aspiring animators can view each other's critiques, assignments and tests, and can communicate with each other, as well as with professionals in the animation industry.

Most importantly, Animation Mentor prepares their students for the freelancing way of life. "From day one at the school, we work with our students to nurture enthusiasm and build a professional attitude towards the business," says Beck. "We teach our students that animation is a collaborative art, that it's not about their ideas alone, but about creating great work by bringing together the director's vision, their talents and feedback from their peers. Filmmakers love to work with animators who understand this process, and bring their love of the craft to the studio each day. It's the beginning animators that have these attributes that get that second call to return to a studio for another project.

Animation Mentors grads whoop it up for a class photo at the school's second graduation ceremony held at SIGGRAPH 2007 in San Diego.

"Animation Mentor has amazing connections to the industry worldwide and we go the extra mile to build strong relationships with the studios... At the same time, we work directly with the students to help them tailor their materials and to prepare for interviews. Our career services department provides a wide range of support and services that begins as an integral part of the educational process and continues after graduation. Working with our curriculum team, they have created a series of rich-media lecture/demos that provide detailed instruction on how to create a demo reel that stands out, how to give a successful interview, how to create a standout resume, etc. We also provide our students with a host of resources that help them get their reels into the hands of decision-makers and that expose them to job opportunities and we maintain an internal alumni job board where we post openings. As graduation time approaches, our students partake in Q sessions that delve into the job search in great detail, and during which their mentors, who have successfully found studio jobs themselves, address students' questions and concerns and share their personal tips and tricks."

Tuition is $16,350 for the full 18-month course. For more information about Animation Mentor, visit its www.animationmentor.com or email admissions@animationmentor.com.

Pamela Kleibrink Thompson is a recruiter, hiring strategist, career coach and speaker, available for personal consultations and speaking engagements. She writes the monthly column Career Coach for AWN.