Michael P. Lambert of the Distance Education and Training Council credits the Internet with the popularity of distance learning.

Distance learning has become an increasingly attractive alternative for animation training and education. The rise of broadband and price reductions for animation software have driven growth, as has increased demand from animators looking for convenience and flexibility.

Michael P. Lambert, executive director of the Distance Education and Training Council, estimates that five million students currently participate in distance-education programs (in all subjects), with 2.5 million to three million of those in higher education. The number of students is growing at a rate of about 15% per year.

While distance learning has been an educational option for nearly a century, Lambert attributes today’s fast growth to the Internet. “It has created a renaissance in distance learning,” he explains, citing ease of use, low cost, speed and convenience — the last being the reason most students opt for distance learning — as factors behind this trend. “It has transformed the industry.”

Animation and Art Offerings
Organizations ranging from public universities to software training centers to online-only educational institutions offer distance learning programs. Some are well established, but many are just launching or in a test phase.

Acme Animation Online, which is expected to debut by the end of October 2004 after a two-year pilot period, is a free distributed-learning community that connects learners and experts. Animators can post their work and get feedback from both peers and professionals, after which they can make revisions and re-post for additional critiques. They also can learn by viewing feedback for other work posted on the site and watching live webcasts.

Students move from the introductory to intermediate level based on time spent (including feedback given), but qualify for the top level based only on the quality of their work, as measured by critiques from professionals. Educators can integrate Acme Online into their courses — Wyoming educators are thinking of using it statewide at the high school level — or individual students can upload samples on their own.

Acme Online grew out of Acme OnAir, a video-teleconferencing service that beams professional animators into classrooms at the high school level and up and has been in operation for eight years. (Acme OnAir evolved out of Acme founder and director Dave Master’s work as a renowned high-school animation teacher in a low-income area of Los Angeles.) Sessions are held at various animation studios, including Pixar and DreamWorks. Each incorporates a short presentation followed by up to an hour and a half of brutally honest feedback on students’ work.

Originally skeptical of online distance learning, Anthony Rossano of Mesmer Animation Labs, is now a believer.

As a nonprofit organization, one of Acme’s missions is to attract students who are low-income, female and people of color. All of its programs are intended to build interest in and understanding of animation, as well as develop future professional animators. “Our art form is one of the least understood art forms out there,” said Master. In addition to adding more diversity to the industry when some of its graduates move into studio positions, the site also is meant to increase the audience for animation. Participants, even if they don’t choose animation as a career, remain passionate about the medium. “They’ll buy the popcorn later,” Master said.

Another new site, scheduled for a fall launch, is AnimationMentor.com, founded by animators Carlos Baena, Bobby “Boom” Beck and Shawn Kelly. It is a one-year intensive online course that incorporates professional animators as personal mentors, online video classes, critiques and assignments. The online video classes are 45-minute documentary-style productions featuring numerous interviews with professionals, live-action footage showing physical movement, stock animation footage and demonstrations. Students have their own home-page-like area of the site, which allows professionals and other students to visit and offer feedback. “We wanted to create something that would allow students the time to properly learn the complexities of animation,” Kelly says.

Like Acme Online, AM:Online students are encouraged to provide feedback and be part of a community. There are four skills levels, each with 12 courses, as well as guest speakers and live video Q&A sessions with animators from around the world. Because each student is assigned a studio animator as a mentor, the number of students enrolled at a time will be limited, with new students phased in as others graduate.