Official Press Release by: Smoke & Mirrors Public Relations, Inc.

Berkeley, CA –October 24, 2006—The online character animation school, Animation Mentor, received the preeminent 2006 21st Century Award as well as the 2006 Best Practices in Programming Award Gold Level at the US Distance Learning Awards (USDLA) Celebration of Excellence last evening. Presented by the USDLA, the nation’s leading distance learning organization, the 21st Century Award salutes a pioneering organization that has changed distance learning through new and innovative solutions and the Best Practices Award recognizes outstanding programming practices.

Animation Mentor combines next generation technologies and social networking to prepare aspiring animators for work on top feature films and games at the Hollywood studios. The USDLA Awards honor outstanding individuals and organizations for excellence in the field of distance learning, education and training, and are handed out annually at the VNU Training Solutions Conference and Expo in Denver, Colorado.

“The team at Animation Mentor has worked very hard to take online education to the next level,” said Bobby S. Beck President and co-founder Animation Mentor. “These two USDLA awards are a huge acknowledgement of our vision for distance learning and for the heart and passion that we bring to everything we do.”

Animation Mentor is a distance learning animation school in which students from more than 50 countries study character animation with mentors, all of whom are working studio artists. It’s a California-certified, six-term (18-month) program that includes live, interactive Q&A sessions/classes; eCritiques,ä in which mentors provide personal audio-visual critiques of weekly assignments; rich media instruction from top practitioners in the field; and combination live/virtual improvisation classes.

Formal instruction takes place within a thriving, 24-hour online animation community where students maintain profile pages and buddy lists; participate in forums, chat rooms, and online events; view and critique each other’s work; find fellow countrymen attending the school; and turn to each other for guidance and support. Animation Mentor graduated its first class in September 2006.

The USDLA is a non-profit association formed in 1987 and is located in Boston, Massachusetts. It promotes the development and application of distance learning for education and training and serves the needs of the distance learning community by providing advocacy, information, networking and opportunity.