Among other things, I teach courses all over the Bay Area. It's become my main occupation over the last few years, as .coms continued to fold out from under me. Although the paperwork sucks, I love teaching: it's fun, intellectually rewarding, and the deadlines NEVER change at the last minute.

Employing/supervising over a thousand folks over the decades made me a teacher, how ever often those employees may have assigned me the role of Mother Earth or Nazi General. Consulting has turned out to be a largely teaching role as well – just MUCH better paid than the classroom variety.

I have a visceral agenda. As a largely self-taught person who never found a mentor, I had to bootstrap it all the way. It was a rocky bitch of a ride. No one should have to work that way. Especially in a society hostile to creativity, each artist needs all the knowledge and every tool possible to survive and thrive.

My mission, Mr. Phelps, is to pass on all the insights I've sweated blood to gain. To defeat the ongoing forces of dull darkness by training newbies in the Secrets of the Path: the eternal tools that last a lifetime, no matter the tech upgrades, the new media, biz constructs, and global upheavals. The harder the times, the more we need good art to keep touch with the core of existence. And the banana peel.

Storytelling is the core of communication. All forms of expression tell a story, even an illustration or an interactive mobile device. Writers, artists and business people are storytellers - both in their creations and in their encounters with clients, colleagues, or employers. (Pixar has listed this as their first requirement for employment.) We'll explore the essential storytelling elements, critical analysis, investigative listening, and presentation techniques to train students in creating powerfully dynamic personal work as well as communicate effectively in the workplace. Lectures, video, graphics presentations, role playing, and group discussion. Each student will create graphics with story content, but it can be in any form. You'll learn to express yourself clearly in your creations and in your career.

The principles of traditional animation are fundamental to 2D & 3D animation, and to web motion graphics. In this intensive hands-on course, students will learn the techniques needed to create believable animated motion. Concepts explored will include: basic character design, layout, key poses, weight, anticipation, secondary actions, trajectory, pacing & timing, . Though projects will focus primarily on hand drawn animation, principles will be discussed as they apply to all animated media.

Storyboards are the initial clarifying step in creating any visual sequence in all visual media. Boards use a clear, symbolic language to communicate what is designed to happen in film, video, websites, animation, or computer games. Through boards, overall artistic vision is focused, potential production problems can be identified, and client/colleagues/crew communication improved.
Students will learn techniques, symbols, materials, and formats that are used in storyboarding for all media. They will practice creating boards as both in-class exercises and take-home projects. Lectures, software/video presentations, critiques, media observation, and group discussion are used to build students' skill in creating visual narratives.

At Berkeley Community College in Berkeley http://berkeley.peralta.edu :

This semester-long, awkwardly-named course is actually about pre-production for film, video, animation, games and multimedia.

Using practical exercises, both during class and as homework, learners will create examples of the developmental steps used in media : concept, outline, treatment, script, synopsis, and shooting storyboard, using the varied formats for film and multimedia. Students will learn & practice the key concepts & techniques for crafting effective characters, structure, plots, exposition, themes, and dialogue. Both linear and non-linear constructs will be explored.

In storyboarding, learners will learn & practice the symbols, materials, formats, and techniques to efficiently communicate the vision, mood, pacing and shooting requirements of your scripts. The emphasis will be on shooting boards rather than presentation boards.Students will finish the course with at least one portfolio level script & two portfolio level storyboards.