The third cohort of the Netflix Animations Foundation Program, which was started precisely a year ago, has just been unveiled.
The streamer teams up with other entertainment inclusion initiatives for each cohort, which lasts for four months, to concentrate on particular previously excluded areas. While the second cohort earlier this year serviced veteran and Indigenous animators through partnerships with Veterans in Media and Entertainment and Illuminative, respectively, the first iteration collaborated with Latinx in Animation and Exceptional Minds.
The initiative has enlisted Black N’ Animated to help with participant recruitment this time. Others who are interested in this fall’s cohort can get in touch with Black N’ Animated to be considered, while a select group of the Los Angeles-based organization’s members will be invited to apply directly.
The program will provide mentoring in the areas of art and visual development, storyboarding, CG/VFX, writing, and production management to the class of about 50 early-career animators. They will also receive career guidance in the form of assistance in developing professional portfolios, writing samples, or resumes to help them prepare for applying for internships, apprenticeships, or entry-level animation jobs. The first cohort comprised 74 mentees and 19 mentors from Netflix’s Animation Studio, while the second had 52 and 22, respectively.
Mentees from the first session have gone on to work at Fuse FX, Marvel Studios, Titmouse, Disney TV, Diamond Games, PPC, CBS Sports, NBC Universal, and Pixelogic in addition to interning at Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., Dreamworks, and Mattel.