I teach an introductory After Effects course with a focus on motion graphics in a university. Most of my students are juniors and seniors, hungry to get out into the real world. We spend the semester building a lot of short projects and then wrap up the class by putting together professional reels that the students can present to potential employers.
I want my students to get a sense of what it’s like to be in an actual work environment. For every project they submit, I make a detailed list of notes that an art director or a client would give during a review (the notes are not a requirement but more of a guide or an inspiration).
But no matter how objective I try to be, my perspective is a limited one, prejudiced by the types of projects I worked on, personal tastes and past experiences. I would love to create a network of other professionals who would be willing to give professional, industry-specific critiques to my students. Adding such a diversity of perspectives would allow students to choose their own direction on improving a project by following the advice of those who inspire them most. It would also allow them to make important contacts in the industry.
Thinking beyond a university course, such a network of professional reviewers would greatly benefit an independent learner, struggling to build up creative skills in a vacuum.