Simone Costa MoCap Animator at ILM

Simone Costa

Many congratulations to Escapee Simone Costa who has joined Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) as a Motion Capture Animator.  

Motion Capture is a growing part of the animation industry, increasingly embedded into our animation course at Escape Studios. 

At Escape Studios, Simone contributed to four award-winning animated shorts: Kiwi's Dream, Malloe, Animal Lover and Nefertiti. 

ILM is one of the world's leading animation and VFX houses, pioneers in VFX and also software development.  Simone will be using ILM's own proprietary software for facial capture animation.  

Richard Cunningham - External Examiner For Our New MA in Character & Creature Creation

Richard Cunningham

We're delighted that Richard Cunningham has agreed to be our External Examiner for our new Master's Degree in Character and Creature Creation at Escape Studios.

External examiners play an important part of quality control in UK higher education, ensuring that our courses meet the highest standards, and that the grades awarded are correct and appropriate.

We're honoured to have Richard onboard; he is an experienced animator and a lecturer in Computer Animation and Digital Media at Kingston University, and already acts as our external examiner for our MA in Animation. 

Summer of Unreal Comes to an End

Our #SummerOfUnreal has come to an end; many congratulations to everyone who participated.  

We were all amazed by the quality of the group projects that were showcased last week. 

#SummerOfUnreal marks a new era for the European animation industry; in four weeks we trained over 1000 animation professionals on Unreal Engine with the help of 24 top industry trainers & presenters, and with the support from all our Escape Studios staff and European colleagues.

Candle Wick Wins Best First Time Director

Candle Wick wins Best First-Time Director

Many congratulations to the directors of "Candle Wick", a short animated film created by our second-year animation students at Escape Studios, which has won "Best First Time Director" at the Halicarnassus Film Festival. 

"Candle Wick" was directed by Oliver Gallagher, co-directed by Shauna Ludgate, and produced by Emmanouil "Manos" Zervoudakis.  Art direction was by Tsvetelina Kumanova.

Olivia Unwin Prod'n Co-Ordinator Framestore

Olivia Unwin

Many congratulations to Escapee Olivia Unwin who has recently been promoted to Production Co-ordinator at London VFX house Framestore.

Olivia took our BA in the Art of Video Games, and specialised in producing studio projects, where our students work together in groups to mimic as closely as possible the realities of working in industry.

Olivia joins many other Escapees who have begun their careers at Framestore.

Malloe Wins Best Animation at Halicarnassus

"Malloe" wins Best Animation at Halicarnassus Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Malloe", which has won "Best Animation" at the Halicarnassus Film Festival. 

"Malloe" was directed by Eilin Berrio Pena, edited by Ross Green, and produced by Nickoel Izharudin.  Art Direction was by Paloma Zhu. 

"Malloe" has won multiple festival awards. 

Meet "Mafia Mix-Up"

Mafia Mix-Up | 3D Animated Short Film from Jake Lee Animation on Vimeo.

Meet "Mafia Mix-Up", the latest short film created by animation students at Escape Studios.  Set in 1950’s America, Malcom owes money to the Mafia - but his efforts to pay up do not go to plan.  Written and directed by Jake Lee, and produced by Emmanouil "Manos" Zervoudakis, Mafia Mix-Up was completed by animation students studying for their master's degree in 3D animation, and is currently being entered into film festivals.

Candle Wick Wins "Best No Budget" at DSFF

Candle Wick wins Best No Budget Film at DSFF 

Many congratulations to the makers of "Candle Wick", a short animated film created by our second-year animation students at Escape Studios, which has won "Best No Budget Short" at the Dreamer's Short Film Festival (DSFF).

"Candle Wick" was directed by Oliver Gallagher, co-directed by Shauna Ludgate, and produced by Emmanouil "Manos" Zervoudakis.  Art direction was by Tsvetelina Kumanova.

Character Design Returns on 8 November 2021

Steve Sole

Our online Character Design Evening Class is returning to Escape Studios on Monday 8 November 2021.

  
Character Design is an eight week evening class 
taught by industry veteran and Escape Studios' Head of Character Design Steve Sole, who will guide students through the principles of character design, building up to an industry brief.

Students will learn the basic principles of shape design; how to achieve contrasting characters, how work towards a client brief, and how to put together a "bible" of design information. You can find the official course page here. 

Matt Wight Prod'n Co-ordinator at 3rd Floor

Matt Wight

Many congratulations to Escapee Matt Wight, who has recently started  working as a VFX Production Coordinator at The Third Floor in London, one of the UK's leading previsualisation houses.

While at Escape Studios, Matt produced the award-winning short film "Jericho" which was shortlisted for a student BAFTA, was Highly Commended at the Rookies, and won many festival awards.

Matt also produced the short film "Vivi Ossa", which has also won multiple festival awards. 

Anim Evening Class Returns 2 Nov 2021

"Nefertiti" Animation by Eilin Berrio Pena

Our 20 week part-time Animation evening class in 3D animation returns on Tuesday 2 November 2021.

This online class runs for 20 weeks on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 7-10pm, and is taught by industry veteran Matteo Sanna.

The course starts with animation fundamentals and builds up to complex actions and performances, and a professional level demo reel.

Minuet Wins Best Animated Short for Kids

Minuet: Best Animated Short for Children at ARGJIRO21

Congratulations to the makers of Minuet, which has won Best Animated Short for Children at the ARGJIRO21 AniFest, the International Film Festival for Children & Young People. 

Minuet, directed by Aaron Hopwood & Harry Pearson, and  produced by Maddison Gould, is a short film about a young girl preparing for a concert recital.  Minuet has won multiple festival awards. 

Concept Art is Back on 11 October 2021

"Jack" by Heather Langford

Concept Art is coming back to Escape Studios. Our evening class in Concept Art returns on 11th October 2021. 

 
Concept Art is a part-time evening class, taught one night a week, running for ten weeks. Concept Art starts on Monday 11 October 2021, and runs for 8 weeks, from 7 until 10pm.  Classes take place one night per week.

Concept Art introduces students to the techniques and skills that go up to make a well-rounded concept artist, including 3D & 2D software.

We introduce our students to a wide variety of techniques, showing how to achieve excellent results with different approaches, gradually improving skills over the ten weeks of the course.  

Shotgrid at Escape Studios

Shotgrid (formerly known as Shotgun) is the main project management software we use at Escape Studios.  

Shotgrid connects teams from different departments and helps to manage the many versions of different shots on a project.  At Escape Studios we supply our students with templates for Film, TV and also Games projects.  

Learning to use Shotgrid is an essential step for any of our students hoping to learn the art of project management in the animation, games and VFX industries. 

Palindromo "Best University Digital Animation"

"Palindromo" Wins Best Uni Digital Animation

Many congratulations to Paolo Amadini, director of  "Palindromo", which has won an award for "Best University Digital Animation" at the Frame by Frame Film Festival.

"Palindromo" is a short animated film created at Escape Studios, written and directed by Paolo Amadini, and overseen by Supervising Tutor Amedeo Beretta. 

Conway Dobbs Animator at Keyframe Studios

Conway Dobbs

Many congratulations to Escapee Conway Dobbs who is working as an animator at Keyframe Studios in London. 

Studying the Art of Computer Animation at Escape Studios, Conway contributed to a number of award-winning projects, including producing the multi-award-winning short film "Draw", in which two kings must do battle for mastery of the chess board. 

Conway also worked on the award-winning short film "Over Under", which won "Most Fabulous Animation" at the Animafantasia Film Festival. 

Draw Wins Best VFX at LIMFF

Congratulations to the makers of the short film "Draw", which has won Best VFX at the London International Film Festival (LIMFF).

This is the latest award for Draw, a short animated film directed by Martin Kamminga and produced by Conway Dobbs, in which two kings must do battle for mastery of the chessboard. 

"Draw" has already won many festival awards including Best Director at the Hell Chess Festival", a "Winners Award" at the Arte Non Stop Film Festival in Buenos Aires and "Best Micro Film" at the Golden Nugget Film Fest in London.

BBC Children’s Animation Seeks Pitches

BBC Ignite wants your pitches

BBC Children’s Animation are seeking submissions for fresh, bold and innovative animation ideas. The scheme is called "Ignite" and the deadline is Midnight on 1st September 2021. 

For all our students who have been working on short films for the past couple of years - this is a perfect opportunity to pitch your materials to the UK's biggest broadcaster.

Successful pitches will be given a "fully funded development opportunity" to bring their project to the small screen.

You don't need to have created any finished animation for your project; more important is an idea of the stories you want to tell and who the main characters are.  To see more, follow this link.

AN5002 Animals & Creatures Starts 20 Sept

Dragon in flight by Jamie Floodgate

On Monday 20 September 2021 our 2nd year undergraduate animators return to Escape Studios to start a new module: AN5002: Advanced Computer Animation.

In this module, worth 30 credits, students learn to animate animals and creatures. The module starts on Monday 20 September 2021 and lasts five weeks. It finishes on Friday 22nd October with students submitting a short piece of animal or creature animation for final assessment.  

Lucy Harris Animation Layout Artist at MPC

Lucy Harris

Many congratulations to Escapee Lucy Harris,  who has started work as a layout artist at MPC in London, having recently started her animation career working at Blue Zoo in London.  MPC is one of the UK's most successful animation and vfx houses, responsible for hits such as the 2019 remake of The Lion King and The Jungle Book.

While at Escape Studios, Lucy worked on a number of award-winning short films, including "March of the Potguins", which won a "Five Star Award" at the British Amateur Film Festival in 2020. 

In 2020 Lucy directed the short sci-fi fantasy "Over Under", which won "Best Animation" at the Flicks Festival and "Most Fabulous Animation" at the Animafantasia Film Fest. 

Adam & Eve Mk II Hon Mention in Tokyo Fest

Adam & Eve Mk II Best Cinematography (Hon Mention)

Many congratulations to Sebastian to the makers of "Adam & Eve Mk II", which has received an Honourable Mention in the category of Best Cinematography at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

Adam & Eve Mk II, is a sci-fi re-telling of the Genesis story, directed by Sebastian Kuder; the short has won multiple festival awards.  

  

Careers Webinar with Blue Zoo ILM & Jellyfish

Last week on 5 August we hosted a free online Animation Careers Evening with animation industry leaders ILM, Blue Zoo and Jellyfish Pictures.  Blue Zoo recruiter Lauren Barnes, and animators Jamie Floodgate, Jack Bond and Joel Airebamen discussed the latest career opportunities in the expanding animation industry, offering their insights into how to get hired into the current animation boom. Who is hiring, and for what skills? What kind of demo reel do you need to get hired? How has Brexit affected the jobs environment? Watch this video to find out. 

Aardman Armature Kit for Stop Motion

For all our students who would like to try their hands at stop-motion animation: armature specialist Animation Toolkit has partnered with Aardman Animation to design and create a bespoke armature kit to help stop motion animators with the puppet making process.

Animators can now easily and affordably create their own animation puppets.

The Crash Wins Hon Mention at The Rookies

"The Crash" wins Honourable Mention at The Rookies

Many congratulations to the makers of "The Crash", a short film created by VFX students at Escape Studios, which has won an Honourable Mention at The Rookies in the category of Best VFX Film.  

"The Crash" is a short science fiction story combining live action and VFX; it was written and directed by Lewys Rhodes, and produced by Daniel Rowe, who earlier this year produced the multi-award-winning short film "Kiwi's Dream".   

Escapee Alex Jemeljanov Animator at Ringtail

Alex Jemeljanov

Congratulations to Escapee Alex Jemeljanov who has just started a new position as Junior 3d Animator at Ringtail Studios. 

Ringtail Studios is an EU-based studio specialising in 3D content production and co-development services in games and interactive entertainment.

Alex took our Master's Degree in 3D Animation, working on his demo reel, and eventually breaking into the rapidly expanding animation industry. 

Death From Above Best Trailer at Art Awards

"Death From Above" wins Best Trailer at Art Film Awards

Many congratulations to the makers of "Death From Above", which has won "Best Trailer" at the Art Film Awards.  

This is the latest festival award for "Death From Above", a teaser/trailer for an action adventure web series. 

The short was directed by Jordan Coles, and produced by Callum Wylie.  Cinematography was by Daniel Brand-Sinyinza.

Last Call for Animation Careers Evening Tonight

Animation Careers Event Tonight

Last call to join us tonight at 4.30pm for our free online Animation Careers Evening with animation industry leaders Blue Zoo and Jellyfish Pictures.  

Blue Zoo recruiter Lauren Barnes, and animators Jamie Floodgate and Joel Airebamen will discuss the latest career opportunities in the expanding animation industry.  You can sign up here at the official site.

Little Gestures Hon Mention at The Rookies

Little Gestures Wins Hon Mention at The Rookies

Many congratulations to the makers of "Little Gestures", which has won an Honourable Mention at The Rookies in the category of VFX. 

"Little Gestures" is a short story about an artist's maquette which comes to life. 

The film was directed by Richard O'Hanlon and Daniel Brand-Sinyinza, and produced by Nickoel Izharudin and Dominic Strachan. 

"Malloe" Honourable Mention at The Rookies

"Malloe" Hon Mention for 3D Animation at The Rookies

Congratulations to the makers of "Malloe", which has received an "Honourable Mention" at The Rookies in the category of Best 3D Animated Short Film. 

"Malloe" was directed by Eilin Berrio Pena, edited by Ross Green, and produced by Nickoel Izharudin.  

Art Direction was by Paloma Zhu. 

The Crash Wins Best Super Short at UK Fest

The Crash wins "Best Super Short" at UKMFF

Many congratulations to the makers of "The Crash", a short film created by VFX students at Escape Studios, which has won its first festival award: Best Super Short at the UK Film Festival.  

"The Crash" is a short science fiction story combining live action and VFX; it was written and directed by Lewys Rhodes, and produced by Daniel Rowe, who earlier this year produced the multi-award-winning short film "Kiwi's Dream".   

Candle Wick Wins Best Micro Short at Vesuvius

Candle Wick Wins "Best Micro Short" at Vesuvius Fest

Many congratulations to the makers of "Candle Wick", a short animated film created by our second-year animation students at Escape Studios, which has won its first festival award: "Best Micro Short" at the Vesuvius Film Festival.

"Candle Wick" was directed by Oliver Gallagher, co-directed by Shauna Ludgate, and produced by Emmanouil "Manos" Zervoudakis.  Art direction was by Tsvetelina Kumanova.