Acting For Animators w Joe Dieffenbacher 11 Dec 2024

Acting for Animators: Joe Dieffenbacher

On 11th December 2024 Escape Studios welcomes actor, clown and improv artist Joe Dieffenbacher to teach a masterclass in "Acting for Animators" with our Second Year 2D Animation Students.

Acting For Animators will take place at Husky Studios (near Elephant & Castle), Studio 2, from 9:30am to 12:30pm. Joe Dieffenbacher will lead the workshop.

Joe Dieffenbacher's class is a practical, physical workshop in acting skills, aimed at helping animators to create more believable, authentic (and funny) acting choices in their work.

Animators are actors - with a pencil or a mouse - and we need to learn how to make a strong acting performance and then turn that into animation.

Escape Studios 2024 Anim Games & VFX Demo Reel

Welcome to the Escape Studios 2024 Demo Reel - our selection of the very best Animation Games and VFX work completed over the past year.  This latest edit includes work by our most recent graduating class, as well as clips from many of our award-winning short films.  Congratulations to all our students on their remarkable work, once again raising the creative bar ever higher.

Escapee Callum Walters Prod'n Supervisor at DNEG

Callum Walters joins DNEG

Many congratulations to Escapee Callum Walters who has joined DNEG as a Production Supervisor. 

DNEG (formerly Double Negative) is one of the UK's longest-established VFX and animation houses; responsible for multiple blockbuster hits.

Callum Walters studied the Art of Visual Effects at Escape Studios, graduating with First Class Honours.  While at Escape, Callum contributed to a number of award-winning films, including Vivi Ossa and the BAFTA-shortlisted Jerich0. 

Why Animators Need Walks on Their Demo Reel

"Monty" in the gym by Sam Baker

One common mistake junior animators make when cutting a demo reel is to leave off basic exercises like walks, character walks and runs. 

Walks and runs can be (and should be) on an animation demo reel - for just long enough to show that these exercises are firmly inside the animator's skill set.  Every animator needs to be able to animate a walk and a run. 

Escapee Sunny Asadi Joins Aardman Animation

Sunny Asadi

Many congratulations to Escapee Sayna "Sunny" Asadi who has joined Aardman Animation in Bristol, one of the UK's leading animation studios, responsible for Morph, Wallace & Gromit and "Chicken Run".

Sunny Asadi took our master's degree in the Art of Computer Animation, taught by veteran animator Lee Caller.  

While at Escape Studios, Sunny contributed to a number of short films, including the award-winning short Same Day Delivery.

Uma Mahendran Story Artist on "That Christmas"

Uma Mahendran

Many congratulations to Escapee Uma Mahendran who earned a screen credit as a storyboard artist on the new Netflix release from Locksmith Animation and DNEG: "That Christmas". 

 Uma Mahendran took our Short Course in 3D Animation at Escape Studios, and is currently working as a storyboard artist.  

"That Christmas" is a Netflix release, produced by Locksmith Animation and the UK VFX and animation house DNEG.

Undergraduate (UG) Open Day on Sat 16 Nov 2024

Undergraduate Open Day on Sat 16th November 2024

Escape Studios is hosting a new free undergraduate open days on Saturday 16th November 2024.

Escape Studios' Open Days are a chance to find out about our undergraduate degrees in Animation, The Art of Games and Visual Effects.

An Open Day is an opportunity for potential students to find out how they can follow in the footsteps of our award-winning alumni, and also to check out our North Greenwich Campus.

Escapee Sandeep Tuladhar Joins Moonbug Animation

Sandeep Tuladhar 

Congratulations to Escapee Sandeep Tuladhar who has joined Moonbug Entertainment, one of the largest global creators of animation for children, as a Post Production Manager.  

Sandeep graduated from Escape Studios with an MArt in The Art of Visual Effects, and has since forged a successful career in animation and visual effects, working on major projects like Entergalactic, The Garfield Movie and Under The Boardwalk. 

While at Escape Studios, Sandeep Tuladhar contributed to the VFX short film Lost City of Aztlan.

3D Animation Evening Class Returns 3 March 2025

Our 3D Animation Evening Class runs for 20 weeks on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 7-10pm, and is taught online by veteran animator Matteo Sanna.

Students start with basic exercises and build towards an industry-ready demo reel.

The 3D Animation Evening Class returns on 3 March 2025. 

MA 3D VFX Returns on 24 February 2025

Our Short Course and Masters' Degree in 3D VFX is back - returning to Escape Studios on 24 February 2025.  Taught by VFX veteran Dan Shutt,  the MA and Short Course in 3D VFX teaches the art and craft of 3D visual effects. 

VFX sits at the heart of Escape Studios, it's what we started doing over 20 years ago when we first began to train talent for the growing visual effects industry.  VFX remains our core mission, with thousands of 3D VFX Escapees having joined VFX houses in the UK and around the globe.

Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme Open to Escapees

Hong Kong PHD Fellowship Scheme

Escape Studios is delighted to support the Hong Kong PHD Fellowship Scheme for the Academic Year 2025-26, launched by The School of Creative Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University, and to encourage our recent graduates to apply.

"Checkmate" Wins Best Animation in Makizhmithran

 "Checkmate" wins Best Animation at Makizhmithran Awards

Congratulations to the makers of the short animated film "Checkmate", which has won Best Animation at the Makizhmithran Film Awards.  

Checkmate was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.  

Checkmate was directed by Cara Masters and produced by Erminas Surgautas.  This is its fourth festival award. 

Never Cross the Line: The "180 Degree Rule"

180-Degree Rule

What is "Crossing the Line?", and why should animators never (or, almost never) cross it?

"Crossing the Line" is also known as the "180-Degree Rule", and it is one of the fundamental rules of cinematography.

Like most rules of film-making, the only way to really understand the 180 Degree Rule is to break it, figure out what went wrong - and then work out how to fix it next time.

Let's say you have a shot with two characters talking to one another. Draw an imaginary line between the two characters. This is the "line" that we should not cross.

Escape Studios 2024 2D Animation Reel

We're proud to present our 2024 2D Animation Reel.  Here at Escape Studios we've been expanding our 2D animation capacity for some years, starting with our Evening Classes in Toonboom Harmony, and now offering our undergraduate animation students a new 2D Animation Pathway, focusing on digital tools such as Toonboom Harmony, Adobe Animate and Blender.  The 2D Animation industry has been going through a renaissance, and we're proud to offer our students a chance to be a part of it.  This month we also became a formally accredited Toonboom Harmony Authorised Training Centre (ATC). 

Father's Blade Wins Best Trailer at Nawada Fest

"Father's Blade" wins "Best Trailer" at Nawada Fest

Congratulations to the makers of the short film "Father's Blade", which has won "Best Trailer" at the Nawada Film Festival.

"Father's Blade" was directed by Thomas Husband and produced by Hugo Whitworth; the editor was Alfie Williams and the lead animator was Brandon Rai.  This is the fifth festival award for Father's Blade. 

The Art of Walt Disney in the Animation Library

The Art of Disney Animation

We're delighted to add a new book on the Art of Disney Animation in the Animation & VFX Library.

This classic book, donated by animation tutor Kevin Richards, features some of the best artwork created for the Disney studio on classic films such as Snow White, Pinocchio, Mary Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks, showing just how important a strong sense of design was to the Disney Studio during its first golden age.

Our students at Escape Studios grew up with the Pixar movies in the modern digital age, but it's still important to study the classical Disney era, and learn from the masters who designed and created the medium that we work in today.

Thanks to animation tutor Kevin Richards for the kind donation.

Why Animators Need a Great Acting Shot

Acting shot by Escapee Rich Jeffrey

Why do animators need a great acting shot on their demo reel?  Because nothing showcases an animator’s talent quite like a strong acting shot.  

A well-executed acting scene shows that an animator can approach a shot like an actor might approach a scene in a movie or a play. 

Acting shots reveal whether an animator can go beyond basic mechanics and deliver a performance.

Why Characters Shouldn't Look at The Camera

Bugs - stop looking at us!

One of the most common mistakes made by student animators is to have their characters talk directly to the camera, breaking the so-called "Fourth Wall".

Inexperienced animators often make this error. We pose out our character and we think - who is she talking to? I know - she's talking to me! But in a film, or a play, or a TV Series, the camera (ie the audience) is almost always an observer, never a participant.

Part of the so-called Willing Suspension of Disbelief is that the characters acting for us don't know we are there.

Sometimes characters will talk to the camera (like Bugs Bunny, left) but this is unusual. Mostly, on-screen characters look at each other, not at us. 

Harmony Evening Class Returns on 6 March 2025

Our 2D Animation Online Evening class in Toonboom Harmony returns to Escape Studios on 6 March 2025.

Learn the fundamentals of 2D animation over 10 weeks, one evening a week using Toonboom Harmony, one of the leading software packages for the creation of 2D animation.

The class is taught by industry veteran Iliana Franklin. 

Escapee Carolina Xavier Animator at Framestore

Carolina Xavier

Congratulations to Escapee Carolina Xavier who has joined Framestore, one of the UK's leading Animation and VFX houses, as an animator.

Carolina took our Master's Degree in 3D Animation at Escape Studios, studying with animation veteran Lee Caller.  While at Escape Studios, Carolina produced the award-winning short film "Flame".

Framestore is a leading VFX house, responsible for some of the biggest animation and vfx hits of recent years.  You can find Carolina Xavier's animation demo reel here.