"Gnaughty Gnomes" Wins "Best VFX" at EEFF

Gnaughty Gnomes wins Best VFX at Eastern Europe Fest

Congratulations to the makers of Gnaughty Gnomes, which has won Best VFX at the Eastern Europe Film Festival.

Gnaughty Gnomes is a short animated film made made by animation and vfx students at Escape Studios. Gnaughty Gnomes was directed by Antonia Palmer, produced by Hannah Sheppard and co-produced by Charlotte Gimbird.  

Gnaughty Gnomes has won many festival awards. 

"The Stellar Rescue" Wins Best Director at FOFA

The Stellar Rescue wins Best Director (Super Short Film)

Congratulations to the makers of "The Stellar Rescue", which has won Best Director (Super Short Film) at the Future of Film Awards.

"The Stellar Rescue" was written and directed by Anthony Sarmiento, and produced by Wiktoria Swierk.  

The Stellar Rescue tells the story of a young boy who must rescue a fallen baby star, and must return it to its parents in the sky. This is its first festival award.

Escape Studios Animation & VFX Demo Reel 2022

We're proud to release our latest Escape Studios' Animation & VFX Demo Reel, a selection of our best work taken from the many award-winning films created by our students over the past year.  This new demo reel includes clips from "Introduction to the Light", "Picture This", "Our Ocean", "Sweet Heart", "Shimmer", "Russell", "Freefall", "Love, Mum", "Threaded Together", "Stellar Rescue", "Hannibelle", "Spitfire", "Explosive Love", "Post-Mortem" and "The Wanderer".

"Producing" Taster Day Tuesday 5th July at 5pm

Join us on Tuesday July 5th at 5pm for a free taster in the art of producing for animation, games and VFX.  Production teams are at the heart of all VFX and Animation projects; experienced producers are in short supply, and there is growing demand for new talent across the whole sector.

This free online taster is designed to give you an insight into the VFX industry and the production roles which are currently available as well as an overview of the course. 

Our courses in producing are designed in collaboration with our industry partners to ensure all our students learn the fundamental skills required to enter the industry.

Character & Creature Taster Day 5 July 2022

We're hosting a free Taster Day in Character & Creature Creation on 5th July 2022. The event takes place at 5pm and is run by Escape Studios tutor and animation veteran Michael Davies, who will introduce students to to facial anatomy - and how this can used to help create a character from a 2D concept.  

Character & Creature Creation is one of our most technically advanced courses; it involves the creation of characters and creatures from start to finish - from rough concept art all the way through to the final animation, lighting and rendering of characters and creatures. 

"Love, Mum" wins "Best Score" at Halicarnassus

Love, Mum wins Best Soundtrack at Halicarnassus

Congratulations to the makers of "Love, Mum", the short film created by our second-year students at Escape Studios, which has won "Best Soundtrack" at the Halicarnassus Film Awards.

"Love, Mum"  tells the story of a young woman who tries to find the secret ingredient in her beloved mother's favourite recipe.  

"Love, Mum" was written, directed and edited by Amelia Watson, and produced by Llewelyn Whitney.  Music was composed by Francesco La Porta.

Free "Introduction to Virtual Production" at Escape

Introduction to Virtual Production at Escape Studios

We're delighted by the success of our free “Introduction to Virtual Production” course for tv directors and producers.  

Recently, ILM’s Virtual Production Supervisor Adam Grint gave our students an insight into Industrial Light & Magic's world renowned "Stagecraft" approach to Virtual Production. 

Free 3D VFX Taster at Escape on Tuesday 5th July 2022

On Tuesday 5th July 2022 at 6.30pm we're hosting a Free 3D VFX Taster.  Taster days are a chance to find out more about the courses at Escape Studios, how they run and who teaches them.

Come along on Tuesday and learn the basics of 3D Modeling, how to create simple geometry, and make it look real.

Our tutor will provide an introduction to 3D VFX techniques such as creating simple geometry, UV’s, texturing, bump maps, lighting, animation, basic compositing and rendering, as well as an introduction to the CG pipeline.

Introduction to the Light: Rookies' Excellence Award

Introduction to the Light: Excellence Award at The Rookies

Congratulations to Mattia Binda, director of "Introduction to the Light", who has won an Excellence Award at The Rookies.

Written and directed by Escapee Mattia Binda, with cinematography by Samuele Bogni, "Introduction to the Light" is a visual poem and experimental animation.  "Introduction to the Light" has won a number of festival awards. 

Story & Previs Taster on Monday 4th July 2022

Join us on Monday 4th July at 5pm at Escape Studios for a free taster in Storyboarding and Previsualisation.  Come and see what it is like learning the art and craft of visual storytelling at Escape Studios.

This free online taster offers a hands-on introduction to professional storyboarding techniques, techniques which are currently in demand as the animation industry continues to expand.

In this online taster, taught by Escape Studios' tutor Iliana Franklin, you will learn to create a simple storyboard, and edit the images into a digital animatic with music and sound design.

Free Houdini Taster Day 27 June at 5pm

We're hosting a free Houdini taster day today, Monday 27th June, at 5pm.

There's still time to sign up and find out more about one of the fastest-growing areas of software expertise in the world of VFX.

SideFX Houdini is an increasingly useful digital tool that allows users to create FX work such as smoke, fire and water with much less difficulty than with traditional software packages.

Come along tonight at 5pm to find out more.

Introducing "Liminal"

Introducing "Liminal", a new short film created at Escape Studios. "Liminal" was written and directed by Zoe Walker, and produced by Alex Sellen.  Liminal was created as part of a group project by second-year animation students, working together as a team, simulating as closely as possible a live studio environment. 

"Threaded Together" Best Director at Halicarnassus

Threaded Together wins Best Director at Halicarnassus

Congratulations to the makers of "Threaded Together", which has won an award for Best Director at the Halicarnassus Film Festival.

Threaded Together was directed by Shauna Ludgate and produced by Manos Zervoudakis,  

Threaded Together tells the story of a needle who longs to be reunited with his friends.  

The original score was composed by Maria Cortes-Monroy.

Free 2D Compositing Taster Wednesday 29 June 2022

We're hosting a free taster in 2D Compositing this coming Wednesday 29 June 2022. Come along and find out what's involved in our compositing courses at Escape Studios.

Compositing is the process of combining visual elements from separate sources into a single image, to create the illusion that all the elements form part of a seamless whole.  

Any film that combines live action with visual effects needs digital compositors, and as a result skilled compositors are almost always in high demand.

"Introduction to the Light" Wins Best VFX at AFA

Introduction to The Light Wins Best VFX at AFA

Congratulations to the makers of "Introduction to the Light", which has won Best VFX at the Art Film Awards

Written and directed by Escapee Mattia Binda, with cinematography by Samuele Bogni, "Introduction to the Light" is a visual poem and experimental animation.

Mattia Binda took our MA in VFX Production at Escape Studios, learning the art and craft of visual effects film-making.  This is the third festival award for "Introduction to the Light".

"Freefall" Wins "Best 1st Time Director" Award

Freefall wins Best 1st Time Director at Halicarnassus

Congratulations to the makers of "Freefall", which has won "Best First-Time Director" at the Halicarnassus Film Festival. 

"Freefall" was written and directed by Jessa Timog-Santiago, co-directed by Rohnak Sharma, and produced by Sebastian Petre.  Alex Maynard was Lead Animator and CG Supervisor.  

Freefall was created as part of a group project by second-year animation students, working together as a team.  This is its first festival award. 

"Wanderer" Wins "Hon Mention" at AFA

Wanderer Best 1st Time Director (Hon Mention) at AFA 

Congratulations to the makers of  "The Wanderer", which has won an Honourable Mention for "Best First-Time Director" at the Art Film Awards. 

"The Wanderer" tells the story of a traveller who encounters a mysterious spirit that guards an ancient temple.  

The Wanderer was directed by Chiyoko Coyte and produced by Wiktoria Swierk.  This is its fourth festival award. 

Motion Graphics Taster on 30 June 2022

Motion Graphics Taster 30 June 2022

We're hosting a free Online Motion Graphics Taster on 30 June 2022.  Come along and find out what's involved in our motion graphics courses at Escape Studios.

Our next Motion Graphics 12 Week Course starts on 26 September 2022. The course is taught by experienced industry professionals, and aims to prepare students for careers in the motion graphic and motion design industries.

The market for skilled motion designers has never been bigger, and London is host to the world’s largest motion design community. To find out more, visit the official course page here.

"Love, Mum" Best Score (Hon Mention) in Tokyo

Love, Mum wins "Best Score" (Hon. Mention) in Tokyo

Congratulations to the makers of "Love, Mum", the short film created by our second-year students at Escape Studios, which has won "Best Original Score" (Hon Mention) at the Tokyo International Film Awards.

"Love, Mum"  tells the story of a young woman who tries to find the secret ingredient in her beloved mother's favourite recipe.  "Love, Mum" was written, directed and edited by Amelia Watson, and produced by Llewelyn Whitney.  Music was composed by Francesco La Porta.

Meet Your Tutors - Mark Spevick

Mark Spevick

Mark Spevick is one of our most experienced VFX tutors at Escape Studios.

Mark is our Head of Industry Training at Escape Studios, and combines teaching with working in industry, most recently at Framestore, one of the UK's leading VFX houses. 

Mark Spevick has many years of experience working both in industry and in higher education and teaching.  Mark Spevick started his career at Peerless Camera, the production house co-owned by Terry Gilliam, working on  ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ and ‘The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus’.