VIEW panel. From left: Amy Smith, Giorgio Xhaxho, Alex Williams, Tiffany Feeney, Angie Wojak |
Monday, 30 October 2017
Why Animation Recruiters Live at LinkedIn
Friday, 27 October 2017
Star Wars - The Last Jedi - 14 December
All our students; short course, post-graduate and undergraduate, are invited, and our staff will be there too. We're excited to welcome our students to this event - a great opportunity to see the latest VFX blockbuster, and also a chance for our students to find out about how the movie got put together.
Wednesday, 25 October 2017
ILM, Star Wars, & Virtual Reality
Vikki Dobbs of ILMxLAB |
ILMxLab is all about "immersive experiences". Their challenge as a startup venture within ILM was to "leverage their in-house talent and create new experiences".
As Vikki put it, we are "entering an age of experiential storytelling". To create this new reality, ILMxLab needed to "take risks, to learn, explore and discover new ideas".
Kim White Reveals Secrets of Pixar Lighting
Kim White, Director of Photography on Cars 3 |
As you'd expect, lighting a Pixar movie isn't just about technical skill - it's about helping to tell the story, supporting the narrative and solving visual problems along the way.
As Pixar movies get more and more realistic in their visualisation, the lighting department has had to draw on sophisticated reference and resources to make their work believable.
Tuesday, 24 October 2017
Lee Caller Teaching at Escape Studios
This week Escape Studios welcomed animation tutor Lee Caller, who is teaching our second year students character and creature animation. Lee is an animator who combines technical skill with a strong story-telling element - the perfect ingredients for a great animation performance. You can see his excellent dinosaur animation - "Tokyo Rex" - above. Lee is at Escape this week helping our second year students complete their first assessed animation exercise - an entry into this month's Eleven Second Club.
Friday, 20 October 2017
Harry Potter at the British Library
Harry Potter fans (and isn't that all of us?) will rejoice that the British Library is currently hosting a "History of Magic" exhibition, running until February 2018. One of the great advantages of studying animation and visual effects at Escape Studios in London is the access our students have to the extraordinary range of cultural resources in our city. The British Library is a short walk from our Holborn campus, and we encourage all our students to attend events like this one.
Wednesday, 18 October 2017
11 Second Club - October Contest
Tuesday, 17 October 2017
UCAS is Now Open
UCAS - time to apply |
Below are some good reasons why we believe we are building one of the best animation courses in the country, and how you can get started on your new career as a digital artist. Best of all - you will study in central London, a short walk from the centre of the industry, and learn from industry professionals with extensive experience.
Monday, 16 October 2017
Queen's Counsel wins CAT Award
Last week Queen's Counsel, the cartoon strip I've drawn in the Times since 1993, was awarded "The Cartoon Art Trust Award for Strip Cartooning" at the annual CAT Awards. The Cartoon Art Trust supports the Cartoon Museum in Bloomsbury, hosting the CAT Awards Dinner to raise funds for the museum and keep its doors open. At the dinner were some of the finest cartoonists in the UK - Matt Pritchett, Mac of the Mail, Nick Newman (who co-writes Private Eye), and plenty of politicians and lawyers to dig deep into their pockets to support the good cause.
Friday, 13 October 2017
Visual Storytelling with Buster Keaton
This week at Escape Studios our second year animators are completing a pantomime shot; creating a fun, entertaining piece of animation without words or dialogue. It's harder than it sounds. Without dialogue, you have to use camera, body language and facial expressions alone to communicate your story. Of course, the masters of silent comedy faced the same problem, which is why animators can learn so much from the silent comedy stars like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. In the eight minute video above you can see why Keaton was a master of the visual gag. Why should animators study this stuff? Because animators are actors, and we have to make our acting work on a visual level. If your scene doesn't work with the sound turned off - it isn't working.
Thursday, 12 October 2017
Big Hero 6 Character Design Secrets
How do our favourite animated characters get designed? Character design on a feature film is often a long and complex process, involving a team of artists. In this excellent Disney video, Big Hero 6 Character designer Shiyoon Kim talks about how the characters in the film were created. Watching videos like this is a window into the workflow of some of the most talented designers in our industry, and how they come up with original, fresh material.
Wednesday, 11 October 2017
16th Annual VES Awards - Student Entry
The 16th Annual VES Awards are now taking entries. Here at Escape Studios we encourage all our students to enter Category 23: Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project.
The award is sponsored by Autodesk, who make Maya, the leading animation and VFX software, and is a great opportunity for any ambitious student to kick-start their career.
The award is sponsored by Autodesk, who make Maya, the leading animation and VFX software, and is a great opportunity for any ambitious student to kick-start their career.
Tuesday, 10 October 2017
Escape Technology Short Film Challenge
Time to enter the Escape Technology Short Film Challenge.
Can you make a short film in six weeks?
Escape Technology have teamed up with Definition magazine, Boston, Adobe, Wacom, PNY, and AV3 to bring you our first ever Short Film Challenge.
Can you make a short film in six weeks?
Escape Technology have teamed up with Definition magazine, Boston, Adobe, Wacom, PNY, and AV3 to bring you our first ever Short Film Challenge.
Monday, 9 October 2017
Rigging Starts at Escape 14th May 2018
Learn from the man who rigged Smaug |
Come and learn rigging from Michael Davies, the man who rigged Smaug and also The Minions. As well as his industry work, Michael also has plenty of teaching experience teaching; so we can't think of anyone better qualified to lead this class.
This 8 week course is designed as an introduction to rigging, to help 3D artists broaden their skillset, and also to introduce students to some of the automated rigging systems currently available.
You’ll learn all the basics of rigging in Autodesk Maya (an understanding of Maya basics will be helpful) and what character riggers do in the animation and VFX industry.
Friday, 6 October 2017
Steven Lall Studio Assistant at Escape
Steven Lall |
Becoming a studio assistant at Escape Studios is a great way to launch a career in animation and VFX - our studio assistants invariably move on to careers in industry, after working and studying here, perfecting their demo reels and developing industry contacts.
Thursday, 5 October 2017
Fred O'Rourke Storyboarding Children in Need
Many congratulations to Escapee Fred O'Rourke who has recently started a new position as a storyboard artist working on a feature film for Children in Need.
Fred took our evening class in Storyboarding earlier this year, and polished his portfolio during the aftercare stage of the course. We asked him a few questions about the project, how he got the job, and what advice he might offer other students hoping to break into storyboarding.
Fred took our evening class in Storyboarding earlier this year, and polished his portfolio during the aftercare stage of the course. We asked him a few questions about the project, how he got the job, and what advice he might offer other students hoping to break into storyboarding.
Wednesday, 4 October 2017
Festivus is Back on Thursday 5th October
Festivus 5th October |
The latest Festivus event takes place on Thursday 5th October at The Comedy Pub in London from 6.30pm
There will be a number of guest speakers, including guests from Blue Zoo, one of the UK's leading animation studios.
Tuesday, 3 October 2017
Time to Enter the British Animation Awards!
British Animation Awards |
The British Animation Awards (BAA) invites all kinds of animation submissions, from student work to commercials, children’s entertainment, short films, experimental films, music videos and new technologies.
If you've done some animation, there's a category for you. And yes, there is a category for student films, and admission is free. But don't wait - the looming deadline is friday 13th October.
Monday, 2 October 2017
2018 VFX Festival 6-8 Feb - Save the Date!
The countdown to Escape Studios' 2018 VFX Festival is on. Just like last year, we'll be showcasing the best of VFX, Animation, Games and Motion Graphics.
There is no better way to find out about the latest trends in our industry, who is hiring, and what skills are in demand. We strongly encourage all our current, past and future students to attend. Come and find out what the future holds for our industry.
There is no better way to find out about the latest trends in our industry, who is hiring, and what skills are in demand. We strongly encourage all our current, past and future students to attend. Come and find out what the future holds for our industry.