Escape Animators Run Master Classes at BFI

Last weekend Escape studios staff and students descended on BFI Southbank, the London home of the UK film Industry, to deliver a series of talks, masterclasses and software demos to up-and-coming young film makers.

The event was titled BFI Future Film Labs – Post Production, and was a chance for Escape students to meet other film-makers and share ideas.

Among those who helped to deliver workshops were second year animation students Aaron Hopwood and Katerina Zacharakis, demonstrating some cool animation techniques.

Escape Studios at BFI Future Film Labs

BFI Future Film – Post Production
Future Film Labs are a series of monthly sessions run by the BFI. They include industry insights, practical masterclasses, professional advice and networking opportunities which inspire and educate young film makers and are designed to help their careers by taking them on a journey through all the stages of film production.

November’s session focused on post-production, and the decision was made to drill down into the world of VFX since it is now such a huge part of the film-making process.

Escape Studios were invited along to help make the world of VFX less opaque and to give tips to young film makers on how to incorporate basic techniques into their films to improve their narrative and visual stories.

Current staff members Andrew Brassington and Clement Gharini were joined by film maker, VFX supervisor Haz Dulull, compositor Roy Peker and flame artist George Rockcliffe from The Mill to be part of the Industry Panel where they shared their experiences of working in the VFX and wider film industries.

Aaron Hopwood de-mystifies the animation process

VFX Workshops
Next up was a one hour workshop which aimed to de-mystify some of the processes involved in film VFX. We wanted the participants to better understand the fundamental techniques used in creating a VFX shot and so we decided to look under the bonnet of a few finished films. First up was a short film titled VFX Games made by former Escape Studios student Roy Peker.

This brilliant video demonstrates a range of techniques in a playful way and is a great start for anyone trying to understand the VFX process.

Next up was Haz and he treated the crowd to a behind the scenes look at all of the VFX processes involved in shooting the promo for his short film Sync.

We then challenged the crowd to watch a short sequence and, working in groups they were asked to identify as many 2D and 3D techniques as they could. They were assisted in this process by a number of Escape Studios students.

The final part of the day saw everyone retire to the BFI Blue room for drinks, networking and the chance to see live CG demonstrations from our cohort of Escape Studios students.

Using workstations provided by our friends at Escape Technology, 2nd year animators Aaron Hopwood and Katerina Zacharakis impressed the audience with their animation skills.

---  Andy Brassington

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To find out more about our new BA/MArt, follow this link.  To apply, visit the offical page here.