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| Michael Davies Teaching at Escape Studios |
There are many ways in which students at Escape Studios can get feedback and critique. First and most obvious is in the classroom, from your tutor.
We also have Studio Assistants (SAs) whose job it is to help students when they encounter problems - especially technical ones. Studio Assistants are always available, usually sitting at the back of the class.
The Importance of Feedback
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| Kevin Richards Teaching at Escape Studios |
Whether you're working at a studio, or doing private client work, artists need to be flexible, and learn to incorporate criticism in order to make things better.
Take Criticism - and Give it Too
Students also need to learn to give constructive criticism. Animators help each other out on production all the time by giving one another tips and suggestions, and your best resource at a new studio is often the person sitting next to you.
Feedback at Escape Studios
There are five main ways students get feedback at Escape Studios:
There are many animation tutors at Escape Studios. You can see the full animation team here.
Formative Feedback
Any one of us can be asked for "formative" feedback and critique, either in person or via email.
Sometimes students are shy to ask for help, which is why all our tutors are encouraged to walk around the classroom to make sure everyone is OK. Don't be shy - always stick your hand up if you need assistance. It's what we're here for.
Our Studio Assistants (SAs) are always available to help out in the classroom. If you get stuck, just find an SA to help you out. To see more about Studio Assistants and what they do, read this blog post.
Closed Groups
Because these are closed groups, all our students can post their work and get feedback, safe in the knowledge that the only people who can see it are other students, Studio Assistants - and our tutors.
Take Criticism - and Give it Too
Students also need to learn to give constructive criticism. Animators help each other out on production all the time by giving one another tips and suggestions, and your best resource at a new studio is often the person sitting next to you.
Feedback at Escape Studios
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| Lee Caller Teaching at Escape Studios |
- Tutor Feedback
- Studio Assistant Feedback
- Peer Feedback
- Online Feedback
- Industry Feedback
There are many animation tutors at Escape Studios. You can see the full animation team here.
Formative Feedback
Any one of us can be asked for "formative" feedback and critique, either in person or via email.
Sometimes students are shy to ask for help, which is why all our tutors are encouraged to walk around the classroom to make sure everyone is OK. Don't be shy - always stick your hand up if you need assistance. It's what we're here for.
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| The Four Week Rule |
The Four Week Rule - Formal Feedback Within Four Weeks
Formal feedback on assessed work should be returned within a maximum of four weeks of submission. At the end of each module, our undergraduate and graduate students will receive marking grids with their grade, including comments and suggestions on how to improve the work.
These marking grids are sent out to students at the end of every module, and should arrive not later than four weeks after submission.
No student should wait more than four weeks for formal feedback on their work.
2. Studio Assistants
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| Studio Assistants |
3. Peer Feedback
Students learn to give feedback to each other, as constructive criticism. On production, animators help each other out all the time by giving one another tips and suggestions.
Your best resource at a new studio is often the person sitting next to you. Just like in an animation studio, it's always a good idea to ask your peers for feedback. Ask your neighbour, or someone in the class whose animation skills you admire; someone with a good eye for animation - and how to fix it. Learning how to give critique to your peers is excellent training for industry.
4. Online Feedback
We also have online classrooms for each class. The online classroom is where students post their work to get feedback, and it's where we run animation dailies.
We also have a Discord channel where students, tutors and studio assistants (SAs) can ask questions and get immediate answers.
Closed Groups
Don't Be Shy
We all start off feeling shy about our work, but as we grow in confidence it gets easier to post test animation and get constructive feedback. When you post your work in a forum, you open up the problems to a broad range of solutions - you never know who is going to come up with a great suggestion for how to make the shot better.
5. Industry Feedback
We also host regular industry feedback sessions, where students can get feedback from industry guests.
We all start off feeling shy about our work, but as we grow in confidence it gets easier to post test animation and get constructive feedback. When you post your work in a forum, you open up the problems to a broad range of solutions - you never know who is going to come up with a great suggestion for how to make the shot better.
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| Oz Gani from Framestore |
We also host regular industry feedback sessions, where students can get feedback from industry guests.
For example, Oz Gani from Framestore is a regular industry guest, helping the second year animators to polish their skills and make their work better.
Industry feedback is important because it helps to keep us grounded in the real world of the animation industry, reminding us of what animators will be expected to do when they are facing actual clients.
Getting feedback for our students from industry is very much at the heart of what we do at Escape Studios, and there is no better way to get our students up to industry standard than to bring in professionals to critique their work.
Bespoke Video Feedback
Sometimes our students need detailed video feedback on their work. If you need video feedback on your shot, send me the Maya file (don't forget to include the audio file if there is one) at alex.williams1@pearson.com and I'll send you frame-by-frame video feedback.
Vimeo Channel
We have hundreds of tutorials hosted at Vimeo which teach the art and craft of animation, as well as related areas such as modeling, texturing and lighting. You can find the Vimeo channel here. You can learn a huge amount online - make sure to use this resource well.
Don't Sit at the Back of the Class
For all our students in the back row, why not get in early tomorrow and grab one of the front row seats? Look the tutor in the eye, and say "would you mind take a quick look at my work?". We will always say yes.
In Conclusion
There are five principle ways to get feedback at Escape Studios:
The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To apply for our BA/MArt in 3D Animation, follow this link. To apply for our storyboarding evening class, visit this page here. For the next 12 week animation course, click here.
Industry feedback is important because it helps to keep us grounded in the real world of the animation industry, reminding us of what animators will be expected to do when they are facing actual clients.
Getting feedback for our students from industry is very much at the heart of what we do at Escape Studios, and there is no better way to get our students up to industry standard than to bring in professionals to critique their work.
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| Adam & Eve Mk II by Sebastian Kuder |
Sometimes our students need detailed video feedback on their work. If you need video feedback on your shot, send me the Maya file (don't forget to include the audio file if there is one) at alex.williams1@pearson.com and I'll send you frame-by-frame video feedback.
Vimeo Channel
We have hundreds of tutorials hosted at Vimeo which teach the art and craft of animation, as well as related areas such as modeling, texturing and lighting. You can find the Vimeo channel here. You can learn a huge amount online - make sure to use this resource well.
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| March of the Potguins |
For all our students in the back row, why not get in early tomorrow and grab one of the front row seats? Look the tutor in the eye, and say "would you mind take a quick look at my work?". We will always say yes.
In Conclusion
There are five principle ways to get feedback at Escape Studios:
- Tutor Feedback
- Studio Assistant Feedback
- Peer Feedback
- Online Feedback
- Industry Feedback
The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To apply for our BA/MArt in 3D Animation, follow this link. To apply for our storyboarding evening class, visit this page here. For the next 12 week animation course, click here.
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