"Death From Above" Wins "Best Adventure"

"Death from Above" Wins "Best Adventure"

Many congratulations to the makers of "Death From Above", which has won an award for "Best Adventure" at the Animafantasia Film Festival.

This is the latest award for "Death From Above" which has also won "Best Trailer" at the Bucharest Short Cut Cinefest, and Best Trailer at the Halicarnassus Film Festival.  Death From Above was directed by Jordan Coles, produced by Callum Wylie, and edited by Daniel Brand-Sinyinza. 

Introducing "The Leaching" by Lee Caller

Meet "The Leaching" - a short teaser/trailer animated by Escape Studios animation tutor Lee Caller.

"The Leaching" is a teaser/trailer for an animated horror film, currently in development. 

Lee Caller, who has a master's degree in animation from Buckinghamshire New University, teaches our Short Course, Advanced Animation, and Animation Masters students. 

Lee is an experienced animator with a natural flair for story telling, camera and animation.  His short film "Jelly Cars" has already won a number of festival awards.  The Leaching is currently being entered into competition in film festivals, and was a finalist at the Prague Film Festival and the Kosice Film Festival.

Four More Awards for "The Witch & the Baby"

The Witch and The Baby by Evgenia Golubeva

Many congratulations to Escapee Evgenia Golubeva, whose short film "The Witch and The Baby" has won four more festival awards.

Evgenia's short film has won the Young Jury Award at the Cardiff Animation Film Festival 2020, Best Short Film for Children at Balkanima Animation Film Festival 2020, The Pink Panda Award for the Best Animation for Kids at the FAB Festival of Animation Berlin 2020, Germany, and Best Animation at the WOFFF Women Over 50 Film Festival 2020.

MA 3D Animation is Back on 15 Feb 2021

"Flame": MA film project

Our MA (Master of Arts) in 3D Animation is back, with a new class starting on 15th February 2021.

The MA in animation will be taught both online and at our mid-town campus at 190 High Holborn in central London.

If you're looking for an animation course that teaches you how to animate to a professional level, and also leads to a formal qualification in the field, then this could be the right course for you.

Moon Rockz Wins "Most Witty Animation"

Moon Rockz "Most Witty Animation" at Animafantasia

We are proud to announce that the short film "Moon Rockz", written and directed by Molly Babington, and produced by Stevie Stedman, has won an award for "Most Witty Animation" at the Animafantasia Film Festival.

This the latest award for "Moon Rockz", which recently won "Best Sci-Fi" at the Flicks Film Festival, and has been a finalist in five other film festivals.  

MA Previs and Story Starts 28 June 2021

Our pioneering Master's Degree course in Previsualisation and Storyboarding - the first of its kind -  is now recruiting for 28th June 2021.

This new degree, first launched in September 2019, is the first-ever master's degree in Previsualisation & Storyboarding, and is taught by industry veteran Iliana Franklin. 

Developed in consultation with industry, and formally validated by the University of Kent, this degree is a unique opportunity to learn industry-level skills and also earn an internationally recognised academic qualification.

Our MA students have been directing award-winning films such as "Moon Rockz", which recently won "Best Sci-Fi" at the Flicks Film Fest, and "Street Ratz", which won Best Trailer at the Vesuvius Film Festival, and Best Trailer at the CFIFF.

Jerich0 Wows at Cartoon Springboard - Variety

"Jerich0" - multiple award-winner

Many congratulations to the makers of Jerich0, the BAFTA-shortlisted short film created at Escape Studios, which impressed the judges at Cartoon Springboard this year. 

The event even made its way into the pages of Variety, with the headline "Animated Short ‘Jerich0’ Series Adaptation Wows at Cartoon Springboard."

According to Variety: "Alumni of London’s elite Escape Studios, writer-director Sarah Andrews and assistant director, animation lead and sound designer Aaron Hopwood, participated in this year’s Cartoon Springboard project pitching sessions, looking to leverage the success of their short student film “Jerich0” into a short form series adaptation."

BA/MArt in Computer Anim Starts Sept 2021

Escape Studios' students at the BFI

Escape Studios is now taking applications for our BA/MArt in computer animation, recruiting for September 2021.

Applications are through UCAS, and you can find out more about the course at the official site here.

Our BA/MArt in animation was launched in 2015, and our first group of animation students graduated in 2019, going on to find jobs and success in the industry. 

Over the past couple of years our students have won multiple awards and prizes, and we are ranked in the Top 5 Animation Schools in the UK for the second year running.  

Hat Shop "Most Awesome Animation" Award

"Hat Shop" wins "Most Awesome Animation"

Congratulations to the makers of "Hat Shop", which has won an award for "Most Awesome Animation" at the Animafantasia Film Festival 2020. 

"Hat Shop" is a short film set in a futuristic robot world, written and directed by Stevie Stedman, produced by Jess Hiles, animation directed by Ross Green. 

Anim Short Course Returns on 15 Feb 2021

Escapee Chan Sagoo worked on Lion King (2019)

Our next animation short course - three months of intensive training in 3D animation - returns on 15th February 2021.

Our 12 week course is aimed at anyone who wants to learn the art and craft of 3D Animation in Maya, and aims to take students to a professional level of skill, making them studio-ready talent.

Taught by veteran animation tutor Lee Caller, our animation is designed to help our students find employment in the rapidly expanding animation and VFX industry.

Quarantine Chorus Wins "Best Covid-19 Film"

Quarantine Chorus - Best Covid-19 film

Many congratulations to the makers of "Quarantine Chorus", which has won an award for "Best Covid-19 Film" at the Marcellus Mini Movie Family Film Festival in Marcellus, New York.

Quarantine Chorus is a short animated film about life under Lockdown, and a celebration of the human spirit. It was directed by Edoardo Sartori and produced by Nickoel Izharudin. 

Spider Animation Workshop at VIEW

Recently we hosted a creature animation workshop at the VIEW Conference, the annual VFX Animation and Games event in Turin, Italy.  This year VIEW took place online, and if you missed the original workshop you can catch up by watching the two-hour video above. The workshop shows students how to animate spiders using Autodesk Maya - demonstrating how to break down complex motion into simple parts to get a sophisticated result.  The tutorial is two hours long and is completely free.  

"Reach" Wins "Most Irresistible Animation"

"Reach" - "Most Irresistible Animation at ISAFF

Congratulations to the makers of "Reach", which has won an award for "Most Irresistible Animation" at the International Student Animafantasia Film Festival 2020. 

"Reach" is a short film directed by third year VFX student Matteo Balduzzi, and produced by Alessandro Cannucciari. It was completed as part of the third year animation Module PR6001,  a Studio Project worth 60 Credits. 

Advanced Animation is Back on 15 Feb 2021

Character Animation by Jamie Floodgate

Advanced Animation is back - starting on 15th February 2021.  Advanced animation is a six week extension of our 12 week short course in animation, and is aimed at students who want to polish and further develop their 3D animation skills.

This six week intensive class builds on the lessons learned in the 12 Week Animation Short Course,  developing and enhancing existing skills, making sure that our students are job-ready by the end of the course.

"Draw" in "Ruy Lopez" Nom at Chess Fest

"Draw" nominated for Ruy Lopez award

Escape Studios is proud to announce that the short film "Draw", directed by Martin Kamminga, has been nominated for a "Ruy Lopez Award" at the Hell Chess festival.  

The Ruy Lopez Award is named after the 16th-century Spanish priest and chess champion Ruy López de Segura.

Animation Evening Class Starts 23 Feb 2021

Dragon animation by Jamie Floodgate

Our 20 week part-time Animation evening class in 3D animation returns on 23 February 2021.

This online class runs for 20 weeks on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 7-10pm. The course starts with animation fundamentals and builds up to complex actions and performances, and a professional level demo reel.

Vivi Ossa "Best One Minute" Film at Varese

"Vivi Ossa" - Best One Minute Film at VIFF

Many congratulations to the makers of "Vivi Ossa", which has won the award for "Best One Minute Film" at the Varese Film Festival in Italy. 

Vivi Ossa (Latin for "living bones") is a short film about a museum visitor who brings ancient bones to life through the power of music.

Vivi Ossa has already won several awards, including Best Microfilm at the Golden Nugget Film Festival, the Zero Budget Film Festival, and a "Special Mention" at the London Seasonal Short Film Festival.

Char Design Evening Class Back on 10 May

Steve Sole

Our online Character Design Evening Class is returning to Escape Studios on 10th May 2021.

  
Character Design is an eight week evening class 
taught by a working industry professional; our tutor Steve Sole will guide students through the principles of character design, building up to an industry brief.

Students will learn the basic principles of shape design; how to achieve contrasting characters, how work towards a client brief, and how to put together a "bible" of design information. You can find the official course page here. 

Nefertiti "Most Alluring Animation" at ISAFF

"Most Alluring Animation" - Nefertiti

Congratulations to the makers of "Nefertiti" which has won an award for "Most Alluring Animation"at the International Student Animafantasia Film Festival 2020. 

"Nefertiti" is an animated action-adventure set in an ancient Egyptian tomb.  The film was directed by Eilin Berrio Pena, produced by Priya Shah, and edited by Jack Devereux.

Toonboom Harmony is Back 4 May 2021

Our 2D Animation evening class in Toonboom Harmony with Blue Zoo's Jessie Ilham is back on Wednesday 4 May 2021.

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.

In recent years 2D animation has experienced a significant revival, both in the UK and overseas, as Studios such as Blue Zoo, Aardman Animation, and Brown Bag Films adopt the software.

Hotel Aloha Wins "Most Charming Animation"

"Most Charming Animation" - Hotel Aloha

Congratulations to the makers of "Hotel Aloha", which has won an award for "Most Charming Animation" at the International Student Animafantasia Film Festival 2020. 

"Hotel Aloha" is a short animated romantic comedy set in a beach hotel in Hawaii.  

The film was directed by Paloma Zhu, produced by Nickoel Izharudin, and edited by Ross Green. It was animated in Maya, and rendered in Arnold.

Industry Beginner's Guide Competition

The Escape Studios Industry Beginners' Guide is free, and ready for download.

Download your free copy and find out how the animation, VFX and Games industry actually works, and what jobs are available to those with the right training. 

You can also answer a simple question about our Industry Partners (the answer is in our Industry Beginner's Guide, which you can download here) to have a chance of winning some great prizes. The deadline to enter is 26th November 2020. 

Minuet Wins Best Animation at Marcellus Fest

"Minuet" - Best Animation

Many congratulations to the makers of Minuet, which has won "Best Animation" at the Marcellus Mini Movie Family Film Festival in upstate New York. 

Minuet is one of our most ambitious short films to date, and tells the story of a young girl preparing for her first concert recital. Struck by misfortune, she finds help in the unlikeliest of places.

Minuet has won a number of awards, including Best Animation at the Golden Nugget Film Festival in 2019, and also at the Zero Budget Film Festival. 

Storyboarding is Back 12 May 2021

Francesca "Chess" Adams at Escape Studios

Our evening class in Storyboarding with Francesca "Chess" Adams, veteran story board artist at Blue Zoo, is back on 12 May 2021.

Our next evening class in storyboarding is scheduled to be taught online, and runs for ten weeks.

Chess brings her long experience of working on shows like Digby Dragon and The Go Jetters, reflecting the huge increase in animated content being created right here in London in recent years, and the growing trend towards digital storyboarding tools such as Panel Forge, which speed up the process and help to bridge the gap with 3D Layout.

Emmy Award-Winning Rich Jeffery Webinar

 

Recently we welcomed Emmy-award-winning Escapee Rich Jeffery back to Escape Studios for an animation webinar.  Rich talked about his career in animation since leaving Escape Studios, and in particular what it has been like working on the Australian TV series "Bluey" , which won an International Emmy at the 8th International Emmy Kids Awards this year.  Rich was animation director on "Bluey" Series One, and director on the Series Two. Rich shared his insights into the animation industry, how we got where he is today, and what students and graduates need to do to succeed.

Escape Animators in Top 25 in 11 Second Club

Many congratulations to our 2nd year animators who once again have made an impressive showing in the October 11 Second Club Competition, with five students ranked in the top 25. 

Nicole Widmer came in at Number 11, Shauna Ludgate was No 13, Louis Chevis ranked Number 15, Gary Roche was in at Number 18, and Oliver Gallagher made it into the top 25 with an inventive 2D animation entry.

The 11 Second Club is a monthly character animation competition in which aspiring animators compete to win prizes and get their work noticed.

Animators from all over the world participate, animating a character speaking a line of dialogue, which is provided on the first day of every month by the club. 

It's a monthly free animation competition. Participating animators can share their progress with one another and critique each other's work - just like in a real animation studio.

Quarantine Chorus Best Director at Lisbon Fest

Best Director - Super Short Film

Many congratulations to Edoardo Sartori, whose short film "Quarantine Chorus" has won the award for "Best Director - Super Short Film" at the Lisbon Film Festival.

Quarantine Chorus is a short animated film completed by students at Escape Studios about life under Lockdown. 

Quarantine Chorus has won many awards, including the "Early Bird Grand Award" at the Early Bird Student Film Festival, Best Animated Short at the Prix Royal Paris Film Awards, Best Animation at the Berlin Flash Film Festival, and also Best Super Short Film at the Prague Monthly Film Festival.

Jerich0 Wins Best Short Film at KINOdiseea

"Jerich0" - Best Short Film for Children

Many congratulations to Sarah Andrews, the director of Jerich0, which has won an award for Best Short Film for Children at the KINOdiseea International Children's Film Festival in Bucharest.

This award is the latest in a string of festival successes for Jerich0, which has won multiple festival prizes.

Grads in Games Webinar 18 Nov with Frontier

We're hosting a "Grads in Games" webinar on Wednesday 18th November at 2pm, aimed at animation students hoping to break into the games industry. 

This event is open to all our current students, who can book their free place by following this link:
https://app.livestorm.co/grads-in-games/the-get-in-the-game-animation-and-vfx-webinar-18th-november

The webinar will include a presentation by games animators Luke Maskell, Principal Technical Animator and Tom Morledge, Lead Rigger at Frontier Developments. 

Tom & Luke are experienced animators and will offer advice and guidance on how to find a job in the games industry.

The event will include a Q&A; and throughout the talk our students can submit their questions so that Luke, Tom and the team can answer them.

"Draw" Wins Gold Laurels at ANSFF

"Draw" - Golden Laurels at ANSFF

Escape Studios is proud to announce that the short film "Draw", directed by Martin Kamminga, has won Golden Laurels at the Arte Non Stop Film Festival in Buenos Aires.

This latest award comes on top of a series of wins for  "Draw", including  "Best Micro Film" at the Golden Nugget Film Fest in London, "Best Fight Choreography" at the Flicks Film Festival, "Highest Commendation" at the London Seasonal Short Film Festival in May, and a "Four Stars Award" at the British International Amateur Film Festival.  "Draw" was completed as part of the third year animation Module PR6001, a Studio Project worth 60 Credits. 

Edoardo Sartori at Eallin Animation

Edoardo Sartori

Many congratulations to animation student Edoardo Sartori who is working part-time at Eallin Animation.  Eallin, which means "bring to life", is an animation and mixed media production company with offices in London, Tokyo and Prague.

Edoardo started working for Eallin as a junior 3D generalist, and has been helping to set up their new London studio in Bethnal Green.

Edoardo met Ben Leyland, Executive Producer at Eallin, while directing "Quarantine Chorus", the short animated film that has been winning festival awards since March 2020. 

Ben volunteered to help us out as one of our industry mentors, offering feedback and support during the course of the project.  Edoardo's success shows the power of networking in our industry, and how our group project work can lead directly to career opportunities. 

Adam & Eve Mk II Runner-Up at London Rocks

Many congratulations to Sebastian Kuder, director of "Adam & Eve Mk II", which has won two festival awards at the London Rocks Film Festival.

Adam & Eve Mk II won Best Sci-Fi (Runner Up) and also was awarded Runner-Up in the Category of Best Special Effects.

These are the latest in a long series of festival awards for Adam & Eve Mk II,  a sci-fi re-telling of the Genesis story, which recently won "Best SciFi Short" at the Mid West Horror Film Festival, and was Runner-Up in the category of "Best College Short" at the Brooklyn Sci-Fi Film Festival.

Sebastian Kuder graduated from Escape Studios in the summer of 2019 and is currently working as a PreVis Artist at The Third Floor in London. 

  

Quarantine Chorus Early Bird Grand Award

Many congratulations to Edoardo Sartori, whose short film "Quarantine Chorus" has won the "Early Bird Grand Award" at the Early Bird Student Film Festival in Sofia.

Quarantine Chorus is a short animated film completed by students at Escape Studios about life under Lockdown. 

The film has won a number of awards, including Best Animated Short at the Prix Royal Paris Film Awards, Best Animation at the Berlin Flash Film Festival, and also Best Super Short Film at the Prague Monthly Film Festival.

Sofia Caldeira Layout Artist at Jellyfish Pictures

Many congratulations to Escapee Sofia Caldeira who is working as a Lead Layout Artist at Jellyfish Pictures.

Sofia studied Visual Effects and also Character Creation at Escape Studios, before initially finding work as a 3D Layout Artist at MPC in London. 

Sofia is currently working on a large project for a well-known Los Angeles based animation studio and has been part of the team since  January 2020 

Real-Time Rendering with Blue Zoo on Nov 10

The Escape Studios VFX Festival is back, this time online.  Join us on Tuesday 10 November at 2pm for a webinar with Phil Stewart, "Head of Real-Time" at Blue-Zoo Animation.  

Phil will explain the important of Real-Time rendering at Blue-Zoo. How does the new pipeline affect the production of short films, TV series and commercials? 

Jelly cars Wins "Special Mention" at ANSFF

"Jelly Cars": Special Mention at ANSFF

Escape Studios is proud to congratulate animation tutor Lee Caller whose short film Jelly Cars has won a "Special Mention" Award at the Arte Non Stop Film Festival in Argentina. 

This is the second award for Jelly Cars; earlier this year the short won a "Five Stars" Award at the British International Amateur Film Festival. 

Street Ratz Wins Best Trailer at Vesuvius

"Street Ratz" wins "Best Trailer" in Vesuvius Fest

Many congratulations to the makers of "Street Ratz", which has won Best Trailer at the Vesuvius Film Festival. 

This is the latest award for "Street Ratz", which recently won "Best Trailer" at the Changing Face International Film Festival in Australia, and was also nominated for "Best Trailer" at the Assurdo Film Festival in Milan in July.  

Street Ratz" is a teaser/trailer written and directed by Austin Hill, a graduate student at Escape Studios who studied on our MA in Storyboarding & Previsualisation.

"Evening With..." Aldo Gagliardi Tomorrow

Aldo Gagliardi

We're hosting "An Evening With... " animator Aldo Gagliardi tomorrow Thursday 5th November at 6pm, as we welcome our next special guest at Escape Studios.  

Aldo Gagliardi is Head of Animation at Passion Pictures in London.  His many film credits include Where the Wild Things Are, Arthur Christmas, Avatar, Nanny McPhee, Tale of Despereaux and Gravity.  

Aldo takes us through his personal animation journey, how students can break into the animation industry, and how graduates can find work despite lockdown and Covid-19.  A Q&A will be held at the end. 

Anim, Story & Previs Fair on Nov 30th at Noon

Bear animation by Amanda Costa

We're hosting a Storyboarding, Previsualisation and Animation Fair on Monday 30th November 2020 from 12pm to 1pm. 

The event takes place online via Zoom, and is an opportunity for prospective students to find out about our courses in Animation, as well as Storyboarding & Previsualisation.

To book your free place, register on Zoom.

Offcut Best Short at Arte Non Stop Festival

Many congratulations to the makers of "Offcut", which has won a "Winners Award" at the ArteNonStopFestival in Argentina. 

This is the sixth festival award for "Offcut", which recently won Best Animation at the Beer Town Film Festival in Burton-on-Trent, winning a prize of £500. In July Offcut was selected for the finals for "VFX Film of the Year" in The 2020 Rookies, and in June "Offcut" won two awards: "Best Under 5 Minute Film" at the Flicks Film Festival, and Best DOP (Director of Photography) at the "We Make Films Festival" in London.