Introducing "Alma", Our First MoCap Short

Meet "Alma", the first fully motion capture CG short film created at Escape Studios.  Alma was directed by Rola Hafez, Francesco Cordari and Alexandra Megerdichian, and produced by Emmanouil Zervoudakis, and overseen by Escape Studios tutor Amedeo Beretta. 

The MoCap performance was recorded at Escape Studios on a Xsens Awinda MoCap suit, supplied by Escape Studios' tutor and cinematographer Clement Gharini.

"Alma" was completed as part of our MA Animation, in which students must deliver a personal project, which can be done individually or as part of a team. 

"Alma" pulled together 3D and Animation students to deliver a short movie as a team project, using Motion Capture to facilitate the animation.

Kiwi's Dream Wins Four Awards at BIAFF

Many congratulations to the makers of "Kiwi's Dream", which has won four festival awards at the British International Amateur Film Festival (BIAFF).

Kiwi's Dream swept the awards, winning Best Animation, Best Entry by a Film-Maker Aged 16-21, Best British Young Film-Maker and also a Five Star Award.

Directed by Paloma Zhu and produced by Daniel Rowe, "Kiwi's Dream" is a short story about an origami kiwi who dreams of flight.  It was completed as part of the third year animation Module PR6001.

Edoardo Sartori Shot Creator at The Third Floor

Edoardo Sartori

Congratulations to Escape Studios student Edoardo Sartori who is now working part-time as a Shot Creator at one of the UK's leading previsualisation houses: The Third Floor.  

Edoardo is helping to previs a big budget Hollywood movie being made by one of the world's most famous directors. 

Edoardo has broken into the animation and VFX industry thanks to his extensive knowledge of real-time rendering in Unreal Engine, the rendering platform which is fast replacing traditional ray-trace technology. 

Composer Stuart Bramwell Scores at Escape

Stuart Bramwell 

Stuart Bramwell is a musician and composer, currently studying at Berklee College of Music for his Masters' Degree in Scoring for Film and TV.  Stuart's specialism is in writing music for animation. 

Stuart has recently collaborated with our second year students on their short film project "A Long Way Home", directed by Harrison Bell, which will soon be entering festival competitions. 

Stuart's original music composition helped to lift the film to a professional level, as our students learn to collaborate with composers and sound designers to push the level of quality of our student film projects.

Free Animation Taster Day on 26th April

Lee Caller

We're running a free online Animation Taster at Escape Studios on Wednesday 26 April, taught by award-winning animator Lee Caller.

Taster Classes are a great chance to learn about character and creature animation, and find out what an animator's job is all about.

You will learn how to use Autodesk Maya and get a hands-on introduction to 3D Animation techniques. No prior knowledge of Maya - or any software - is required.

Daniel Baidoo Animator at Stargate

Daniel Baidoo

Many congratulations to Escapee Daniel Baidoo, who is working as an animator at Stargate Studios in Malta.

Stargate describes itself as a "one-stop solution for visual effects clients with full-service production and post-production departments around the globe". 

Prior to Stargate, Daniel worked for Maga animation and also Animal Logic animation studio in Sydney, Australia.

Cartoon Springboard: Deadline 2 Sept 2021

Cartoon Springboard - for students & graduates

Submissions are now open for Cartoon Springboard, the annual pitching event that takes place from October 27-29 in Valencia, Spain.  The deadline is 2nd September.

Successful projects will pitch to industry delegates, including producers, broadcasters and sales agents, as our students seek ways to capitalise on the festival success of their films. 

Escape Studios 2021 Careers Guide

The free Escape Studios Careers Guide is back - with a fresh Post-Covid take on the animation, games and VFX industries. 

Our annual Careers Guide, updated every year, is an invaluable handbook for aspiring digital artists in the animation, games and VFX industries. 

What are the key roles in the industry? Who is hiring, for what positions, and what are the areas of growth? 

Our 2021 Careers Guide unpacks the jargon and complexity of the creative industries and shows students what career paths exist, and what skills you need to succeed.

Emma Riddell Creature TD at DNeg

Emma Riddell

Many congratulations to Escapee Emma Riddell who is working as a Creature TD at DNeg in London.

Emma took our 12 week short course in animation, and from there moved into the technical side of 3D animation, focusing on rigging, fur simulations, and muscle systems. 

The Creature TD role is one that is in big demand, using physics and simulations to drive the animation process.

Thomas Mouilleron Saturday Club Tutor

Thomas Mouilleron

Many congratulations to Escapee Thomas Mouilleron, who has just joined Escape Studios as a Saturday Club Tutor.  

Escape Studios Saturday Club, part of the National Saturday Club Campaign, is back again this year.   Saturday Club is open to students between the ages of 13-16; giving them a taste of life in the creative industries, such as animation, visual effects and games.

Saturday Club is open to all, but is especially aimed at students from disadvantaged backgrounds, many of whom lack the opportunity at school to tackle creative subjects.

Kiwi's Dream Hon Mention at Athens Film Fest

Kiwi's Dream "Honourable Mention" in Athens

Many congratulations to the makers of "Kiwi's Dream", which has won its sixth festival award: Honourable Mention in the category of Best Visual Effects at the Athens International Art Film Fest.

Directed by Paloma Zhu and produced by Daniel Rowe, "Kiwi's Dream" is a short story about an origami kiwi who dreams of flight.  It was completed as part of the third year animation Module PR6001.

Animation Evening Class Returns 3 August

"Street Ratz" Animation by Paloma Zhu

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

"Good Old Days" Wins Best Cinematography

"Good Old Days" wins "Best Cinematography"

Many congratulations to Escapee Sebastian Kuder whose short animated film The Good Old Days has won its first festival award - Best Cinematography in the short film category at the Halicarnassus Film Festival. 

The Good Old Days is a story about an elderly gentleman who tries to re-live the glory days of his youth, but things don't quite go to plan.

Creative Workshops at Escape Studios - Online

If you have applied for one of our undergraduate Animation, Games or VFX courses, for entry in September 2021, you may have been invited to attend a Creative Workshop here at Escape Studios.

Creative Workshops are a chance for us to get to know you, for you to get to know us, and for you to find out more about what we do at Escape Studios.  This year, all our Creative Workshops have moved online. 

Death From Above Best Trailer at Sensus Fest

"Death From Above" wins "Best Trailer" at Sensus Fest

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

This is the fourth award for "Death From Above", a teaser/trailer for an action adventure web series. 

The short was directed by Jordan Coles, and produced by Callum Wylie; Cinematography was by Daniel Brand-Sinyinza.

Rookies 2021 Now Open: Deadline 1 June 2021

Rookies 2021

At Escape Studios we encourage all of our students to enter The Rookies Awards, the international competition for young creatives, which opened on 7th March. The deadline to enter is 1st June 2021.

The Rookies was founded in 2009 to "showcase the most talented student designers, illustrators, film makers, animators, developers, digital artists, and launch them into the career of their dreams."

This year the deadline is 1st June 2021, so there is plenty of time to polish your work and enter the competition.

12 Week Houdini Course Starts 28th June

Escape Studios is launching a new full-time 12-week Houdini course, starting on 28th June with options to study in the classroom in our studios in Central London - or live online.

Taught by a certified Houdini trainer, the course is designed to give students the necessary skills in asset creation and simulations needed to stand out in the VFX and Games industries.

Evgenia Golubeva Directs "Millie & Lou"

Blue Zoo's "Millie & Lou"

Many congratulations to Escapee Evgenia Golubeva who is slated to direct the new animated series "Millie & Lou" currently in production at Blue Zoo animation in London.

"Millie & Lou" is a Blue Zoo Original production for YouTube.  The show stemmed from a BZ "in-house initiative", creating in-house content by developing  ideas into full series productions. 

Little Gestures Wins "Hon Mention" in Athens

Little Gestures wins Honourable Mention in Athens 

Many congratulations to the makers of "Little Gestures", which has won an "Honourable Mention" in the category of "Best Director" at the Athens International Art Film Festival.

This is the second festival award for "Little Gestures", which recently won "Best Super Short" at the Vesuvius International Film Festival in Naples.

"Little Gestures", a short story about an artist's maquette which comes to life, was directed by Richard O'Hanlon and Daniel Brand-Sinyinza, and produced by Nickoel Izharudin and Dominic Strachan. 

An "Evening with..." Tara Saunders Tonight

Co-Studio Head at Playstation Tara Saunders will join us tonight at our latest  'Evening with...' event at Escape Studios. 

This event, which is exclusively for currently enrolled students at Escape Studios, takes place on Wednesday 10th March at 6pm GMT.

To sign up (current students only), follow the official Zoom link.

Kiwi's Dream Wins Best Director at Lisbon Fest

"Kiwi's Dream" Best Director at Lisbon Fest

Many congratulations to the makers of "Kiwi's Dream", which has won its fifth festival award: "Best Director" in the category of "Super Short Film" at the Lisbon New Cinema Festival.

This is the fifth festival award for "Kiwi's Dream". Directed by Paloma Zhu and produced by Daniel Rowe, "Kiwi's Dream" is a short story about an origami kiwi who dreams of flight.  

Sound Design with Jakob Parsons 9 March

Jakob Parsons teaching at Escape Studios

We're delighted to welcome back sound specialist Jakob Parsons to teach sound design to our 2nd year undergraduate animators. Jakob will join us tomorrow, Tuesday 9 March.

Good sound design is a vital part of the film-making process. 50% of the experience of enjoying a film is audio, and yet when teaching film-making we tend to focus most of our attention on what we see with our eyes, sometimes neglecting the importance of sound.

Hiring Non-UK Animators Post-Brexit 25 March

Hiring - what are the rules?

On Thursday 25 March at 4pm Screen Skills is hosting a free webinar for UK animation studios looking to hire overseas animation talent post-Brexit. What are the rules? How easy/difficult is it to hire EU talent since the Brexit divorce, and what about remote working? 

The webinar, which will be presented by immigration lawyers Anna Blackden and Elisabeth Kynaston, is aimed at animation studio owners and recruiters looking to hire non-UK animation talent in the post-Brexit immigration system. To sign up, follow this link.

Daniel Amor Motion Graphic Animator at NBC

Daniel Amor

Many congratulations to Escapee Daniel, who has recently started a new position as Motion Graphic Designer at NBC Universal Media.  

Motion Graphics is a growing part of the animation industry, one where animation and graphic design combine to create a unique skillset. 

Daniel Amor took our 12 week animation course and quickly found a paid training contract as an animator with Technicolor Academy in London, alongside fellow Escapees Chan Sagoo and Melissa Coarezza.  

Later, Daniel went on to work at MPC, where he worked on the 2019 production of Andrew Lloyd-Webber's "Cats". 

Street Ratz "Best Trailer" at Art Film Awards

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

This is the fourth festival award for "Street Ratz", which last year won "Best Trailer" at the Golden Nugget Film Festival, Best Trailer at the Vesuvius Film Festival, and Best Trailer at the Changing Face International Film Festival in Australia.

Street Ratz" is a teaser/trailer written and directed by Austin Hill, produced by Jack Wright, and supervised by Amedeo Beretta. 

Bluey Wins Best Pre-School Anim at Kidscreen

"Bluey" wins Best Pre-School at Kidscreen

We're proud to congratulate Escapee Rich Jeffrey whose Australian TV series "Bluey" has won Best Pre-School animated series at the 2021 Kidscreen awards held on February 9th. 

This is the latest award for  "Bluey", which last year won an Emmy at the 8th International Emmy Kids Awards.  Rich was animation director on series 1, and director on the 2nd series of "Bluey".

Anim 12 Week Course Returns 27 Sept 2021

Escapee Chan Sagoo worked on Lion King (2019)

Our next animation short course - three months of intensive training in 3D animation - returns on 27th September 2021.

Our 12 week animation 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 expanding animation and VFX industry.

Blue Zoo To Keep Working Remotely

Tom Box (right) with Escape Studios' Animators

In a recent interview at Cartoon Brew, Blue Zoo co-founder Tom Box explains why remote working is here to stay.  Since Covid-19 broke, around 700,000 people have left London, and this change is reflected at Blue Zoo animation, where many of their team have left the capital for good.  

According to Tom: "Blue Zoo is no longer really a London based company, even though we have (empty) offices there. Now, just 30% of our team live in London. Over last 10 months lots of staff relocated across the UK for a better work/life balance.  London has changed forever".

Little Gestures Wins Best Short at Vesuvius

"Little Gestures" wins "Best Super Short" 

Many congratulations to the makers of "Little Gestures", which has won an award for "Best Super Short" at the Vesuvius International Film Festival in Naples.

This is the first festival win for "Little Gestures", which was directed by Richard O'Hanlon and Daniel Brand-Sinyinza, and produced by Nickoel Izharudin and Dominic Strachan. 

Little Gestures is a short story about an artist's maquette which comes to life, acting as a muse for the artist's canvas.