A Long Way Home Best Trailer at Art Awards

Congratulations to the makers of A Long Way Home, which has won its first festival award - Best Trailer at the Art Film Awards. 

A Long Way Home is a short teaser/trailer directed by Harrison Bell, written by Simone Fraser, and produced by Josiah Martin-Lofters.

"What Animation Recruiters Want" 25 May

Tiffany Feeney

What Do Animation Recruiters Want? What are studios looking for? Find out on Tuesday 25 May at 12:30pm, when veteran animation recruiter Tiffany Feeney will join us at Escape Studios to offer her perspective on what exactly recruiters are looking for in animation talent.

Having recruited for Dreamworks, Reel FX and Blue Sky Studios, Tiffany Feeney knows what studios want and need.  

Join us on 25 May at 1.30pm to hear Tiffany's advice, with a Q&A to follow. This is especially recommended for all our students graduating this summer, or for any students looking for jobs and internships in animation and vfx.

Palindromo Wins Hon Mention at Screen Power

Palindromo Best Sci-Fi (Hon. Mention) at SPFF

Many congratulations to Paolo Amadini, director of  "Palindromo", which has won its fourth festival award - an Honourable Mention for "Best Sci-Fi" at the Screen Power Film Festival (SPFF) in London. 

"Palindromo" is an animated short created at Escape Studios, written and directed by Paolo Amadini, and overseen by Supervising Tutor Amedeo Beretta. 

How to Take Notes

Industry feedback is at the heart of what we do at Escape Studios. Our students' short film projects receive regular feedback from our tutors and also from industry guests, especially during the storyboard animatic stage when the story is still fluid.  But taking notes isn't always easy; it can be hard not to feel defensive about criticism, however well-meaning it might be.  Writer-directors are often quick to defend story ideas - even when these are not working well, and this can get in the way of making the project work better.  Never forget that the person offering critique is there to help you, and that any criticism is always aimed at making the film better.  Below are our three key rules for "taking notes".

Kiwi's Dream Best Super Short at UK Film Fest

Kiwi's Dream "Best Super Short" at UK Film Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Kiwi's Dream", which has won its 12th festival award - "Best Super Short" at the UK Monthly Film Festival.

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.

Melissa Coarezza Tech Animator at Hexworks

Melissa Coarezza

Congratulations to Escapee Melissa Coarezza, who is currently working as a Technical Animator at Hexworks, a games studio based in Barcelona and Bucharest.

Melissa took our 12 week course in 3D Animation, after which she spent a year at MPC film in London working on the production of Maleficent 2 - Mistress of Evil,.

Technical animation is a growing area of the animation industry, one where opportunities and jobs are rapidly expanding. 

Advanced Animation is Back on 27 Sept

Dinosaur animation by Edoardo Sartori

Advanced Animation is back - starting on 27th September 2021.  Advanced animation is an 18 week course (our 12 week short course plus a six week extension) 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.

Cinematography in Unreal Engine with Clem

Clement Gharini

Cinematographer Clement Gharini is currently leading classes in cinematography in Unreal Engine to all our MA students at Escape Studios.  These classes will be of special interest to students studying our MA in Storyboarding & Previsualisation. 

As Unreal Engine becomes an increasingly important visualisation tool,  not just in Games but in Animation & VFX, Clem is introducing our students to the use of cameras in Unreal Engine, demonstrating how to integrate different tools across multiple platforms. 

Little Gestures Best Director at Golden Nugget

Best Student Director at Golden Nugget Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Little Gestures", which has won its fourth festival award: "Best Student Director" at the Golden Nugget Film Festival. 

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

Jake Lee AfterCare Co-ordinator at Escape

Jake Lee

A warm welcome to Escapee Jake Lee, who took our Animation Short Course, and has just joined Escape Studios as our new "After Care Co-ordinator", helping us to deliver the best possible student experience.

After Care is one of the ways that we keep in touch with our students after formal classes have ended, helping students to keep polishing their work and cut together a successful demo reel. 

Many students at Escape Studios will know Jake already; he is a talented actor, animator and film-maker, who led the MoCap performance for the award-winning short film "Alma". 

"Alma" Wins "Best Animation" at Flicks Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Alma", which has won its first festival award - "Best Animation" at the Flicks Film Festival in March. 

"Alma", is the first fully motion capture CG short film created at Escape Studios; it was directed by Rola Hafez, co-directed by Francesco Cordari and Alexandra Megerdichian, and produced by Emmanouil "Manos" Zervoudakis. 

Learn Unreal Engine at Escape Studios

 

Learn the fundamentals of Unreal Engine online with Escape Studios.  Our new online course has been launched in partnership with Epic Games, the creators of Unreal Engine.  Unreal Engine is a real-time renderer that is changing the way that animation and VFX is working; the industry is switching from traditional (and time-intensive) ray-tracers to real-time technology. Come on board and join the revolution.

Street Ratz Wins Four Stars Award at BIAFF

Winner "Four Stars Award" at BIAFF

Congratulations to the makers of "Street Ratz", which has won a "Four Stars Award" at the British International Animation Film Festival (BIAFF). 

This is the fourth festival award for "Street Ratz", a teaser/trailer written and directed by Austin Hill, produced by Jack Wright, and supervised by Amedeo Beretta. 

Lydia Layton CG Dept Manager at Cinesite

Lydia Layton

Many congratulations to Escapee Lydia Layton, who is currently working as CG Dept Manager at Cinesite.

Lydia took our intensive 12 week class in 3D animation at Escape Studios, and has since developed a flourishing career as a producer of animated content.

In recent years, many of our Escapees have gone on to fill producing roles in the creative industries, in part because of Escape Studios' focus on managing group project work on our award-winning films. 

Slushy Wins "Hon Mention" in Athens Fest

"Slushy" Honourable Mention for "Best VFX" in Athens

Many congratulations to the makers of "Slushy", which has won its second festival award - "Honourable Mention" in the category of "Best VFX" at the Athens International Film Fest.

Directed by Callum Wylie and produced by Jess Hiles, "Slushy" is a short animated film about two frozen soft drinks who fall in love.

The Making of "Alma"

"Alma" is the first fully motion capture CG short film created at Escape Studios.  In this video above, the key members of the team explain how the short film was put together.  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 by students on our MA in Animation, directed by Rola Hafez and produced by Emmanouil Zervoudakis.

Sofia Caldeira Shot Creator at the Third Floor

Congratulations to Escapee Sofia Caldeira, who has started working as a Shot Creator at The Third Floor, one of the UK's leading previsualisation houses. 

Sofia took our evening course in Character Creation at Escape Studios, and 3D for VFX, before finding work as a 3D Layout Artist at MPC in London, and later as a Lead Layout Artist at Jellyfish Pictures.

Sofia is one of a number of Escapees to join The Third Floor in recent months. 

Little Gestures Wins 5 Stars Award at BIAFF

"Five Stars Award" at the BIAFF

Many congratulations to the makers of "Little Gestures", which has won its third festival award - a Five Stars Award at the British International Amateur Film Festival (BIAFF).

"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. 

"A Long Way Home" Best Trailer Nom at TMFF

Nominated for "Best Trailer" at TMFF

Congratulations to the makers of A Long Way Home, which has had its first festival success - a nomination for "Best Trailer" at The Monthly Film Festival (TMFF). 

A Long Way Home is a short teaser/trailer directed by Harrison Bell and produced by Josiah Martin-Lofters.

"A Long Way Home" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which students work together on short film projects, simulating as closely as possible the workings of a real animation studio.

Previs Webinar with The 3rd Floor on 5 May

On May 5th at 5pm Escape Studios is hosting a webinar with guest speaker Brad Blackbourn - Virtual Production Manager from our industry partner Third Floor Studios, specialists in previsualisation. 

Brad will introduce our students to the work of Previs artists, what skills students need to break into the industry, how mentors provide feedback, and how industry feedback works. 

And, of course, Brad will explain how our students can find work in the fast-expanding previsualisation industry. 

Kiwi's Dream "Best Micro Short" at Vesuvius

Best Micro Short at Vesuvius Film Festival

Congratulations to the makers of "Kiwi's Dream", which has won its 11th festival award - "Best Micro Short" at the Vesuvius International Film Festival.

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.

Introducing "Solitude"

Escape Studios is proud to present "Solitude", the latest short film created by our second year animation students at Escape Studios.  

Directed by Molly McCabe and produced by Charlotte Gimbird, "Solitude" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which students work together on short film projects, simulating as closely as possible the workings of a real animation studio.

"Solitude" is a short film about solitude, loneliness, isolation - and friendship. 

The film was animated in Maya, edited in Adobe Premiere and rendered in Redshift. 

Pitches for PR5001 "Project B" on 12 April

Time to Pitch!

On 12 April from 9.30am to 12.30pm we will be hearing more pitches from our students for PR5001 Studio Project Module, this time for their second short film project, "Project B".

This pitch presentation is where our students present their second idea for a short film, documentary or teaser/trailer. What sort of story do you want to tell? Who are the characters, and why do we care about them? What is the hook? Why do we the audience want to see this film? 

Your eight minute pitch is your chance to capture your audience's attention, intrigue them, and make them want more.

Slushy Wins 5 Stars Award at BIAFF

"Slushy" wins 5 Stars Award

Many congratulations to the makers of "Slushy", which has won its first festival prize - a "Five Stars Award" at the British International Amateur Film Festival. 

Directed by Callum Wylie and produced by Jess Hiles, "Slushy" is a short animated film about two frozen soft drinks who fall in love.

Introducing "Pet Shop"

We're proud to introduce "Pet Shop", the latest short film from Escape Studios created by our second year undergraduate animation students.

Directed by Shauna Ludgate and Produced by Emmanouil "Manos" Zervoudakis,  "Pet Shop" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which undergraduate students work together on short film projects, simulating as closely as possible the workings of a real animation studio.

"Pet Shop" is about a ragtag gang of pets living in a pet shop - who long to find a home. 

The short took six weeks to complete; it was animated in Maya, edited in Adobe Premiere and rendered in Redshift.  

"Pet Shop" is a teaser/trailer for a TV/web series, currently in development.

Quarantine Chorus Best Micro Short at DIFF

Best Micro Short at Dreamachine Fest

Many congratulations to the makers of "Quarantine Chorus", which has won "Best Micro Short" at the Dreamachine International Film Festival (DIFF). 

This is the ninth festival award for Quarantine Chorus, a short story about life under Lockdown in a small town in Italy.  

The film was directed by Edoardo Sartori, produced by Nickoel Izharudin and edited by Paloma Zhu; it was based on an original idea by Tequila Mason. 

How Animators Work With Composers

Original music composition helps to lift our student films to a professional level, as our students learn to collaborate with composers and sound designers to push the level of quality of our film projects.

An original score also helps to avoid problems with copyright music, which can be a barrier to entry in film festival competitions.

So, how do our students work with composers to get the best possible results? 

BoxBots Wins "5 Stars Award" at BIAFF

"BoxBots" wins "Five Stars Award" at the BIAFF

Many congratulations to the makers of "BoxBots", which has won its first festival award - a "Five Stars" award at the British International Amateur Film Festival (BIAFF).

Directed by Jordan Coles and Ross Green, and produced by Priya Shah, "BoxBots" is about a contest between two toy figurines who must fight for the "World Plasticweight Championship".

Introducing "A Long Way Home"

"One Sheet" by Shenaaz Suliman

Escape Studios is proud to present "A Long Way Home", a short teaser/trailer directed by Harrison Bell and produced by Josiah Martin-Lofters.

"A Long Way Home" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which students work together on short film projects, simulating as closely as possible the workings of a real animation studio.

"A Long Way Home" is a story about an orphan who goes on a journey to find her biological mother; the film is based on an original idea by Harrison Bell. 

The short is a teaser/trailer for a feature film which is currently in development.

"Seeker" Wins Bronze at Fargo Film Fest

Best Two Minute Film (Bronze Award)

Congratulations to Escapee Rassoul Edji, whose short film "Seeker" has won a Bronze Award (Third Place) at the Fargo Film Festival, in the category of "Best Two Minute Film". 

This is the seventh festival win for "Seeker", a short sci-fi film directed by Rassoul Edji, about a giant robot running amok in suburban England.