Moon Rockz "Hon Mention" at Wild Indie Fest

Moon Rockz Best Student Film (Hon Mention)

Congratulations to the makers of the short film "Moon Rockz", written and directed by Molly Babington, and produced by Stevie Stedman, which has received an Honourable Mention in the category of Best Student Film at the Wild Indie Sci-Fi & Fantasy Film Festival. 

This the third award for "Moon Rockz", which last year won "Best Sci-Fi" at the Flicks Film Festival, and also won "Most Witty Animation" at the Animafantasia Film Festival in 2020.

How to Make a Short Animated Film

 

Above is a short video on How to Make a Short Animated Film, recorded a few years ago, and the first step in a long series of videos and blog posts about the process of animation film-making.  Below, gathered in one place, is a record of some of the most useful blog posts we have published over the last few years, divided up by category: Development & Pre-Production, Production and Post-Production.  If you're embarking for the first time on the making of an animated short, this resource is a good place to begin. 

Royalty-Free Music at Bensound

One question that animators often ask when making a short film, or compiling their demo reel, is where to get Royalty Free Music - either for free, or at low prices. 

One very useful resource that we recommend is Bensound. At Bensound.com you can download royalty free stock music for animation, YouTube and multimedia projects.

Introducing "Candle Wick"

Meet "Candle Wick", the latest short animated film created by our second-year animation students as part of the group project module PR5001, in which students collaborate to make short animated films. "Candle Wick" was directed by Oliver Gallagher, co-directed by Shauna Ludgate, and produced by Emmanouil "Manos" Zervoudakis.  Art direction was by Tsvetelina Kumanova.

Introducing "Amarok"

 

Meet "Amarok", the latest short produced by our second year animation students as part of Studio Module PR5001, in which students collaborate to make short film projects.  Amarok was written and directed by Shenaaz Suliman, co-written by Simone Fraser, produced by Josiah Martin-Lofters, and edited by Cameron Haley.  Amarok is a trailer for a web series about a First Nations police detective who lives in Northern Canada. The series is currently in development. 

Undergraduate Taster on Day 19 June at 10am

Here at Escape Studios we are hosting an undergraduate Taster Day on Saturday 19th June at 10am. 

The virtual session will introduce prospective students to the Art of Animation, VFX, and Game Art. 

Tutors include UG program Leader Michael Davies, Deputy Dean Saint Walker, Head of 3D Mark Spevick, and Games Tutor Christian Avigni.  Taster Days are a great chance to learn about Escape Studios, and find out what our undergraduate degrees are all about.

A Long Way Home Best Trailer at Halicarnassus

A Long Way Home - Best Trailer at Halicarnassus Fest

Many congratulations to the makers of A Long Way Home, which has won its fifth festival prize - Best Trailer at the Halicarnassus Film Festival. 

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

Undergraduate Open Day on June 5th

Escape Studios is hosting an undergraduate open day on Saturday 5th June. 

Escape Studios' Open Days are a chance to discover how you can create your future with one of our undergraduate degrees in Animation, Game Art or Visual Effects.  An Open Day is an opportunity for you to find out how you can follow in the footsteps of our award-winning alumni.

BoxBots Wins "Best Animation" at Flicks Fest

BoxBots wins Best Animation at Flicks Fest

Many congratulations to the makers of "BoxBots", which has won its third festival award - Best Animation at the Flicks Film Festival in London. 

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

Why You Should Test Your Rig in Close Up

Low poly spider "Raa" animated by Alex Southcombe

There are many many free rigs and sets now available to students on an educational or freeware license for use in short films, creating a wide variety of creative choices for student film-makers.  

But not all rigs are created equal, and many problems only become evident when the film calls for a close-up, such as this image of the spider "Raa" shown on the left. 

Alma Wins Hon Mention for VFX at Athens Fest

Alma Hon Mention for Best VFX at AIMAFF

Congratulations to the makers of "Alma", which has won its second festival award - Honourable mention in the category of Best VFX at the Athens International Film Festival.

"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. 

Meet "Malloe"

Malloe from Nickoel Izharudin on Vimeo.

We're proud to present "Malloe", the latest short film created by our students at Escape Studios.  "Malloe" was produced by our 3rd year graduating animation students, working together as a team in Module PR6001 to produce their final short animated film.  "Malloe" was directed by Eilin Berrio Pena, edited by Ross Green, and produced by Nickoel Izharudin.  Art Direction was by Paloma Zhu. 

A Long Way Home Wins Hon Mention in Athens

Hon. Mention for Best Original Score at AIMFF

Many congratulations to the makers of A Long Way Home, which has won its fourth set of festival laurels - Honourable Mention in the category of Best Original Score at the Athens Film Festival (AIMFF). 

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

Character & Creature Creation Starts 27 Sept

Creature created by Escapee Tom Barton

We're delighted to announce the launch of our new short course in Character and Creature Creation, which starts on 27  September 2021.

This new 12 week course in Character & Creature Creation is all about designing, modeling, and rigging your own characters.  

Students will learn all the stages of character creation from design through to final render.  To apply, visit the official course page here.  

Slushy Wins Hon Mention for VFX at LIMFF

Slushy Hon. Mention for Best VFX at LIMFF

Congratulations to the creators of "Slushy", which has won its fourth set of festival laurels - Honourable Mention in the category of Best VFX at the London International Monthly Film Festival (LIMFF).

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

Win a Dell Computer in the May 11 Second Club

This month we are encouraging all our student animators enter the monthly 11 Second Club Competition. 

In May 2021 Epic Games, creators of the Unreal Engine real-time renderer, launched a special prize challenge with The 11Second Club, in association with Dell Computers.  First prize is a Dell Workstation.

Palindromo Wins Best Animation at Sci-On Fest

Many congratulations to Paolo Amadini, director of  "Palindromo", which has won its fifth festival award: "Best Animated Student Film" at the Sci-On Film Festival.

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

The Third Floor & The Art of Previsualisation

 

On May 5th at 5pm Escape Studios hosted a webinar with guest speaker Brad Blackbourn - Virtual Production Manager from our industry partner Third Floor Studios, specialists in pre and post-visualisation.  Brad introduced our students to the work of Previs artists, and talked about what skills students need to break into the industry, how mentors provide feedback, and how the industry works.  And, of course, Brad offered his insights into finding work in the fast-expanding previsualisation industry. 

A Long Way Home Best Trailer at Vesuvius Fest

A Long Way Home wins Best Trailer at Vesuvius Fest

Many congratulations to the makers of A Long Way Home, which has won its third set of laurels - Best Trailer at the Vesuvius Film Festival. 

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

Meet Kiko Animation Recruiters on 25 May

Join us at Escape Studios on Tuesday 25th May at 3pm  when we interview our special guest Megan Hester from animation recruiters "Kiko Recruitment". 

The UK animation industry is now a £1.6bn business, and recruiters like Kiko offer a well-tested route into industry for skilled animation talent - including recent graduates.  To find out how the system works,  join us at Zoom to hear Megan offer her expert advice on how to land that crucial first job in the animation industry. 

BoxBots Wins Hon Mention for VFX at LIMFF

BoxBost wins Hon. Mention for VFX at LIMFF

Many congratulations to the makers of "BoxBots", which has won its second festival award - an Honourable Mention in the category of VFX at the London International Monthly Film Festival (LIMFF).

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

Reel Talk Live Event on Tuesday May 24

Reel Talk Live event on May 19

Join us on Tuesday May 24 at 5:30pm for our latest free Reel Talk Live event, where we welcome artists and recruiters from Framestore, Blue Zoo and Nordeus to review student showreels and portfolios. 

Our industry speakers will review our students demo reels and share their advice on what they look for when recruiting. 

To sign up for this free event, follow this link. This is especially recommended for our graduating students who are cutting their own demo reel and looking to land that crucial first job in the industry.

Slushy Wins "Best Micro Short" at Vesuvius

Slushy: "Best Micro Short" at Vesuvius fest

Many congratulations to the makers of "Slushy", which has won its third festival award - "Best Micro Film" at the Vesuvius 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.

2021 Animation School Rankings: No 3 in UK

Escape Studios - Ranked No. 3 in the UK

The 2021 Animation School Rankings are in, and we're delighted to have moved up the UK and global rankings once again.

This year Animation Career Review have ranked us #14 for Animation Internationally, #9 for Animation in Europe, and #3 for Animation in the UK. Congratulations to all students and staff on their hard work.

Little Gestures Wins "Best No Budget" at DSFF

Best No Budget at Dreamer's Short Film Fest

Many congratulations to the makers of "Little Gestures", which has won an award for "Best No Budget Film" at the Dreamers Short Film Festival (DSFF). 

This is the fifth festival award for "Little Gestures", 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. 

BAFTA Scholarships Open: Apply by May 26

BAFTA is now taking applications for three UK based post-graduate scholarships in film, TV and Games (and animation, of course) worth up to £12,000 each. The deadline is May 26.

The BAFTA scholarships are supported by Warner Bros and the Duke of Cambridge, and include a work placement and also free access to BAFTA events. They can also be used to help finance our MA in 3D Animation, and our MA in Storyboarding & Previsualisation.

Pet Shop Nominated for Best Trailer at TMFF

"Pet Shop" Nominated for Best Trailer at the TMFF

Congratulations to the makers of "Pet Shop", which has been nominated for its first festival award - "Best Trailer" at The Monthly Film Festival (TMFF). 

Directed by Shauna Ludgate and Produced by Emmanouil "Manos" Zervoudakis,  "Pet Shop" is a story about animals in a pet shop who long to find a home. 

MA 3D Animation is Back on 27 September

Our MA (Master of Arts) in 3D Animation is back, with a new class starting on 27th September 2021.

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

In recent years our MA students have collaborated together to work on award-winning film projects such as "Alma", "Flame", "Hat Shop" and "Moon Rockz", and have gone on to enjoy successful careers in industry. 

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.