Nickoel Izharudin Producer at Framestore

Nickoel Izharudin

Congratulations to Escapee Nickoel Izharudin who has joined Framestore in London as a VFX Production Coordinator.

Nickoel took our integrated MArt in 3D Animation and, while at Escape Studios, produced a number of award-winning short films, such as Little Gestures, Hotel Aloha, Quarantine Chorus, and Malloe; all four shorts have won multiple awards in international film festivals.

Framestore is one of the UK's leading animation and visual effects houses, responsible for multiple blockbuster hits.

Alma Wins "Five Stars" Award at BIAFF

"Alma" wins Five Star Award at the BIAFF

Congratulations to the makers of "Alma", which has won a "Five Stars" Award at The British International Animation Film Festival (BIAFF).

"Alma", is the first fully motion capture CG short film created at Escape Studios. It was directed by Rola Hafez, produced by Emmanouil "Manos" Zervoudakis, and overseen by animation tutor Amedeo Beretta.

Alma has won many festival awards.  

"Gnomes" Best Creative at Halicarnassus

Gnaughty Gnomes wins Best Creative at Halicarnassus

Congratulations to the makers of Gnaughty Gnomes, which has won "Best Creative" at the Halicarnassus Film Festival. 

Gnaughty Gnomes is a short animated film made made by animation and vfx students at Escape Studios. Gnaughty Gnomes was directed by Antonia Palmer, produced by Hannah Sheppard and co-produced by Charlotte Gimbird.  

This is the film's fourth festival award. 

When Group Projects Go Bad

Don't let it come to this

What happens when a group project goes wrong? Unfortunately this is a common occurrence; group project work often goes wrong, sometimes badly wrong. So how do we fix it? 

Group projects are something we do a lot of at Escape Studios.  Animation is a team sport - almost all of our graduates will end up working in teams along side other artists on group projects in commercial studios.

Shelley Page Industry Marking 31 March

Shelley Page

Animation industry veteran Shelley Page will return to Escape Studios tomorrow to give our second year animation students industry feedback on their short film projects, and also carry out industry marking. 

Shelley has been working in feature animation since 1986, with credits including "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", "Shrek 1-4", "Shark Tale", "Madagascar", "Kung Fu Panda", and "How to Train Your Dragon". 

Shelley is currently Key Talent and Artist Liaison at Locksmith Animation in London.   As always, engagement with industry is very much at the heart of what we do at Escape Studios. 

Kiwi's Dream Wins "Best 19-21" at INDIs Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Kiwi's Dream", which has won an award in the "19-21 Category" at the INDIs film festival in Leeds.

Directed by Paloma Zhu and produced by Daniel Rowe, Kiwi's Dream was based on an original concept by Freddie Belsom about an origami kiwi who dreams of flying in the clouds. It has won many, many festival awards. 

Nine Ways to Create a Great Pose

How do you create a great pose in animation? Creating great poses is a necessary skill for all animators to learn. In the video above, we suggest nine ways that an animator can create a great pose - the key starting point for a great acting scene. 

Animation Taster with Lee Caller 29 March

Cartoon Truck Animation with Lee Caller

Our free animation taster is back! We're running an online Animation Taster at Escape Studios on Tuesday 29 March 2022, taught by short course animation tutor 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.

Miguel Teixeira Animator at Keyframe Studios

Miguel Teixeira

Many congratulations to Escapee Miguel Teixeira who is working as an animator at Keyframe Studios in London. 

Studying the Art of Computer Animation at Escape Studios, Miguel contributed to a number of award-winning projects, including producing and editing the multi-award-winning short film Golden Acorn. 

Miguel joins Escapee Conway Dobbs who started working as an animator at Keyframe in 2021.  

"Punch" Best Short Animation in Hollywood

"Punch" wins Best Short Animation in Hollywood Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Punch", an animated short film created at Escape Studios, which has won Best Short Animation at the Hollywood Golden Age Festival. 

"Punch" was written and directed by Niccolo Smaldone, and produced by Stevie Stedman.  The original score was composed by Stuart Bramwell. 

Leonardo Bitti Animator at MPC

Leonardo Bitti

Many congratulations to Escapee Leonardo Bitti who has joined MPC as a junior animator. 

Leonardo took our MA in 3D Animation at Escape Studios, taught by veteran animator Lee Caller, and is now working for one of the world's leading animation and VFX companies.

MPC is one of the UK's longest-established VFX and animation houses; responsible for blockbuster hits such as The Lion King and The Jungle Book.

"Gnomes" Best Micro Short at Vesuvius Fest

Gnaughty Gnomes Best Micro Short at Vesuvius Film Fest

Congratulations to the makers of Gnaughty Gnomes, which has won "Best Micro Short" at the Vesuvius Film Festival. 

Gnaughty Gnomes is a short animated film made made by animation and vfx students at Escape Studios. Gnaughty Gnomes was directed by Antonia Palmer, produced by Hannah Sheppard and co-produced by Charlotte Gimbird.  This is the film's third festival award. 

Burger Royale Wins Best Editor at HEI Fest

Burger Royale wins Best Editor at the HEI Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Burger Royale" which has won Best Editing at the HEO Film Festival.

Burger Royale is a short animated teaser/trailer written, directed and produced by Escape Studios' animation student Gary Roche.  

Burger Royale tells the story of a hungry customer who walks into a burger joint one night - only to find that he is on the menu. It has won over a dozen festival awards.

BA/MArt in 3D Animation Starts 26 September

Award-winning "Shimmer"

Escape Studios is still welcoming applications for our BA/MArt in The Art of Computer Animation, recruiting for September 2022.

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

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

In recent years our students have won hundreds of awards and prizes, and we have consistently been ranked in the Top 5 Animation Schools in the UK for the past three years.  

Kiwi's Dream "Best VFX" at Reels Fest

Kiwi's Dream Best VFX at Reels Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Kiwi's Dream", which has won Best VFX at the Reels Film Festival. 

Directed by Paloma Zhu and produced by Daniel Rowe, Kiwi's Dream was based on an original concept by Freddie Belsom about an origami kiwi who dreams of flying in the clouds. It has won many festival awards. 

Storyboarding for People Who Can't Draw

For all our students storyboarding their short films we're recommending the video above by Russell Hasenauer titled "Storyboarding for People Who Can't Draw". It's a useful video because it helps to explain how the storyboarding process can be achieved even by students who don't draw well, or lack confidence in their drawing. Storyboarding is not chiefly about drawing - it's about how you juxtapose shots to tell a story, ideally clearly and simply.  Storyboarding is a vital part of the film-making process, and one which all our students need to learn. 

Iliana Franklin to Hear Story Pitches 4 April

Iliana Franklin

Escape Studios story and animation tutor Iliana Franklin will be hearing story pitches from our second year animation students on Monday 4 April.

Our second year students are working on Module PR5001, a Studio Project in which they work in teams to create short films.

On Monday 4th April our students will pitch story ideas for their second project in the module, with final delivery due at the end of May. 

Iliana will be offering feedback and support, helping the groups to decide which projects should move forwards and be selected for production. 

Motion Graphics Escape Studios Demo Reel

Animation at Escape Studios isn't just about character animation, it also encompasses the growing field of Motion Graphics. To see some of the excellent work done by our Motion Graphics students at Escape Studios, check out the demo reel above.

"Shimmer" Wins Best VFX at HEI Fest

Shimmer wins Best VFX at the HEI Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Shimmer", a vfx short film created by students at Escape Studios, which has won Best VFX at the HEI Fest. 

"Shimmer" was directed by Will Moss and produced by Aidan Callaghan, and tells the story of two glass figurines which come to life. 

This is Shimmer's fourth festival award. 

2D Animation Taster at Escape on 21 March

2D Animation Taster Monday 21 March

We're hosting a free 2D Animation Taster at Escape Studios on Monday 21st March at 4.30pm. The taster is taught by veteran animator and storyboard artist Iliana Franklin, and will offer students a chance to explore 2D animation using industry-leading software Toonboom Harmony. 

2D Animation is currently experiencing a big revival, both globally and here in the UK, as Studios such as Blue Zoo, Aardman Animation, and Brown Bag Films adopt new software.

This free 2D Animation Taster takes place on Monday 21st March at 4.30pm via Zoom. To sign up, follow this link.

Golden Acorn Wins Best Trailer at Onyko Fest

"Golden Acorn" wins Best Trailer at Onyko Fest

Many congratulations to the makers of "The Golden Acorn", which has won an award for Best Trailer at the Onyko Film Fest.

"The Golden Acorn" is a movie trailer completed by 2nd year undergraduate Escape Studios Animation students, written & directed by Maciej Osuch, edited & produced by Miguel Teixeira. 

In The Golden Acorn a detective duo team up in NutTown to defeat an evil squirrel crime boss - two agents, one nutcase. 

Animate a Character Dancing Using Live Action

"Monty" Does Riverdance

We've uploaded a new animation tutorial to our expanding Vimeo tutorial channel - how to animate a character dancing - using live action reference.

The purpose of the tutorial is to learn how to import live action reference footage into Maya and use it to create believable animation.

You can find the tutorial, which is free for all our students, at our Vimeo Channel.

Pet Shop Wins Best Trailer at HEI Fest

"Pet Shop" wins Best Trailer in HEI Film Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Pet Shop", which has won an award for "Best Trailer" at the HEI Film Festival.

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.  

Pet Shop has won many festival awards. 

How to Use Escape Studios' Online Library

For all our students at Escape Studios - don't forget about the Online Animation Library. The Online Library is where we keep digital copies of our books on animation and film-making.  Of course, we also have hard copies in the traditional animation library (ie actual physical books) on the Third Floor at 190 High Holborn, but the digital copies are arguably more useful as they can be accessed from anywhere at any time.  To find the Online Library, follow this link.

Escapee Aman Arora 2022 BAFTA Winner

Aman Arora: BAFTA Winner

Congratulations to Escapee Aman Arora and his team of Escapees (see below); Aman won a BAFTA in the category of Best British Short Animation for his work as VFX Supervisor on the short film Do Not Feed The Pigeons.

Do Not Feed The Pigeons is a short film about a group of lonely travellers in a coach station, directed by Antonin Niclass and produced by Jordi Morera. 

Aman Arora studied The Art of VFX at Escape Studios; he graduated in the summer of 2021 with a First Class Honours degree. 

Escape Studios "60-90 Second Challenge"

60-90 Second Challenge

Here at Escape Studios we're announcing "The 60-90 Second Challenge" for all our students. The Challenge is aimed at all our students who are interested in pitching ideas and telling stories. 

Why 60-90 Seconds? Because that is the optimum length for the short films made at Escape Studios. It may not sound like a lot of time to tell a story, but many of our most successful film projects, such as Jerich0, Seeker and Quarantine Chorus have been under two minutes long.

60-90 Seconds is the perfect length for our short stories because it allows our animators to focus on quality over quantity. 

"Russell" Wins Best VFX at LIMFF

"Russell" wins Best VFX at the LIMFF

Congratulations to the makers of Russell, the short VFX film created by students at Escape Studios, which has won Best VFX at the London International Monthly Film Festival.  

Russell was written by Scott Middleton and Liam Martin, directed by Scott Middleton and produced by Gary Roche.  

Russell was created as part of PR6001, a Studio Module in which animation and VFX students join forces to create a VFX project over 12 weeks.  

Russell tells the story of a curious hedgehog who dreams of flight.

Simone Giampaolo to Escape Studios 7 April

Simone Giampaolo

We're delighted to welcome back Oscar-shortlisted animation director Simone Giampaolo to Escape Studios on Thursday 7 April to give our second year animation students feedback on their film projects.

Simone Giampaolo is a veteran animator and animation director whose short film "Only a Child' was short-listed for an Oscar this year.  Simone is currently Creative Director at Jellyfish Animation in London. 

Simone will help guide our student projects, part of Module PR5001 in which our students create short films in teams.

Undergraduate Open Day Saturday 26 March

Open Day Saturday 26 March 2022

Escape Studios is hosting a new undergraduate open day on Saturday 26 March 2022, from 10.30am until 2.30pm, and again on Saturday 26 June 2022.

Escape Studios' Open Days are a chance to find out about our undergraduate degrees in Animation, The Art of Games and Visual Effects.  An Open Day is an opportunity for potential students to find out how they can follow in the footsteps of our award-winning alumni.

Escape Studios at the 2022 BAA Awards

BAA Awards 2022

Last night the UK animation industry celebrated the winners at the biennial British Animation (BAA) Awards at London's South Bank.

Escape Studios made a big contribution to the awards ceremony by animating a series of idents for the big night.  

In all our students animated around a dozen idents, which you can find here at our YouTube Channel.  

"Sweet Heart" Hon. Mention Best VFX in Tokyo

"Sweet Heart" wins Best VFX (Hon. Mention) in Tokyo

Congratulations to the makers of "Sweet Heart", which has won an Honourable Mention for Best VFX at the Tokyo International Film Festival. 

Sweet Heart is a short VFX film created by students at Escape Studios; it was directed by Liam Mann, co-directed by Shenaaz Suliman, and produced by Emmanouil "Manos" Zervoudakis.  "Sweet Heart" tells the story of two cake figurines who fall in love.  This is its third festival award.

Daniel Amor Animator at Trixter Film Studios

Daniel Amor

Many congratulations to Escapee Daniel Amor, who has recently started a new position as an animator at Trixter Film Studios in Germany. 

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 production of Andrew Lloyd-Webber's "Cats". 

Sebastien Foucan Teaches at Escape Studios

Sebastien Foucan

We're delighted to welcome Parkour founder Sebastien Foucan to Escape Studios on Monday 14 March at 10am.

Sebastien Foucan will be talking to our third year animation students about what makes a great action scene. How does an animator go about choosing the right action for the right circumstance?

Sebastien Foucan is the founder of the Foucan Academy and also one of the founders of the Parkour Movement, the athletic training discipline in which practitioners move in the most fluid way possible.

The VFX Festival Today - "Emerging Talent"

Ian Palmer leads a panel at the VFX Festival

The VFX Festival is Back! Today's event is titled "Emerging Talent" and takes place all day today Wednesday, 9th March.  The day is aimed at students currently studying within Higher or Further Education, with a focus on jobs, careers and employment. 

What are the crucial skills needed to find work in the industry today? What vacancies are out there, and how can students tailor their demo reels to meet the current needs of industry?

Shimmer Best 1st Time Director at Art Fest

"Shimmer" wins Hon. Mention for Best 1st-Time Director 

Congratulations to the makers of "Shimmer", a vfx short film created by students at Escape Studios, which has won an Honourable Mention in the category of "Best First Time Director" at the Art Film Awards. 

"Shimmer" was directed by Will Moss and produced by Aidan Callaghan, and tells the story of two glass figurines which come to life.  This is Shimmer's third festival award. 

Escape Studios 2022 BAA Awards Idents

 

The biennial British Animation Awards ("The BAA's") are back on Thursday 10 March - celebrating the very best of British Animation.  The BAAs take place every two years at London's South Bank, and this year they offered our students a special challenge - to animate an Ident for the Awards Ceremony at the BFI on 10 March. To see what our students came up with, take a look at our Ident Playlist here. The ident above was directed by animation tutor Lee Caller, featuring animation by Escape Studios' MA students Margherita Sartor, Ines Portela, Thomas Donnelly and Pietro Mingione. 

Russell Wins Best Super Short at UK Film Fest

Russell "Best Super Short" at UK Film Fest

Congratulations to the makers of Russell, the short VFX film created by students at Escape Studios, which has won "Best Super Short" at the UK Monthly Film Festival.  

Russell was written by Scott Middleton and Liam Martin, directed by Scott Middleton and produced by Gary Roche.  Russell tells the story of a curious hedgehog who dreams of flying.

"Animators & Mirrors" with Disney Art Director Dorothea Schoentag on 8 March at the VFX Fest

Dorothea Schoentag

Escape Studios' VFX Festival is hosting an animation event titled “Animators and Mirrors” tomorrow 8th March at 3.15pm with Disney Art Director Dorothea Schoentag.

Dorothea Schoentag is an Art Director at Walt Disney Animation; her work includes “The Avengers”, “Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse”, “Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates” and many other projects. To sign up, follow this link. 

Planet Mars Wins Best Sci-Fi at Art Film Awards

Planet Mars Wins Best Sci-Fi at Art Film Awards

Congratulations to the creators of the animated mockumentary short  "Planet Mars", which has won Best Sci-Fi at the Art Film Awards. 

Directed by Sebastian Kuder, and produced by Katerina Zacharakis, Planet Mars was completed by second year animation students at Escape Studios. It has won many festival awards.

Feedback from ILM at Escape Studios

Feedback from ILM at Escape Studios

Last week ILM animators Juani Gueraldes and Felipe de Lanteuil visited Escape Studios to offer feedback on our third year animation students' projects. 

Juani Gueraldes and Felipe de Lanteuil are both Senior Animators at ILM, and kindly gave up their time to help our student animators develop their projects, and try to hit the highest possible standards. 

Student Counselling at Escape Studios

Student Services at 190 High Holborn

One of the most common questions we get asked by students at Escape Studios is what kind of counselling services are available?  We have two full-time counsellors, and students can request assistance by visiting Student Services' front desk at 190 High Holborn.

Students can seek counselling for all sorts of reasons. Perhaps they might be experiencing personal difficulties, or are having problems with their studies. Whatever the reason, we are here to help.

Hat Shop Wins Best Production Design in Tokyo

"Hat Shop" wins Best Production Design

Congratulations to the makers of "Hat Shop", which has won Best Production Design at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

"Hat Shop" is a short film set in a futuristic robot world. 

Hat Shop was created by our undergraduate animation students in their second year of studies. It was written and directed by Stevie Stedman, produced by Jess Hiles, and animation directed by Ross Green.  Cinematography and Production Design was by Jordan Coles.  

Hat Shop has won many festival awards. 

Jakob Parsons on Sound Design Tues 15 March

Jakob Parsons

We're delighted to welcome back sound specialist Jakob Parsons to teach sound design to our 2nd year undergraduate animators.  Jakob will join us on Tuesday 15 March at 9.30am.

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.

• Animators might not always realise it - but we definitely need good sound design.

Box Bots "Best VFX" at Cinematic Film Fest

BoxBots wins Best VFX at Cinematographic Film Fest

Many congratulations to the makers of "BoxBots", which has won Best VFX at the Cinematic European Film Festival. 

Directed by Jordan Coles and Ross Green, and produced by Priya Shah, "BoxBots" is about a contest between two toys who compete for the "World Plasticweight Championship". BoxBots has won many festival awards. 

Industry Feedback with Max Howard 3 March

Max Howard

Animation Producer Max Howard will join us tomorrow Thursday 3 March at Escape Studios, giving feedback to our second year animation students on their short film projects.

Max is a veteran film producer and studio executive who has run animation divisions at Disney, DreamWorks and Warner Bros Feature Animation.

Industry feedback is at the heart of what we do at Escape Studios; it helps our students to connect with the commercial world, and represents one of the Five Pillars of the Escape Method. Our second year animation students are currently working in groups on their short film projects, part of Module PR5001. 

Storyboarding Taster Thursday 3rd March 5pm

Join us on Thursday 3rd March at 5pm at Escape Studios for a free online storyboarding taster, to see what it is like learning the art and craft of storyboarding at Escape Studios.

This free online taster offers a hands-on introduction to professional storyboarding techniques, techniques which are currently in demand as the animation industry continues to expand.

In this taster, taught by Escape Studios' tutor Iliana Franklin, you will learn to create a simple storyboard, and edit the images into a digital animatic with music and sound design.

"Russell" Wins "Best VFX" at Art Film Awards

Russell wins Best VFX at Art Film Awards

Congratulations to the makers of Russell, the short VFX film created by students at Escape Studios, which has won Best VFX at the Art Film Awards. 

Russell was written by Scott Middleton and Liam Martin, directed by Scott Middleton and produced by Gary Roche.  Russell tells the story of a curious hedgehog who dreams of flying.