D.A.N.S Wins Best Sci-Fi at 1st Film Fest

 D.A.N.S wins "Best Sci-Fi" at the 1st Film Fest.

Escape Studios is delighted to congratulate the makers of the VFX short D.A.N.S which has won "Best Sci-Fi" at the 1st Film Fest. 

Produced by Rajun Madahar and Directed by Charlie Wilson, D.A.N.S was a collaboration between third year undergraduate animation students and VFX students, working together to create an original short film. This is its first festival award. 

"Robotic Repairs" by 2nd Year VFX Students

Robotic Repairs

Escape Studios presents "Robotic Repairs - A Steampunk Story" a group project created by our second year VFX students at Escape Studios.  It was produced by Daniel Beeching; Fiona Lee was the 2D lead, and Matthew O'Shaughnessy was the 3D Lead.

Robotic Repairs was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001.

Dialogue Tutorial with Monty: "I'm Outta Here"

Monty: "I'm Outta Here!" 

In the simple animation tutorial below we show how to animate Monty - a character with no mouth - saying a line of dialogue.  

But how can you animate dialogue and lipsync - with no lips?  The answer is - it's all in the performance.  If the body language is working, then the audience will believe that the character is speaking - even if it has no mouth. 

"Sea of Madness" Wins "Best Creative" Award

Congratulations to the makers of Sea Of Madness, which has won "Best Creative" at the Halicarnassus Film Festival Awards.

Sea Of Madness was directed by Maria Freitas  and produced by Ivy Wang.  Jake Hines was the editor and 2D Lead, and Sebastian McKernan was the 3D Lead.  Ian Chavez Zarate stars as The Pirate.  

This is the film's third festival award.

Undergraduate Open Day 29 June & 17 July 2024

Open Days Saturday 29th June & Wed 17th July 2024 

Escape Studios is hosting two new undergraduate open days on Saturday 29th June and Wednesday 17th July 2024.

Escape Studios' Open Days are a chance to find out about our undergraduate degrees in Animation (2D & 3D), Motion Graphics, The Art of Games and The Art of Visual Effects, as well as our new BCs/MSci courses: BSc/MSci Technical Art for Games & VFX, BSc/MSci Video Games Design and BSc/MSci Character Creation for Animation, Games and VFX.

"Stop Motion Effect" Animation Tutorial in Maya

"Stop Motion Effect" Tutorial at YouTube

In this new animation tutorial students learn how to produce a "Stop Motion Effect" in Maya with undergraduate Programme Leader Marc Stevenson.  

Marc's tutorial, hosted at his Animation YouTube Channel, explains how to take a piece of digital animation created in Maya and simulate the look and feel of traditional hand-made stop motion animation. 

Crab Scuttle Animation Tutorial

Animate a crab scuttle underwater

In this new animation tutorial we demonstrate how to create a locomotion cycle in Maya with a crab rig, showing how to take a complex motion, break it down - and make it simple.

A crab's sideways scuttle looks complex, but is in fact very easy to animate, by following this basic tutorial.  We start by animating a single animation curve, and then copy it across the crab rig. 

Sirisha Mutty Wins "Most Creative" at Escape Awards

 Sirisha Mutty "Most Creative" Award

Congratulations to Escapee Sirisha Mutty who has won the "Most Creative" Award in the Class of Animation at the Escape Studios Graduation Showcase last week.

While at Escape Studios Sirisha studied the Art of Computer Animation, and contributed her talents to many animation projects, including four short films, winning many festival awards.

Introducing "Pork Pie"

PorkPies_FinalEdit-16MAY24 from Charlie Biggs on Vimeo.

Introducing "Pork Pie", a new short animated film from Escape Studios.  "Pork Pie" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.  "Pork Pie" was written and directed by Chieri Kagata and produced by Charlie Biggs.  "Pork Pie" is currently being entered into film festivals. 

OPN Motion Design Festival

We're at the OPN Motion Design Festival this week, checking out the latest developments in Motion Design and Motion Graphics. 

Motion Graphics is a large and growing part of the animation industry, encompassing a range of skills including design, animation - and a constantly evolving tech landscape.

Introducing "Reconnected"

Reconnected from Stephanie Quelal on Vimeo.

Introducing "Reconnected", a new short animated film from Escape Studios.  "Reconnected" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects. "Reconnected" was written and directed by Stephanie Quelal Castaneda  and produced by Erik Bocskor.

Brandon Rai Wins "Most Improved Player" Award

Brandon Rai

Congratulations to Escapee Brandon Rai who won "Most Improved Player" in the graduating Class of Animation, at the Escape Studios Graduate Showcase.

While at Escape Studios, Brandon Rai studied the Art of Computer Animation, and worked on a number of award-winning short films, including Green Friend and Father's Blade. 

Escapee Postgraduate Scholarships Launched

Escape Studios has recently launched our new Escapee Postgraduate Scholarships, open to all our Escapees.  These Postgraduate Scholarships are open to all Escapees who have completed, or are due to complete, an undergraduate degree at Escape Studios. 

X-Terminate Wins "Best VFX" at Makizhmithran Fest

Congratulate the makers of X-Terminate, the short film created by our third year animation students and VFX students at Escape Studios, which has won "Best VFX" at the Makizhmithran Film Festival.

Directed by Maria Freitas and produced by Emmanuel Rahman,  X-Terminate was a collaboration between undergraduate animation students and VFX students at Escape Studios, working together to create an original story.   This is its third festival award. 

Pip Cowen Wins "Most Valuable Player" Award

Philippa "Pip" Cowen wins "Most Valuable Player"

Many congratulations to Escapee Philippa "Pip" Cowen who won the "Most Valuable Player" Award in the Class of Animation at the Escape Studios Graduation Showcase last week.  

While at Escape Studios Pip studied the Art of Computer Animation, and contributed her talents to many animation projects, winning multiple festival awards. 

Introducing "Kueh"

 

Introducing "Kueh", a new short 2D animated film from Escape Studios.  "Kueh" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.  "Kueh" was written and directed by Gustav Chin and produced by Mai Lu.  "Kueh" was animated in Toonboom Harmony and is currently being entered into film festivals. 

Fairy Tree Wins Best Super Short at Int'l Gold Awards

"The Fairy Tree" wins Best Super Short at Int'l Gold Awards  

Congratulations to the makers of "The Fairy Tree", which has won Best Super Short Film at the International Gold Awards.  

"The Fairy Tree" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.  "The Fairy Tree" was written and directed by Maisy Rogers and produced by Tsz Yau “Moses” Ho.  

This is its second festival award. 

Short Course and Post-Graduate Tasters on 20 July

Motion Graphics Taster on Saturday 20th July

Join us on Saturday 20th July 2024 for our next Short Course and Post-Graduate Taster Day at Escape Studios, hosted at our North Greenwich Campus, right next to The O2. 

The Taster Day Event takes place on Saturday 20th July 2024 at 10am, and offers prospective students a chance to visit our studios, try our software and find out what it's like to study with us. 

X-Terminate Wins "Best Super Short" in London

X-Terminate wins "Best Super Short" in London

Congratulations to the makers of X-Terminate, the short film created by our third year animation students and VFX students at Escape Studios, which has won "Best Super Short" at the London Movie Awards, taking place at the CloseUp Theatre in Shoreditch.

Directed by Maria Freitas and produced by Emmanuel Rahman,  X-Terminate was a collaboration between undergraduate animation students and VFX students at Escape Studios, working together to create an original story.   This is its second festival award. 

Introducing "Father's Blade"

Introducing "Father's Blade", the story of a young samurai who seeks revenge for his father's death. "Father's Blade" was created by our third year graduating class of animation students at Escape Studios. The six-minute short film was directed by Thomas Husband and produced by Hugo Whitworth; the editor was Alfie Williams and the lead animator was Brandon Rai.   Above is the trailer - you can watch the whole film below. 

"Meet The Masters" with Escapee Tiago Faria 12 June

Join us at our next "Meet The Masters" event with Escapee Tiago Faria, currently working as VFX Supervisor and Compositor at BlueBoltVFX. 

Tiago Faria will be talking about his extensive work in the visual effects industry, which includes Ridley Scott's Napoleon,  Mission Impossible and Operation Mincemeat. 

This "Meet The Masters" event takes online via Zoom on Wednesday 12th June from 6pm - 7pm UK time.  We strongly recommend that all our currently enrolled students and recent Escapees attend. 

You can book your free place here:  https://bit.ly/3Vf0B2p.

Free Motion Graphics Tutorial from Adam Bennett

Above is a new free tutorial in Motion Graphics from our Motion Graphics tutor Adam Bennett.  Adam's latest tutorial is titled "Paul Rand Advert Cel Animation | Process Breakdown". The video shows Adam's creative and technical approach to a client's design brief based on the art of legendary 20th century graphic designer Paul Rand, taking one of Rand's most famous images and bringing it to life through animation.   And don't forget Adam's large and growing playlist of free Motion Graphics tutorials, hosted at YouTube, to help students get started and to support their classroom learning.  Our new MA in Motion Graphics is now recruiting for September 2024.

Cartoony Vehicle Exit and Motion Blur Tutorial

Exit Stage Right - and Motion Blur - with the AnyCar rig

In this very simple tutorial we show how to animate an anticipation, action and reaction in Autodesk Maya, using the Yellow Beetle "AnyCar" rig.

Instead of animating the Beetle out of the frame, we add a "smear frame" in the style of the old Tex Avery or Chuck Jones cartoons.

The reaction at the end is the camera shake, simulating the air pressure as the car whizzes past. 

"Same Day Delivery Wins "Best Project" at Showcase

"Same Day Delivery" wins "Best Project" at Showcase 

Congratulations to the makers of "Same Day Delivery", the animated short film completed by our fourth year MArt students at Escape Studios, which has won "Best Overall Project" at Escape Studios' Student Showcase on Wednesday. 

"Same Day Delivery" was a collaboration between animation, games and VFX students, working together to an industry brief - in this case a short film.  Directed by Rohnak Sharma and produced by Jamie Bennett, "Same Day Delivery" offers a satirical take on the challenges of online orders, failed deliveries and menacing porch pirates.  This is its first festival award. 

"Fairy Tree" Wins Best Animation in Milan

"The Fairy Tree", wins Best Animated Film in Milan  

Congratulations to the makers of "The Fairy Tree", which has won Best Animated Film at the Milan Gold awards.  

"The Fairy Tree" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.  "The Fairy Tree" was written and directed by Maisy Rogers and produced by Tsz Yau “Moses” Ho.  

This is its first film festival award. 

X-Terminate Wins Best VFX at Eastern Europe Festival

Escape Studios is proud to congratulate the makers of X-Terminate, the short film created by our third year animation students and VFX students at Escape Studios, which has won "Best VFX" at the Eastern Europe Film Festival.  

Directed by Maria Freitas and produced by Emmanuel Rahman,  X-Terminate was a collaboration between undergraduate animation students and VFX students at Escape Studios, working together to create an original story.   This is its first festival award. 

Escape Studios Graduation Showcase 2024

Escape Studios is proud to host our annual End of Year Student Showcase today Wednesday 5th June at the IMAX Theatre on London's South Bank.

Today's event is a showcase of the very best work done by our third year graduating class and also our Master's degree students.  To see all the work online, visit www.escapeshowcase.com

VFX Festival - Day 2

Day Two of the 2024 VFX Festival

Day Two of the VFX Festival starts today 4 June 2024 at the BFI IMAX on London's South Bank at Waterloo.  

The 2024 VFX Festival at Escape Studios celebrates the latest developments in Animation, VFX and Interactive Media.  

Today's highlights include the making of Doctor Who (9.45am), with James Coore, VFX supervisor at Realtime, recruitment (that means jobs!) at 1pm with Blue Bolt and Realtime, and VFX Producer Sarah Tulloch on how the makers of Ridley Scott's "Napoleon" re-created the Battle of Toulon, at 3pm. 

VFX Festival - Day 1

VFX Festival - Day 1

Day One of the VFX Festival is now underway - it runs from today 3 June through to tomorrow 4 June 2024 at the BFI IMAX on London's South Bank at Waterloo.  

The 2024 VFX Festival at Escape Studios celebrates the latest developments in Animation, VFX and Interactive Media.  

Today's talks include ILM on how they created VES-award-winning shots on The Creator, DNEG Animation on how they rigged "Under The Boardwalk", and Union FX on the creation of Poor Things.

Introducing "Same Day Delivery"

Same-Day Delivery from Rohnak Sharma on Vimeo.

Meet "Same Day Delivery", a new animated short film completed by our fourth year MArt students at Escape Studios. "Same Day Delivery" was a collaboration between animation, games and VFX students, working together to an industry brief - in this case a short film.  Directed by Rohnak Sharma and produced by Jamie Bennett, "Same Day Delivery" offers a satirical take on the challenges of online orders, failed deliveries and menacing porch pirates. 

D.A.N.S Premieres at London SIGGRAPH

D.A.N.S opened this week at London ACM SIGGRAPH

Escape Studios is delighted to congratulate the makers of the VFX short D.A.N.S which opened this week at the London ACM SIGGRAPH.

Producer Rajun Madahar and Director Charlie Wilson joined their talented team on stage to introduce their work at the "Fast Forward" festival at SIGGRAPH, competing for prizes against the University of Hertfordshire, Bournemouth University and the National Film & Television School.