"For Better or Worse" Wins Florence Award

For Better or Worse wins Best Super Short in Florence 

Congratulations to the makers of the short film For Better or Worse, which has won Best Super Short Film at the Florence Film Awards. 

For Better or Worse was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects. It was directed by Danielus Sileikis and produced by Amelia Chwesiuk. This is its first festival award. 

"Shapla" Wins "Best Super Short" at NYC Awards

"Shapla" wins "Best Super Short" in NYC

Many congratulations to the makers of "Shapla", which has won "Best Super Short" at the New York Movie Awards.

"Shapla" was created by our graduating class of animation students. "Shapla" was directed by Ruksar Rowza Aziz and produced by Charlie Seeviour.  Erica Sanches was the art director and Tom Price composed the original score.  This is its first festival award. 

Escapee Alberto Scotti FX Artist at ETC

Alberto Scotti FX artist at Electric Theatre Collective

Many congratulations to Escapee Alberto Scotti who has started work as a junior FX artist at London’s Electric Theatre Collective.

Alberto Scotti took the MA in Visual Effects Production (3D) at Escape Studios, discovering the power of Houdini and its procedural workflow and simulations.

While at Escape Studios, Alberto Scotti produced the VFX short film “Mechamorphosis“, which has won many festival awards in international film competitions.

"AFK" Wins "Best VFX" at Makizhmithran Awards

"AFK" wins "Best VFX" at Makizhmithran Fest  

Congratulations to the makers of the VFX short film "AFK" ("Away From Keyboard"), which has won "Best VFX" at the Makizhmithran Film Festival.  

Directed by “Moses” Tsz Yau Ho, and produced by Emily Newton, AFK tells the story of two video games characters who escape from the screen and do battle in the human world.  Industry Feedback was generously provided by Industrial Light & Magic.  

This is its first festival award. 

Escape Studios Houdini Certified School 2025

Escape Studios is proud to announce that SideFX Houdini have confirmed Escape Studios as an approved Houdini Certified School for 2025.  

Houdini is a 3D animation software application developed by SideFX,  and is widely used in the VFX industry for procedural animation such as smoke, fire, water and other effects. 

Being a Houdini Certified School means a deepening relationship with SideFX, an ever-closer partnership in which our students benefit from being taught by expert tutors and exclusive access to Houdini technology, webinars and presentations.  

Escape Studios is also an Unreal Engine Authorised Training Centre (ATC). 

Top Ten Mistakes When Pitching Animation

Pitching - Hit the Bullseye

What is a pitch? A pitch is defined by Wikipedia as "a short summary used to quickly and simply define a profession, product, service, organization, or event and its value proposition". Our student animators pitch their projects all the time, hoping to get picked for one of our Studio Projects. 

A great pitch is funny, interesting, grabs your attention, and makes the listener think "wow, that could really work".  A great pitch leaves the listener wanting more.  But pitching is harder than it sounds. Below are some of the most common mistakes in pitching.

"Set in Stone" Wins "Best Animated Film" in Milan

"Set in Stone" wins "Best Animation" in Milan  

Congratulations to the makers of the VFX short film "Set in Stone", which has won "Best Animation" at the Milan Gold Awards.  

Directed by Derek Joel Eniolu, and produced by Akasha Devlin-Clovering,  "Set in Stone" was a collaboration between animation and VFX students at Escape Studios, working together to create original stories.  This is its first festival award. 

Escapee Caroline Geddis Animator at Character Shop

Caroline Geddis

Congratulations to Escapee Caroline Geddis who has started work as a 3D Character Animator at the London-based animation studio The Charactershop.

Caroline Geddis studied the Art of Computer Animation at Escape Studios, and contributed to three award-winning short films: X-Terminate, Breakdown and Ghosting. We wish Caroline every success in her new position at The Charactershop.

"Keep Cooking" Wins "Best Animation" at the EEFF

Congratulations to the makers of "Keep Cooking", which has won "Best Animation" at the Eastern Europe Film Festival.   Keep Cooking was created by our third year graduating class of 2D Animation students at Escape Studios.  

Keep Cooking was written and directed by Nathan Blackman and produced by Mai Lu.  Chieri Kagata was the Lead Animator, and Gustav Chin was the Art Director.  This is its first festival award. 

Jobs in Animation & VFX in an Age of Turbulence

Finding work in an age of change

It is no secret that growth in the animation and visual effects industry has had a bumpy ride recently. 

The reasons are many: over expansion during the streaming boom years, the fallout from Covid, writer's strikes, actor's strikes, the gradual decline of the theatrical movie business and - above all - the rise and rise of AI. 

So, how do recent graduates find work in an industry which remains highly competitive and is also experiencing headwinds? The answer is - apply often, and apply widely. 

"Crawl Space" Wins Hon Mention at Arts Fest

Escape Studios is delighted to congratulate James Hothi whose short film "Crawl Space" has won an Honourable Mention in the category of Best Animated Short at the Art Film Awards. 

James Hothi studied the Art of Computer Animation at Escape Studios, taught by industry veteran Kevin Richards.  

James Hothi produced and directed the short film, and did all the animation and FX work.  This is the third festival award for Crawl Space. 

"Bloom" Wins "Best Student Film" in Hollywood

Congratulations to the makers of "Bloom", which has won "Best Student Film" at the Hollywood Gold awards. "Bloom" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.

  "Bloom" was written and directed by Vanessa Marques-Navaratnasingam and produced by Grace Lam.  This is its first festival award. 

"Socks To Be You" Wins "Best Super Short" Award

Congratulations to the makers of "Socks To Be You", which has won "Best Super Short Film" at the London Movie Awards.  

Directed by Josh Popusoi , and produced by Erik Bocsor,  "Socks To Be You" was a collaboration between undergraduate animation students and VFX students at Escape Studios, working together to create an original story.  

Studio projects such as this one form part of The Escape Method; bringing together students with multiple talents to work in teams, responding to industry feedback - in this case from Industrial Light & Magic. This is its first festival award. 

Introducing "The Hunt"

Introducing "The Hunt", the latest short animated film from Escape Studios. "The Hunt" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.  The Hunt was directed by Eva Gifford and produced by Grace Chandler.  Rose Brooksby-Conroy was the art director. 

Denise Esposito Compositor at Territory Studio

Denise Esposito

Congratulations to Escapee Denise Esposito who has started working as a compositor at Territory Studio, a global vfx house with offices in London, San Francisco, New York and Barcelona. 

While at Escape Studios, Denise studied the Art of Visual Effects, specialising in compositing in Nuke.  

While at Escape Studios, Denise contributed to the short VFX project "Gnaughty Gnomes", which has won multiple festival awards, and for which Denise shared an award for "Best Visual Effects" at the Eastern Europe Film Festival. 

Meet "For Better or Worse"

Introducing For Better or Worse, the latest short animated film from Escape Studios.  For Better or Worse was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.   For Better or Worse was directed by Danielus Sileikis and produced by Amelia Chwesiuk.  

"Cursed Bond" Wins "Best VFX" at Cinematic Film Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Cursed Bond", which has won "Best VFX" at the Cinematic European Film Festival. 

"Cursed Bond" was written and directed by Ted Walker, and produced by Mahak Chowdhary.  Cinematography was by Irene Gomez Emilsson and the VFX Supervisor was Oliver Eveson.  Art direction was by Quimey Dasso.  Ted Walker stars as the Hermit.  This is its fourth festival award. 

Escape Studios Ranked Top 5 in UK in 2025

The 2025 Animation Career Review International School Rankings are in.

This year Animation Career Review have ranked us #5 for Animation in the UK,  #12 for Animation in Europe and #23 for Animation Internationally. 

Congratulations to all our students on their remarkable work this past year.

Escape Studios in the 2025 "Rookies"

Entries for the 2025 "Rookies", the annual competition for rising talent in the animation, games and VFX industries, have now closed.  

As always, entering The Rookies is a big part of our students' professional journey, part of becoming what we call "Studio Ready Talent".  

To see some of the remarkable films completed by our talented students this past academic year, check out the projects below.

Introducing "Dusty Memories"

Introducing "Dusty Memories", the latest short animated film from Escape Studios.  "Dusty Memories" was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.  "Dusty Memories" was written and directed by Grace Lam, and edited and produced by Max Ebdon.  Elissa Heath was the Lead Animator. 

Priya Shah Junior Layout Artist at Blue Zoo

Priya Shah

Many congratulations to Escapee Priya Shah who has joined Blue Zoo, one of the UK's leading animation studios, as a Junior Layout Artist. 

 

Layout is one of the key roles on an animated film, encompassing cinematography, animation and composition. 

Blue Zoo is a BAFTA-winning studio responsible for multiple hit TV series such as Paddington and Numberblocks. 

"Mini Mail" Wins "Best Super Short" in London

Mini Mail wins "Best Super Short" in London

Congratulations to the makers of the VFX Short film Mini Mail, which has won "Best Super Short" at the London Movie Awards.

Mini Mail was created by our third year graduating class of VFX students at Escape Studios; it was written and directed by Thomas Greensmith  and produced by Nilufer Refet.  

Asia Gayle  was the 3D VFX lead, and Daniel Beeching was the 2D VFX Lead.  John Oakes-Pearson stars as the delivery guy.  Industry feedback was generously provided by Industrial Light & Magic.  This is its third festival award.