"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. 

"AFK"

AFK

"AFK", tells the story of the assassin Blaze and the ice-wielding Viking Frost - two video games characters who escape from the computer and do battle in the human world. 

Animation & VFX

"AFK" 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.

Software

"AFK" was animated in Maya, rendered in Arnold, and edited in Premiere Pro. 

AFK Credits

• "Moses" Tsz Yau Ho – Director, Co-Producer, Animator
• Emily Newton – Producer, 2D VFX 
• Tayler Da Silva – Art Director, Animator
• George Brand – 2D VFX Lead 
• Mahak Chowdhary – 2D VFX
• Giovanni Nuzzo – 2D VFX 
• Olly Everson – 2D VFX 
• Harrison Davies – 3D VFX Lead
• Maria Quimey Dasso – 3D VFX 
• Sam Carpenter – 3D VFX 
• Asia Gayle – 3D VFX 
• Yousaf Khan – Lead Animator
• Tobi Ajibola – Writer, Animator, Actor 
• Catherine Hall – Animator, Editor 
• Nerea Lojan Ortega – Animator, Rigging
• Maggie Murkin – Character Design, Animator
• Rhea Ilanthirayan – Animator
• Williams Pokhrel – Rigging Lead, Actor
• Kenneth Psalms – Sound Design

Escape Tutors
AFK was overseen by Escape Studios Tutors Marc Stevenson (Animation), Riccardo Zanarini (Houdini), Ilaria Colavito (3D VFX) and Sokratis Synitos (2D VFX). 

Thanks to Our Studio Assistants

Thanks also to our talented Studio Assistants Jess Hiles, Cheryl Chan and Matthew O’Reilly.

Industry Feedback

Industry feedback from Industrial Light & Magic

Industry feedback was generously provided by Industrial Light & Magic, from Hayden Jones, Melissa Leamon and Davi Stein. 

AFK at The IMDB

You can find AFK at the IMDB here.

AFK at Escape Studios Showcase

You can find AFK at the Escape Studios Showcase here. 

AFK at the Rookies

You can find AFK at The 2025 Rookies here. 

Festival Success

Best VFX at the Makhizmithran Film Festival

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