BYOA takes place in London every month at a pub in Soho. Recently Escape Studios' tutor animation Kevin Richards met with a number of Escape Studios students and Escapees, reviewing demo reels and getting feedback on their work.
Introducing "Order Up", the latest short animated film from Escape Studios. It was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects. Order Upwas directed by Shavaz Uzice, edited by Tobi Ajibola, and produced by “Moses” Tsz Yau Ho. The art director was Holly Ackroyd. Order Up is currently being entered into film festivals.
We have new books for the Animation & VFX Library on the 11th Floor at 6 Mitre Passage.
The Visual Effects Producer by Charles Finance and Susan Zwerman is the comprehensive handbook for any student learning the art of VFX Production - a creative blend of art, technology and finance.
For all our students learning the Art of VFX, we recommend this book as the principal guide to understanding what VFX producers do.
Introducing "Checkmate", the latest short animated film from Escape Studios. Checkmate was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects. Checkmatewas directed by Cara Masters and produced by Erminas Surgautas.
Congratulations to the makers of Ghosting, the animated short created by our third year animation students at Escape Studios, which has won the award for Best Animation at the Tekka Film Festival.
La Salle offers degrees in Digital Arts and Animation, a perfect fit with our courses at Escape Studios. The Exchange will take place in the Spring of 2025, and we'll be looking for expressions of interest from our first year undergraduate students in the next few weeks.
Since 2021 a number of Escape students have travelled to La Salle to study, and a similar number have come to Escape Studios, studying the Art of Computer Animation, Games and Visual Effects.
The La Salle Exchange Programme is a welcome opportunity for our students to study overseas in one of Europe's most beautiful cities.
"Infestation" wins Best Sci-Fi at Golden Peacock Awards
Congratulations to the makers of "Infestation", one of the latest animated shorts created by our third year animation students at Escape Studios.
Infestation has won "Best Sci-Fi Short" at the Golden Peacock International Film Festival.
Directed by Thomas Husband and produced by Hugo Whitworth, Infestation tells the story of a distant space station - HMSS Archimedes - with some unwelcome visitors. This is the third festival award for Infestation.
We're loving this new source of Free Rigs and Sets for Maya Animators at Animation-Matt https://anim-matt.gumroad.com/. It's a great resource, packed with free (and low priced) rigs for character animation. Anim-matt also has plenty of sets for animators to work in, including interior and exterior shots such as streets, bars and living rooms for characters to perform in.
Animated characters need to look at each other, so their eyes don't wander around screen. Watch the short video above with acting legend Michael Caine for some tips from the master of screen acting. The video itself is a little dated (1980s) but the lessons remain just as important today. According to Caine, the number one lesson for stage actors is to "hold on to each others' eyes". And, what is true for stage actors is true for animators too. You can watch Caine's acting advice in the video above - the important part is all in the first 5 minutes.
What is the Rule of Thirds? It is a "rule of thumb" for composing visual images. The Rule of Thirds proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections. In the simplest terms, try to avoid staging your character dead centre in the middle of the screen.
All students at Escape Studios need to learn how to pitch. Our Escapees aren't just working in the creative industries, they are creating original content and fresh ideas. But how does your fresh original idea gain traction in the marketplace? The answer is - you have to pitch it. The short video above is about pitching ideas - in this case pitching the idea of a cartoon strip about lawyers in the UK in the early '90s. The cartoon strip started in The Times in 1993 as Queen's Counsel - it's still running 30 years on.
Introducing "Light Escape" by Lewis Sims. "Light Escape" was animated by Lewis for our undergraduate core animation module - Animation Module AN4001 - a 15 Credit module that teaches all our first year students the fundamentals of character and creature animation. AN4001 lasts four weeks, and covers the basic principles of animation. To see some of the best work done by our first year undergraduate animators, follow this link.
Save the Date! The VFX Festival is back - returning to London on 3-4 June 2024 at the BFI IMAX on London's South Bank at Waterloo. The 2024 VFX Festival will be a hybrid event, both online and in person.
The 2024 VFX Festival at Escape Studios celebrates the latest developments in Animation, VFX and Interactive Media - come along and find out about the latest tech, the latest jobs, and how to break into the thriving - but rapidly evolving - creative industries.
To book your tickets either in-person or online, follow this link.