Meet the External Examiners at Escape Studios

Meet the External examiners at Escape Studios.  External examiners are part of the landscape of higher education in the UK. 

They help to ensure that standards are consistent across the animation sector.  External examiners double-check our grades, make sure we're awarding marks appropriately, and check that our standards are consistent with other universities and colleges in the UK.  

Second Marking at Escape Studios

Second marking at Escape Studios is part of the process by which we ensure that academic standards are being met. Is the marking fair? Is it reasonable? Are the correct criteria being applied?

Looking at your students' work through the eyes of another tutor is a valuable exercise; it is a reminder of how personal marking can be, and how important it is to apply objective criteria.

As tutors, we don't always get the marks right first time - which is why second marking is important.

The Four Week Feedback Rule

What is the "Four Week Rule"? The Four Week Rule is the rule at Escape Studios that students should not wait for more than four weeks for formal feedback on their assessed work.

At the end of each module, our undergraduate and graduate students will submit their portfolio and (where applicable) written work.  Within four weeks of submission, they will receive marking grids with their grade, including comments and suggestions on how to improve the work.  

Helen Piercy External Examiner for UG Animation

Helen Piercy

Meet Helen Piercy, our new External Examiner for our BA in 3D animation at Escape Studios.  External examiners play an important part of quality control in UK higher education, ensuring that our courses meet the highest standards, and the grades awarded are correct and appropriate.

We're honoured to have Helen onboard; she is an experienced animator, published author, Education Director for Animated Women UK and also an Animation Lecturer at the Norwich University of the Arts. 

Interruption of Studies at Escape Studios

On occasion our undergraduate students at Escape find that for whatever reason, personal or professional, they need to apply for an Interruption of Studies (also known as a suspension of studies).

Interruption of studies means exactly that - our undergraduate students can interrupt their studies, typically for a year, then pick up the course in a year's time. 

 In other words, you press the Pause Button.

Adam Twycross External Examiner for Art of VFX

Adam Twycross 

Meet Adam Twycross - our external examiner for our undergraduate course in The Art of VFX and also our post graduate courses - MA VFX Production (3D), and also MA VFX Production (2D).

Adam Twycross is a senior lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, and an accomplished animation and vfx artist with considerable experience in higher education.

External examiners play an important part of quality control in UK higher education, ensuring that our courses meet the highest standards, and that the grades awarded are correct and appropriate.

Why Animators Should Submit Early

Don't wait until the very last minute!

Deadlines matter, and for all our students at Escape Studios, it is very important to submit formal assessed work on time. 

At Escape Studios the animation lecturers have very little leeway in accepting late submissions.  Our recommendation to all our  students is this: Don't wait until the due date to submit your work.  Instead, aim to submit your work the night before. 

Video Retrospectives at Escape Studios

At the end of most of our undergraduate modules at Escape Studios our students write a retrospective of approximately 2,400 words. Students must explain how they approached the practical work in the module, what they learned, and how they might perform a similar task better the next time around. The idea is to reflect on their performance, analyse what went wrong, celebrate what went right, and draw conclusions from the process.  Lately we've been exploring some alternative methods of creating a retrospective, either by writing a blog or - as in the case of Ross Green's Video Retrospective above - cutting a video.

How to Write a Great Retrospective

How do you write a great retrospective?  At the end of most of our undergraduate modules at Escape Studios our students are expected to write a retrospective, totalling approximately 2,400 words. Students must explain how they approached the practical work in the module, what they learned, and how they might perform a similar task better the next time around.  The idea is to reflect on their performance, analyse what went wrong, celebrate what went right, and draw conclusions from the process. Above are our top ten tips for writing a great retrospective.

Alan Lewis External Examiner Story & Previs

Alan Lewis

Meet Alan Lewis, our new External Examiner for our pioneering Master's Degree in Storyboarding & Previsualisation at Escape Studios, which is running for the first time at our campus at 190 High Holborn.

External examiners play an important part of quality control in UK higher education, ensuring that our courses meet the highest standards, and the grades awarded are correct and appropriate.

We're honoured to have Alan onboard; he is Head of the Division of Creative Technologies for the School of Arts and Creative Industries at South Bank University. In this role, he is responsible for the overall operation and development of the VFX, Games, Digital Design, Sound, and Journalism BA/BSc degrees. He is also the Course Director for the VFX programme at South Bank.

Ten Rules to Write a Retrospective

 At the end of most of our undergraduate modules at Escape Studios our students are expected to write a retrospective, approximately 2,400 words.

Students must explain how they approached the practical work in the module, what they learned, and how they might perform a similar task better the next time around. 

The idea is to reflect on their performance, analyse what went wrong, celebrate what went right, and draw conclusions from the process. Below are our top ten tips for writing a great retrospective.

How 2nd Marking Works at Escape Studios

Michael Davies teaching at Escape Studios

Now that the academic year is coming to an end, our tutors at Escape Studios are busy marking student work, and also carrying out second marking.

Second marking at Escape Studios is part of the process by which we ensure that our academic standards are being rigorously applied. Was the marking fair? Is it reasonable? Were the correct criteria applied?

Looking at your students' work through the eyes of another is a valuable exercise; it is a reminder of how personal marking can be, and how important it is to apply rigidly objective criteria. We don't always get it right first time, which is why second marking is so important.

How does Escape Studios work?

Escape Studios

How does Escape Studios work? We are a part of Pearson College London (PCL), which is in turn owned by Pearson, a FTSE 100 Company, with a long history dating back to the 1840s, but which today focuses mainly on education.

PCL is however a separate legal entity from Pearson. We are a non-profit organisation, and our independence is very important to our operation as an academic community.

Alan Lewis External Examiner BA/MArt 3D Animation

Alan Lewis

Meet Alan Lewis, our new External Examiner for our integrated BA/Mart in 3D animation at Escape Studios.  External examiners play an important part of quality control in UK higher education, ensuring that our courses meet the highest standards, and the grades awarded are correct and appropriate.

We're honoured to have Alan onboard; he is Head of the Division of Creative Technologies for the School of Arts and Creative Industries at South Bank University. In this role, he is responsible for the overall operation and development of the VFX, Games, Digital Design, Sound, and Journalism BA/BSc degrees. He is also the Course Director for the VFX programme at South Bank.

What is APEL?

APEL: route to post-graduate study

What is APEL? APEL stands for "Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning", and is the formal recognition of prior learning by UK universities.

Why is it important? Because APEL is the mechanism by which students who do not have an undergraduate degree can gain entry onto a masters' level course, such as our master's programme in 3D animation.

For example, an animator with ten years' experience in the industry might not realise they can apply for our MA course in animation, because they need a BA first.  In fact, this would not necessarily be true.

We can consider a student's body of work, and their professional career, as a route into post-graduate study, permitting them to meet the necessary qualifications for entry onto a masters' programme.

Escape Studios Module Descriptors Online

One of the most common questions asked by undergraduate students is "What's in the next module?". Many of our students aren't aware that all the module descriptors for our courses can be found online, giving everyone access to exactly what's in the course, for all three (or four, if you're doing the MArt) years of study at Escape Studios. To find the Module Descriptors, and get familiar with some of the course detail, follow this link:

UCAS Deadline - January 15th

UCAS - time to apply

Thinking of applying to Escape Studios to study the Art of 3D Animation, Games or Visual effects?  The UCAS deadline of January 15th is fast approaching.  We are welcoming applications for the third intake of our new integrated BA/MArt in Animation, Games and VFX - just launched in September 2016.

One of the most common questions I get asked at Open Days is "should I wait to apply until I have finished my portfolio?" - to which the answer is definitely "no".  Get your application in early, and worry about your portfolio later. You'll have plenty of time before attending one of our Creative Workshops to pull your portfolio together.

The Best Animation Course in the World?

Blue Zoo Animation

What would the Best Animation Course in the world look like?

The question was recently asked by Tom Box, co-founder of Blue Zoo Animation Studio. Tom surveyed the artists and animators at Blue Zoo to find out what is right - and wrong - with university animation courses.

It's an important question, and one that colleges and universities need to keep asking, in order to make sure we're offering our students the right skills. So what is the answer?  How can universities design better courses that actually meet the needs of the industry?

BYOA Tonight!

Lukin pub, Fitzrovia

Calling all Escape animators - "Bring Your Own Animation" is taking place tonight, Monday June 19th.

BYOA is an animation event that takes place every month at a pub in London. This month the event is taking place at The Lukin pub in Fitzrovia.

If you are a student who is working on a shot or an updated reel (aren't we all?), bring your work on a USB or hard drive and get feedback from professional animators. You'll also hear the local gossip and find out the word on the street. Who is hiring, and what skills are in demand?

How To Write a Dissertation

Calling all our MA Students at Escape Studios! Skills You Need is a website you need to know about, with some great resources for our students tackling masters-level study.

Here at Escape Studios we specialise in practical, industry-relevant skills, but our master's degrees do included a significant academic component, and this includes writing a fully-referenced dissertation following standard academic requirements.