CR5001 Specialism Module Returns 13 Jan 2025

Leopard animation by Melissa Coarezza

Module CR5001 "Animation Specialism" starts on January 13th 2025 (you can see our 2024-25 term dates here).  The second year of animation studies at Escape Studios is where our students begin to focus on individual proficiency in the craft of animation.

The Specialism Module (Module Code CR5001) is a largely self-study module in which students select an area of specialism and develop their skills.  CR5001 runs for five weeks, culminating in a portfolio presentation.  The final deadline for submission is Wednesday 8 February 2025. 

Steve Sole Teaches Production Design 23 Jan

Steve Sole...and Mr Bean 

On Monday 23rd January 2023 we welcome back designer & visual development artist Steven Sole to teach the fundamentals of Production Design for Animation. 

Production Design is a vital part of making a short film.  What will the film look like? What is the colour palette?

Steven will be teaching our 2nd year undergraduate students, who are currently working on their Specialism Module CR5001.

Chrissy Metge: "Producing for Animators" 9 Jan 2023

Chrissy Metge

We're delighted to welcome back animation & VFX producer Chrissy Metge to teach a class on "Producing for Animators" to our second year undergraduate animators at Escape Studios on Monday 9th January 2023.

Chrissy is an experienced producer, and also creative director at Fuzzy Duckling Media and Duckling Publishing.  She has worked in the animation film and TV industry for 18 years, and has film credits on many movies, including VFX blockbusters The Hobbit, Ironman 3 and Hunger Games 2.

You can see Chrissy's full list of credits at her IMDB page here. 

CR5001 Animation Specialism Starts 9 Jan 2023

Character Animation by Sunny Asada

Module CR5001 "Animation Specialism" starts on January 9th 2023.  The second year of animation studies at Escape Studios is where our students begin to focus on individual proficiency in the craft of animation.

The Specialism Module (Module Code CR5001) is a largely self-study module in which students select an area of specialism and develop their skills.  CR5001 runs for five weeks, culminating in a portfolio presentation.  The final deadline for submission is Wednesday 8 February 2023. 

CR5001 Anim Specialism starts 10 Jan 2022

BAA Awards - Ident Challenge!

Module CR5001 "Animation Specialism" starts on January 10th 2022. 

The second year of animation studies at Escape Studios is where our students begin to focus on individual proficiency in the craft of animation.

The Specialism Module (Module Code CR5001) is a self-study module in which students select an area of specialism and develop their skills. 

CR5001 runs for five weeks, culminating in a portfolio presentation.  This year we are collaborating with the biennial BAA Awards to create a series of idents for next year's BAA Awards Ceremony on 10 March 2022.  The final deadline for submission is Wednesday 9 February 2022. 

Steve Sole Teaches Character Design 18-21 Jan

Steve Sole

We're delighted to welcome back character designer & visual development artist Steven Sole to teach the fundamentals of character design from January 18-21.

Steven will be teaching our 2nd year undergraduate students, who are currently working on their 2nd year Specialism Module CR5001, where students start to choose their own specialism.

Steven Sole comes to us from Framestore and also from Tiger Aspect Productions, where he was Art Director on the hit TV series Mr Bean.

To see some of Steven's work, visit his official site.

CR5001 Specialism Pitch on Thursday 21st Jan

Time to Pitch!

On Thursday 21st Jan from 1.30pm-4.30pm we will be hearing short pitches from our students' on their chosen specialisms for Module CR5001 "Animation Specialism".

This pitch presentation is where our students first present their idea for their chosen specialism. What part of the animation pipeline do they wish to focus on? Character animation? Creature animation? Storyboarding? Producing Animation? Now is the time to choose.

"Producing Animation" Specialism for CR5001

One of our second year animation students recently asked me what would be involved in selecting "Producing Animation" as their chosen specialism for the second year Specialism Module CR5001. 

It's a good question, and the answer is to dig as deeply as possible into what exactly a good producer does - and then produce a detailed report, complete with bibliography, references and inline citations.  The important elements of producing such as a sample budget and production schedule should also be included.

It would also be a good idea to contact the tutors at Escape Studios who have experience of producing animation, such as veteran producer Steve Burch, and Iliana Franklin, as well as some of the many Escapees who have gone on to fill production roles at animation, vfx and games companies around the globe.

How to find them? Don't forget the awesome power of LinkedIn to reach out and connect to animation professionals.  

CR5001 Specialism Anim Starts 4 January 2021

Leopard animation by Daniel Amor

Module CR5001 "Animation Specialism" starts on January 4th 2021. 

The second year of animation studies at Escape Studios is where our students begin to focus on individual proficiency in the craft of animation.

The Specialism Module (Module Code CR5001) is a self-study module in which students must select an area of specialism and develop their proficiency in that area. CR5001 is worth 15 credits and runs for five weeks, culminating in a portfolio presentation.

Storyboarding with Iliana Franklin 3 Feb

Iliana Franklin

Iliana Franklin, the newest member of the animation team at Escape Studios will teach a class in Storyboarding for Animators on Monday 3rd February, to our Second Year animation students.

Iliana teaches our new master's degree in Storyboarding and Previsualisation, which launched in September and is already producing some remarkably skilled and imaginative work.

Iliana's class will help our animation students learn the art and craft of storyboarding, a necessary part of the film-making process and a vital skill as our students get ready for their 2nd year studio projects.

Steve Sole Teaches Character Design Jan 27-29

Steve Sole

We're delighted to welcome back character designer & visual development artist Steven Sole to teach the fundamentals of character design on Jan 27, 28 and 29.

Steven will be teaching our 2nd year undergraduate students, who are currently working on their 2nd year Specialism Module CR5001, where students start to choose their own specialism.

Steven Sole comes to us from Framestore and also from Tiger Aspect Productions, where he was Art Director on the hit TV series Mr Bean.

To see some of Steven's work, visit his official site.

Rigging with Michael Davies on Jan 20th

Michael Davies teaches at Escape Studios

3D artist and undergraduate program leader Michael Davies will teach our second year animation students a class in "Character Rigging for Animators", starting Monday 20th January 2020.

For three days Michael will take our 2nd year animation students through the fundamentals of rigging their own characters.

The class is part of Module CR5001, a specialism module in which students begin to focus on a chosen specialism of their choice.

Acting for Animators is Back on Jan 16th

Sarah Perry of Shapes in Motion is returning to Escape Studios tomorrow, Thursday 16th January, to teach an all-day "Acting for Animators" class to our second year animation students, as they embark on their Animation Specialism module.  Sarah is an expert on teaching acting skills to animators, having taught classes at MPC, Framestore, and many other leading UK animation and VFX houses.  To find out a little about the class, and about Shapes in Motion, watch the video above.

CR5001 Anim Specialism Starts on Jan 13th

Creature animation by Amanda Costa

Module CR5001 "Animation Specialism" starts on January 13th 2020.

The second year of animation studies at Escape Studios is where our students begin to focus on individual proficiency in the craft of animation.

The Specialism Module (Module Code CR5001) is a self-study module in which students must select an area of specialism and develop their proficiency in that area. CR5001 is worth 15 credits and runs for five weeks, culminating in a portfolio presentation.

2nd Year Specialism Module CR5001

Character animation by Chan Sagoo

A warm welcome back to all our undergraduate students, as formal classroom teaching resumes today. 

The second year of animation studies at Escape Studios is where our students begin to focus on proficiency in the craft of animation.

The second year is also an opportunity for students to choose what part of the animation industry they would like to specialise in.  The 2nd Year Specialism Module (Module Code CR5001) is worth 15 credits and runs for 8 weeks, culminating in a portfolio presentation.  So, what can our students expect?