Escapee-directed "Bluey" Achieves Global Success

Bluey

The Australian animated TV series "Bluey" has become a global success story, one of the most popular shows on Netflix.

Bluey was created by Joe Brumm - but the TV series is directed by Escapee Rich Jeffrey 

Rich took our 12 week course in 3D animation, and has since gone on to forge a successful career as an animation director. 

George Caton-Coult Introduces "Pop Paper City"

George Caton-Coult, Kevin Richards and students

This week we welcomed Love Love Films Studio Manager George Caton-Coult to visit us on Thursday 21 March. The event was hosted by Escape Studios animation tutor Kevin Richards. 

George Caton-Coult is the Studio Manager at Love Love Films, responsible for the TV hit "Pop Paper City"  developed in partnership with Aardman Animation.  Many Escapees worked on "Pop Paper City".  In this in-person visit, George explained how the series came about, and how Escapees might find work at the studio.

Merry Christmas from Escape Studios

If you've got a few minutes this Christmas Eve, why not watch Richard Williams' 1972 Oscar-winning version of The Christmas Carol.  It has all the atmosphere of 19th Century London and none of the sentimentality.  It's just twenty minutes long, and was completed at Williams' London studio at 13 Soho Square - a Grade II* listed building which still stands today (it's even painted the same colour).

Miguel Teixeira Works on "Bea's Block" TV Series

Miguel Teixeira

Congratulations to Escapee Escapee Miguel Teixeira who is celebrating his work as an animator at Keyframe Studios in London, which has just released the TV Series "Bea's Block" on HBO and Sky Kids.  You can see the trailer for Bea's Block below.

Bea's Block is a pre-school TV series from the world of "Sesame Street", in which viewers "join Bea as she and her friends spread kindness and build empathy through playful adventures in their community".

Studying the Art of Computer Animation at Escape Studios, Miguel Teixeira contributed to a number of award-winning short films, including producing and editing the multi-award-winning short film Golden Acorn.   Miguel also worked on two more award-winning films: Reach and Over Under. 

Escapee Sasha Fusini Storyboards "Supertato"

Sasha Fusini

Congratulations to Escapee Sasha Fusini who has recently completed work on three hit shows at Blue Zoo Animation - Supertato, Tee and Mo and Pip and Posy. 

You can see Sasha's portfolio here:  www.sashafusini.com. Sasha now has experience storyboarding in both 2D and 3D and works in both Storyboard Pro and Blue Zoo's in-house software Panelforge.

Sasha Fusini took our evening class in storyboarding with industry veteran Francesca "Chess" Adams and built up a storyboard portfolio over the duration of the course.  She soon found work at Blue Zoo Animation.

"Bluey" Wins "Most Outstanding" Award at Logies

Escapee Rich Jeffrey at the 2022 Logies

We're proud to congratulate Escapee Rich Jeffrey whose Australian TV series "Bluey" has won "Most Outstanding Children’s Program" at The 2022 Logies, the annual Australian TV Awards.

This is the latest award for  "Bluey", which also won "Best Pre-School Animation" at KidScreen, and an Emmy at the 8th International Emmy Kids Awards.  

Rich was animation director on series 1, and series director on the second series of "Bluey".

Rich took our 12 week course in 3D animation, and has since gone on to become a highly successful TV series director. 

Evgenia Golubeva's "Millie and Lou" Trailer

 

Above is the just-released trailer for "Millie & Lou", the new animated series directed by Escapee Evgenia Golubeva, currently in production at Blue Zoo animation in London.  "Millie & Lou" is a Blue Zoo Original production for YouTube.  The show stemmed from a BZ "in-house initiative", creating in-house content by developing concepts into full series productions.  Many congratulations to Evgenia on directing her first web series. 

Daniel Baidoo Animator at Maga Animation

Daniel Baidoo

Many congratulations to Escapee Daniel Baidoo, who has found work as an animator at Maga Animation, an animation company based in Monza, Italy.

Daniel is currently working remotely for Maga, animating "4-5 seconds of animation a day" on Ricky Zoom 2, a British CGI preschool series about a red motorbike named Ricky.

Prior to Ricky Zoom, Daniel worked at Animal Logic animation studio in Sydney, Australia.

Evgenia Designs "Mia's Magic Playground"

Many congratulations to Escapee Evgenia Golubeva, whose latest TV Show Mia's Magic Playground will be broadcast on Sky Kids here in the UK.

Evgenia designed all the characters in the Magic World - including the Ice Cream Bear, the Rainbow, the Watermelon Cat, the Leaflings - and everyone else.

Evgenia also helped out with the backgrounds, creating concept art for the trees, bushes, underwater and space environments.

Escapee Rich Jeffrey's "Bluey" Wins Emmy

We're proud to congratulate Escapee Rich Jeffrey whose new Australian TV series "Bluey" recently picked up an International Emmy at the 8th International Emmy Kids Awards. Rich was animation director on series 1, and director on the 2nd series of "Bluey".

Rich said: "It is hard to put into words how wonderful that felt but there’s no doubt it’s down to the hard work of an incredibly dedicated team that I’m proud to be a part of and to the creative genius of Joe Brumm. Big thanks to Charlie, Sam, Daley, Joe and our amazing crew. This one’s for you!"

Escapee Rich Jeffrey's "Bluey" Wins AACTA

We're proud to congratulate Escapee Rich Jeffrey (aka "Richie Jeffrey"), whose new TV series "Bluey" picked up an award for Best Children’s Programme at the AACTA awards (Australian Academy of Cinema and Televisions Arts) this weekend.

The AACTAs are a bit like the Oscars, or perhaps the BAFTAs - but for Australia. Rich was the director on the 2nd series of "Bluey".

Rich said "It is hard to put into words how wonderful that felt but there’s no doubt it’s down to the hard work of an incredibly dedicated team that I’m proud to be a part of and to the creative genius of Joe Brumm. Big thanks to Charlie, Sam, Daley, Joe and our amazing crew. This one’s for you!"

Escapee Rich Jeffrey Directs "Bluey"

"Bluey" - 2nd series directed by Escapee Rich Jeffrey

Many congratulations to Escapee Rich Jeffrey whose new TV series "Bluey" is coming to screens in New Zealand, and will soon be coming to the UK.

Rich has been working on the show in Australia for the past two years, and it is now coming to screens on TVNZ on demand, as well as NZ prime time TV.

Lydia Layton Prod'n Co-ordinator at 2 Sides TV

Lydia Layton

Many congratulations to Escapee Lydia Layton, who is working as Production Co-ordinator at 2 Sides TV.

Lydia took our intensive 12 week class in 3D animation at Escape Studios, and has since developed a flourishing career as a producer of animated content.

Lydia's career is an example of how careers in the creative industries aren't always linear, and the challenging role of animation producer is a fascinating career path in its own right.

Jamie Floodgate Animator at Blue Zoo

Jamie Floodgate

Many congratulations to Escapee Jamie Floodgate, who has recently landed a position as a junior animator at London animation powerhouse Blue Zoo.

Jamie applied to Blue Zoo on the strength of his animation demo reel which he put together after taking our 12 week animation course at Escape Studios.

Jamie wasn't initially successful applying to Blue Zoo, and at first he was turned down.  Undaunted, he continued to polish his animation skills, working on an entry to the 11 Second Club monthly competition.  The second time around, everything fell into place.

Cartoon Forum: Deadline 8 May

Many of our students at Escape Studios have an idea for an animated TV series in development - though not at all of them know it yet. 

Our animation students are not just technicians, they are creators, brainstorming new ideas and concepts in animation, searching for the next Peppa Pig or Charlie and Lola.

Kevin Richards to Teach at Escape Studios

Kevin Richards

Animator and Escapee Kevin Richards will be coming to Escape Studios on Monday to teach our short course and MA students.

Kevin is a traditional 2D animator who took our short course in animation at Escape Studios, and successfully made the transition to 3D animation in Maya.

Most recently Kevin has been working as an animator on the "Shane the Chef" YV Series at Cloth Cat animation in Cardiff.

Rich Jeffrey Directs "Bluey" Down Under

Many congratulations to Escapee Rich Jeffrey, who is directing a new TV series "Bluey", launching on ABC KIDS in Australia on Monday 1st October. Bluey is the story of a "loveable and inexhaustible six-year-old Australian Blue Heeler dog", and is made by a team of artists in Brisbane, Australia. Rich took our animation short course at Escape Studios, and has since developed a stellar career in the industry. Rich said of Bluey: "We built it from the ground up, training all our crew. It's the result of loads of hard work and dedication from an amazing team of over 40 people. I'm proud to be a part of it and can say it is an honor to be the animation director on this series. "

Sergio D'Innocenzo Animator at TeamTo

TeamTo, Paris, france

Many congratulations to Escapee Sergio D'Innocenzo who is a senior animator at TeamTo, an animation studio in Paris, France.

Sergio studied our Animation course here at Escape Studios, and worked on developing a great demo reel. His hard work paid off, and he now works at TeamTo Studio doing animated TV series.

We asked him a few questions about his work, and how he broke into the industry.

Kevin Richards Animates Shane The Chef

Shane the Chef has just launched on Channel 5, featuring the work of Escapee Kevin Richards, who was one of the character animators on the show.

Kevin graduated from our short course in 3D animation in 2017, and since then has been working as a 3D animator at Cloth Cat in Cardiff.

We asked Kevin a few questions about how he got the job, and what advice he would offer to students hoping to break into the industry.

Dennis the Menace at the VFX Festival

Jellyfish animation is one of London's leading animation studios, specialising in TV work such as the new Dennis the Menace series.

At the recent VFX Festival in Shoreditch,  Jellyfish's lead animator Denis Jose Francois introduced the series, and talked about some of the challenges faced by Jellyfish in bringing this well-loved comic character to the small screen.

And, at the end of his talk he also offered some useful tips on what Jellyfish looks for in an animation demo reel.