Introducing "Love, Mum"

‘Love, Mum’ - Animated Short Film from Amelia Watson on Vimeo.

Meet "Love, Mum", a new short film created by our students at Escape Studios. "Love, Mum"  tells the story of a young woman who tries to find the secret ingredient in her beloved mother's favourite recipe.  "Love, Mum" was written, directed and edited by Amelia Watson, and produced by Llewelyn Whitney. 

Side Quest Wins 4 Stars Award at BIAFF

Side Quest wins 4 Stars Award at BIAFF

Congratulations to the makers of "Side Quest", which has won a "Four Stars Award" at the British International Amateur Film Festival (BIAFF).

Side Quest is an adventure story set in a distant fantasy land, in which a brave knight embarks on a quest to free a Princess from a vicious dragon

"Side Quest" was directed by Jess Hiles and produced by Priya Shah. This is its second festival award.

Lipsync - Two Frames Ahead of the Audio

Cliff Nordberg

Why should your lipsync always be at least two frames ahead of the audio? Because there is a very slight time delay between our mouths making a shape, and the sound being expelled from our lips.

For your audience to be able to read the lip sync clearly you'll want to offset the jaw opening at least two frames before the audio is actually heard. 

If you have the jaw opening and closing exactly on the frame that the audio is heard, your lip sync will feel slightly "off sync", ie a little late. 

Vivi Ossa Hon Mention for "Best Micro Short"

Vivi Ossa wins Best Micro Short (Hon Mention) at AFA

Many congratulations to the makers of "Vivi Ossa", which has won an Honourable Mention in the category of Best "Best Micro Short" at the Art Film Awards. 

Directed by Callum Walters and produced by Matthew Wight, Vivi Ossa (Latin for "living bones") is a short film about a museum visitor who brings ancient bones to life through the power of music. Vivi Ossa has won many festival awards.

Introducing "Hannibelle"

Meet "Hannibelle" - a new short animated film created by our second year animation students at Escape Studios. Directed by Alex Maynard and produced by Ben Swallow,  "Hannibelle" tells the story of a fairytale princess who is not everything she appears. "Hannibelle" is currently being entered into film festivals.

"Russell" Wins Best VFX at Onyko Fest

"Russell" wins Best VFX at Onyko Film Festival

Congratulations to the makers of Russell which has won Best VFX (short films) at the Onyko International Film Festival. 

Russell was written by Scott Middleton and Liam Martin, directed by Scott Middleton and produced by Gary Roche.  

Russell tells the story of a curious hedgehog who dreams of flight. It has won many festival awards. 

Escape Studios Students Visit Framestore

Escape Studios visits Framestore

A big thank you to animation and vfx powerhouse Framestore who recently hosted a studio visit for our students at Escape Studios. 

Being able to visit studios and get a feel for life as an animator or vfx artist is an important opportunity - one which has been almost impossible for much of the past two years.

Framestore is one of the UK's leading animation and visual effects houses, responsible for multiple hits, including Paddington.

Sweet Heart Hon Mention for Best VFX at LIMFF

"Sweet Heart" Best VFX (Hon. Mention) at the LIMFF

Congratulations to the makers of "Sweet Heart", which has won an Honourable Mention for Best VFX at the London International Film Festival. 

Sweet Heart is a short VFX film created by students at Escape Studios; it was directed by Liam Mann, co-directed by Shenaaz Suliman, and produced by Emmanouil "Manos" Zervoudakis.  "Sweet Heart" tells the story of two cake figurines who fall in love.  It has won many festival awards.

Tendai Mande SweatBox TD at DNEG

Many congratulations to Escapee Tendai Mande, who has recently started a new position as a SweatBox TD at DNEG.

While at Escape Studios, Tendai contributed to the short animated film "Street Ratz", which has won multiple festival awards.  Tendai worked on the film as Editor, Second Director, and Lead Pipeline Supervisor. 

DNEG is one of the world's leading animation and VFX houses, pioneers in VFX and also software development.  

"Jelly Cars" Hon Mention Best Cinematography

Jelly Cars Hon. Mention for Best Cinematography at TIMFF

Escape Studios is proud to congratulate animation tutor Lee Caller whose short film Jelly Cars has won an Honourable Mention for "Best Cinematography" at the Halicarnassus Film Festival. 

This is the latest award for Jelly Cars, a short comedy about a cartoon car trying to find a parking space.  Jelly Cars has won many festival awards.

Aaron Hopwood Animator at Chinese Room

Aaron Hopwood

Many congratulations to Escapee Aaron Hopwood, who has started work as a Games Animator at Chinese Room, a games animation studio based in Brighton, Sussex.

Aaron graduated from Escape Studios with a first-class degree in the Art of 3D animation, and later became a Studio Assistant at Escape Studios, helping to train and guide the next  generation of animators.

at Escape Studios, Aaron was the animation lead on Jericho, and co-directed the short film Minuet. Both films have won multiple festival awards.

Stevie Stedman Studio Assistant at Escape

Stevie Stedman

Many congratulations to Escapee Stevie Stedman who is currently working as a Studio Assistant at Escape Studios.

Stevie took our MA in Storyboarding & Previsualisation, graduating with a Distinction. While at Escape Studios, Stevie has written, directed and produced a number of award-winning films, such as "Hat Shop", which Stevie wrote and directed, and which has won many festival awards.

Studio Assistants at Escape Studios help to give our students classroom feedback and solve technical problems; we couldn't manage without them.

"Seeker" Wins Best Trailer at Onyko Fest

"Seeker" wins Best Trailer at the Onyko Film Festival

Congratulations to the makers of "Seeker"  which has won Best Trailer at the Onyko Film Festival.

 "Seeker" is a short sci-fi film directed by Rassoul Edji and produced by Tosin Ogunleye.   Seeker is about a giant robot running amok in suburban England. It has won many festival awards. 

Burger Royale Best Editing at Halicarnassus

Burger Royale wins Best Editing at Halicarnassus

Congratulations to the makers of "Burger Royale" which has won "Best Editing" in the Short Film category at the Halicarnassus Film Festival.  

Burger Royale is a short animated teaser/trailer written, directed and produced by Escape Studios' animation student Gary Roche.  

Burger Royale tells the story of a hungry customer who walks into a burger joint only to find that he is on the menu. It has won over a dozen festival awards.

Introducing "Spitfire"

 

Introducing "Spitfire", a new short animated film created at Escape Studios. "Spitfire" tells the story of the inspiration behind the legendary WW2 aircraft, and its creator R J Mitchell.  "Spitfire" was directed by Christopher Mardsen-Carleton, produced by Conall Ferguson and edited by Jessa Timog-Santiago.  It is currently being entered in film festivals. 

Mafia Mix-Up Wins "Five Stars Award" at BIAFF

BIAFF wins 5 Stars Award

Congratulations to the makers of "Mafia Mix-Up", which has won a "Five Star Award" at The British International Animation Film Festival (BIAFF).

Mafia Mix-Up was written and directed by Jake Lee, and produced by Emmanouil "Manos" Zervoudakis. 

This is the fourth festival award for Mafia Mix-Up.

"Russell" Wins Best Student Film at DSFF

"Russell" wins Best Student Film at the DSFF

Congratulations to the makers of Russell, the short VFX film created by students at Escape Studios, which has won Best Student Film at the Dreamer's Short Film Festival. 

Russell was written by Scott Middleton and Liam Martin, directed by Scott Middleton and produced by Gary Roche.  

Russell was created as part of PR6001, a Studio Module in which animation and VFX students join forces to create a VFX project over 12 weeks.  

Russell tells the story of a curious hedgehog who dreams of flight. This is its fourth festival award. 

71 Escapees on Oscar-Nominated Films

Escapees at The 2022 Academy Awards

No less than 71 of our Escapees worked on this year's Oscar-nominated films. 

Take a look at the infographic on the left to see which films our Escapees worked on.

For example, 36 Escapees worked on the latest intallment of the Bond series - No Time To Die

Rookies 2022 - Deadline 1st June

2022 Rookies Now Open

At Escape Studios we encourage all of our students to enter The Rookies Awards, the international competition for young creatives. The deadline to enter this year is 1st June 2022.

The Rookies was founded in 2009 to "showcase the most talented student designers, illustrators, film makers, animators, developers, digital artists, and launch them into the career of their dreams."

This year the deadline is 1st June 2022, so there is plenty of time to polish your work and enter the competition.

"Vivi Ossa" Best Micro Short at Dreamachine

Vivi Ossa Best Micro Short at Dreamachine Fest

Many congratulations to the makers of "Vivi Ossa", which has won "Best Micro Short" at the Dreamachine Film Festival.

Directed by Callum Walters and produced by Matthew Wight, Vivi Ossa (Latin for "living bones") is a short film about a museum visitor who brings ancient bones to life through the power of music. Vivi Ossa has already won many festival awards.