Wednesday, 19 April 2023

"Tatty" Wins "Best VFX" at Rohip Film Festival

"Tatty" wins "Best VFX" at the Rohip Film Awards. 
Congratulations to the makers of the VFX short film "Tatty", which has won "Best VFX" at the Rohip International Film Awards. 

Directed by Amelia Watson and produced by Wiktoria Swierk, "Tatty" was a collaboration between undergraduate animation and vfx students at Escape Studios, working together to create an original story.  

This is the latest of many festival awards for Tatty.

Tuesday, 18 April 2023

"Mechamorphosis" Wins 3 Stars Award at BIAFF

"Mechamorphosis" wins "3 Stars Award" at the BIAFF

Congratulations to the makers of "Mechamorphosis", which has won a "3 Stars Award" at the British International Amateur Film Festival.

Mechamorphosis was written and produced by Alberto Scotti and directed by Ilaria Colavito, both of who are now working as Studio Assistants at Escape Studios.  

Animation was completed by Steven Lall.  Hélios Lyons did the sound design and composed the original music.  The project was overseen by Head of Animation Michael Davies

Get "Job Ready" - with the Talent Development Dept

Time for our soon-to-be-graduates to get "Job Ready" - with the Talent Development Dept at Escape Studios. Talent Development are offering our students a series of one-on-one sessions to help get your CV, cover letter, portfolio, Demo Reel and LinkedIn profile into shape - before graduation day.

All these sessions are completely free, and involve a personal look at all the elements needed to succeed in the Creative Industries.  Is your CV short and to the point? Is your animation demo reel polished, and as good as it can be? Is it online, and easy to find?  Have you polished your LinkedIn Profile? 

At Escape Studios we focus on making sure our Escapees are "Studio-Ready Talent", prepared for industry and the needs of the jobs market.  To sign up, follow the QR code on the image on the left. Note that these sessions are for currently enrolled students only.

Monday, 17 April 2023

Introducing "Backtrack"


Introducing "Backtrack" - the latest short film created at Escape Studios.   "Backtrack" is a teaser/trailer for an animated film telling the story of a young athlete who is bullied at school.  Can our hero overcome the odds and win the school track competition?  The Backtrack trailer was directed by Philippa "Pip" Cowen and produced by Sihaam "Simu" Weheliye.

Sunday, 16 April 2023

"Chosen" Wins "3 Stars Award" at 2023 BIAFF

"Chosenwins "3 Stars Award" at BIAFF
Congratulations to Escape Studios animation student Pietro Mingione whose short animated film "Chosen" has won a "3 Stars Award" at the British International Amateur Film Festival. 

Chosen was animated and directed by Escape Studios animation student Pietro Mingione.  "Chosen" is a short animated film about the power of faith.  

Pietro took our MA in 3D Animation at Escape Studios, taught by veteran animator Lee Caller.  

Saturday, 15 April 2023

Steve Sole to Teach 2nd Year Short Film Projects

Steve Sole
On Monday 17th April 2023 we welcome back film-maker, designer & visual development artist Steven Sole to teach our 2nd year undergraduate students, who are currently starting their second group film project at Escape Studios, part of Module PR5001, a Studio Project Module in which students work together as a group to create an original animated short film. 

Our students have five weeks from Monday until the end of the summer term to create a new short film, taking it from pitch to final render, closely mirroring the production pipeline of a real animation studio.

Friday, 14 April 2023

Meet "Squeaky Clean"



Meet "Squeaky Clean", the latest short film created by our second year animation students at Escape Studios.  Squeaky Clean was directed and produced by Luis Yarroll, and co-directed by Amy Little. The Art Director was Samun Garung, the animation lead was David Martin and William Cunningham wrote the original Score.  Squeaky Clean was completed as part of Studio Module PR5001, a collaborative module in which second-year animation students work together on short film projects.

Thursday, 13 April 2023

"Birds Connect Our World" Wins at UAE Film Fest

We're proud to congratulate the makers of the short film "Birds Connect Our World", written, directed and animated by Escapee Wing Lan Lilian Fu, which has won an award for "Best Environmental Short" at the United Arab Emirates International Film Festival.

Lilian Fu took our evening class in animation in ToonBoom HarmonyBirds Connect Our World was animated in Toonboom Harmony; this is its second festival award.

Toonboom Harmony is an increasingly important part of the 2D animation pipeline at Escape Studios; the software allows for artists to combine traditional drawing with a rig-based approach to animation, streamlining the animation process.

Wednesday, 12 April 2023

"Tatty" Wins Hon Mention at Art Film Awards

"Tatty" wins Best Super Short Film (Hon Mention) at AFA
Congratulations to the makers of the VFX short film "Tatty", which has won an Honourable Mention for "Best Super Short Film" at the Art Film Awards. 

Directed by Amelia Watson and produced by Wiktoria Swierk, "Tatty" was a collaboration between undergraduate animation and vfx students at Escape Studios, working together to create an original story.  

This is the latest of many festival awards for Tatty.

Tuesday, 11 April 2023

"Liminal" Wins Best Horror Short in Singapore

"Liminal" wins "Best Horror Short Film" in Singapore
Many congratulations to the makers of "Liminal", which has won "Best Horror Short Film" at the Indo Singapore International Film Festival.

"Liminal" tells the story of a young girl in a hospital ward who is beset by demons of the imagination.  It was written and directed by Zoe Walker, and produced by Alex Sellen.  

This is the latest of many festival awards for Liminal.

Monday, 10 April 2023

"Tech Troubles" Best SciFi at Future of Film Awards

"Tech Troubles" wins "Best SciFi" at Future of Film Awards
Many congratulations to the makers of the VFX short "Tech Troubles", which has won the award for "Best SciFi" at Future of Film Awards

Directed by David Akinyose and produced by Louis Gaffney,  Tech Troubles was a collaboration between undergraduate animation and vfx students, working together to create an original story.  

The score was composed by Ben Salwey

Sunday, 9 April 2023

Cartoon Forum Welcomes the UK to Europe

Cartoon Forum - Toulouse 18-21 September 2023
The European film agency "Cartoon", organisers of "Cartoon Forum" and "Cartoon Movie", has announced that UK animation will return to Cartoon Forum this year in a special initiative titled "Animated UK Meets Europe", led by Animation UK, and supported by the BBC, Disney, and other major UK Partners. 

Saturday, 8 April 2023

"Lucky Break" Wins 5 Stars Award at BIAFF

"Lucky Break" wins Five Stars Award at the BIAFF
Many congratulations to the makers of "Lucky Break", which has won a Five Stars Award at the BIAFF.

Lucky Break was directed by Victoria Stoykova, edited by Rohnak Sharma, and produced by Adewale Ogunbekun

Lucky Break was a collaboration between undergraduate animation and vfx students, working together to create an original story.  

Friday, 7 April 2023

Animation Tax Relief Increased to 39%

One less-reported aspect of the Chancellor's Spring budget was an increase in the tax relief granted by HMRC for UK animation to a generous 39%

This new expanded tax break appears to be in response to lobbying by the UK Creative industries, who have argued that the UK tax credit encourages animation production, and nurtures domestic talent and creativity.

Here at Escape Studios we are delighted that the Government is supporting the UK animation industry, and we welcome the news, which will surely boost UK animation production, and create a jobs pipeline for animation graduates in the UK. 

Thursday, 6 April 2023

Marc Stevenson Ranks No 4 in 11 Second Club


Congratulations to Escape Studios' tutor Marc Stevenson on his successful entry into the March 11 Second Club - you can watch his animation "Horsin' Around" above.  Marc's entry was ranked no 4 in this month's 11 Second Club (out of 126 entries) - a very impressive result.  "The 11 Second Club" competition is a monthly contest in which animators compete to animate the most inventive and entertaining take on a piece of dialogue.

Wednesday, 5 April 2023

Escapee Alex Maynard Animator at Pop Paper City

Alex Maynard joins "Pop Paper City"
Many congratulations to Escapee Alex Maynard who has recently joined Aardman Animation's "Pop Paper City" as an animator.

"Pop Paper City" is a new animated TV series being distributed by Aardman Animations and produced by Lovelove films.

Pop Paper City is a preschool craft TV show. The series focuses on a group of paper friends as they find ways to have fun together by creating new parts of their paper world. 

Alex Maynard contributed to a number of award-winning short films at Escape Studios, including Hannibelle, which he directed.  Alex also contributed to "Freefall" (on which served as Lead Animator and CG Supervisor) "Our Ocean" and "Game Knight".

Tuesday, 4 April 2023

"Tatty" Wins 5 Stars Award at BIAFF

"Tatty" wins "Five Stars Award" at BIAFF
Congratulations to the makers of the VFX short film "Tatty", which has won a "Five Stars Award" at the British International Amateur Film Awards. 

Directed by Amelia Watson and produced by Wiktoria Swierk, "Tatty" was a collaboration between undergraduate animation and vfx students at Escape Studios, working together to create an original story.

This is the latest festival award for Tatty.

Monday, 3 April 2023

"Lucky Break" Wins Best VFX at Future of Film Fest

"Lucky Break" wins Best VFX at Future of Film Awards
Many congratulations to the makers of "Lucky Break", which has won as award for Best VFX at the Future of Film Awards.

Lucky Break was directed by Victoria Stoykova, edited by Rohnak Sharma, and produced by Adewale Ogunbekun.

Lucky Break was a collaboration between undergraduate animation and vfx students, working together to create an original story.  

Sunday, 2 April 2023

"Tech Troubles" Wins 5 Stars Award at 2023 BIAFF

Many congratulations to the makers of the VFX short "Tech Troubles", which has won a "5 Stars Award" at the 2023 British International Animation Film Festival. 

Directed by David Akinyose and produced by Louis Gaffney,  Tech Troubles was a collaboration between undergraduate animation and vfx students, working together to create an original story.  The score was composed by Ben Salwey

Saturday, 1 April 2023

"Giles & Rupert" Wins Best Trailer at VIZ Fest

Giles and Rupert's Prehistoric Predicament - Best Trailer
Congratulations to the makers of Giles and Rupert's Prehistoric Predicament, which has won an award for Best Trailer at the VIZ Film Awards.

Giles and Rupert's Prehistoric Predicament is a teaser/trailer for an original animated TV series created at Escape Studios by director Toby Haslam and producers Samia Chowdhury and Georgia Baird.  Giles and Rupert are Victorian inventors whose time machine invention goes horribly wrong - creating a world of Jurassic trouble.