"Death From Above" Wins "Best Adventure"

"Death from Above" Wins "Best Adventure"

Many congratulations to the makers of "Death From Above", which has won an award for "Best Adventure" at the Animafantasia Film Festival.

This is the latest award for "Death From Above" which has also won "Best Trailer" at the Bucharest Short Cut Cinefest, and Best Trailer at the Halicarnassus Film Festival.  Death From Above was directed by Jordan Coles, produced by Callum Wylie, and edited by Daniel Brand-Sinyinza. 

Introducing "The Leaching" by Lee Caller

Meet "The Leaching" - a short teaser/trailer animated by Escape Studios animation tutor Lee Caller.

"The Leaching" is a teaser/trailer for an animated horror film, currently in development. 

Lee Caller, who has a master's degree in animation from Buckinghamshire New University, teaches our Short Course, Advanced Animation, and Animation Masters students. 

Lee is an experienced animator with a natural flair for story telling, camera and animation.  His short film "Jelly Cars" has already won a number of festival awards.  The Leaching is currently being entered into competition in film festivals, and was a finalist at the Prague Film Festival and the Kosice Film Festival.

Four More Awards for "The Witch & the Baby"

The Witch and The Baby by Evgenia Golubeva

Many congratulations to Escapee Evgenia Golubeva, whose short film "The Witch and The Baby" has won four more festival awards.

Evgenia's short film has won the Young Jury Award at the Cardiff Animation Film Festival 2020, Best Short Film for Children at Balkanima Animation Film Festival 2020, The Pink Panda Award for the Best Animation for Kids at the FAB Festival of Animation Berlin 2020, Germany, and Best Animation at the WOFFF Women Over 50 Film Festival 2020.

MA 3D Animation is Back on 15 Feb 2021

"Flame": MA film project

Our MA (Master of Arts) in 3D Animation is back, with a new class starting on 15th February 2021.

The MA in animation will be taught both online and at our mid-town campus at 190 High Holborn in central London.

If you're looking for an animation course that teaches you how to animate to a professional level, and also leads to a formal qualification in the field, then this could be the right course for you.

Moon Rockz Wins "Most Witty Animation"

Moon Rockz "Most Witty Animation" at Animafantasia

We are proud to announce that the short film "Moon Rockz", written and directed by Molly Babington, and produced by Stevie Stedman, has won an award for "Most Witty Animation" at the Animafantasia Film Festival.

This the latest award for "Moon Rockz", which recently won "Best Sci-Fi" at the Flicks Film Festival, and has been a finalist in five other film festivals.  

MA Previs and Story Starts 28 June 2021

Our pioneering Master's Degree course in Previsualisation and Storyboarding - the first of its kind -  is now recruiting for 28th June 2021.

This new degree, first launched in September 2019, is the first-ever master's degree in Previsualisation & Storyboarding, and is taught by industry veteran Iliana Franklin. 

Developed in consultation with industry, and formally validated by the University of Kent, this degree is a unique opportunity to learn industry-level skills and also earn an internationally recognised academic qualification.

Our MA students have been directing award-winning films such as "Moon Rockz", which recently won "Best Sci-Fi" at the Flicks Film Fest, and "Street Ratz", which won Best Trailer at the Vesuvius Film Festival, and Best Trailer at the CFIFF.

Jerich0 Wows at Cartoon Springboard - Variety

"Jerich0" - multiple award-winner

Many congratulations to the makers of Jerich0, the BAFTA-shortlisted short film created at Escape Studios, which impressed the judges at Cartoon Springboard this year. 

The event even made its way into the pages of Variety, with the headline "Animated Short ‘Jerich0’ Series Adaptation Wows at Cartoon Springboard."

According to Variety: "Alumni of London’s elite Escape Studios, writer-director Sarah Andrews and assistant director, animation lead and sound designer Aaron Hopwood, participated in this year’s Cartoon Springboard project pitching sessions, looking to leverage the success of their short student film “Jerich0” into a short form series adaptation."

BA/MArt in Computer Anim Starts Sept 2021

Escape Studios' students at the BFI

Escape Studios is now taking applications for our BA/MArt in computer animation, recruiting for September 2021.

Applications are through UCAS, and you can find out more about the course at the official site here.

Our BA/MArt in animation was launched in 2015, and our first group of animation students graduated in 2019, going on to find jobs and success in the industry. 

Over the past couple of years our students have won multiple awards and prizes, and we are ranked in the Top 5 Animation Schools in the UK for the second year running.  

Hat Shop "Most Awesome Animation" Award

"Hat Shop" wins "Most Awesome Animation"

Congratulations to the makers of "Hat Shop", which has won an award for "Most Awesome Animation" at the Animafantasia Film Festival 2020. 

"Hat Shop" is a short film set in a futuristic robot world, written and directed by Stevie Stedman, produced by Jess Hiles, animation directed by Ross Green. 

Anim Short Course Returns on 15 Feb 2021

Escapee Chan Sagoo worked on Lion King (2019)

Our next animation short course - three months of intensive training in 3D animation - returns on 15th February 2021.

Our 12 week course is aimed at anyone who wants to learn the art and craft of 3D Animation in Maya, and aims to take students to a professional level of skill, making them studio-ready talent.

Taught by veteran animation tutor Lee Caller, our animation is designed to help our students find employment in the rapidly expanding animation and VFX industry.

Quarantine Chorus Wins "Best Covid-19 Film"

Quarantine Chorus - Best Covid-19 film

Many congratulations to the makers of "Quarantine Chorus", which has won an award for "Best Covid-19 Film" at the Marcellus Mini Movie Family Film Festival in Marcellus, New York.

Quarantine Chorus is a short animated film about life under Lockdown, and a celebration of the human spirit. It was directed by Edoardo Sartori and produced by Nickoel Izharudin. 

Spider Animation Workshop at VIEW

Recently we hosted a creature animation workshop at the VIEW Conference, the annual VFX Animation and Games event in Turin, Italy.  This year VIEW took place online, and if you missed the original workshop you can catch up by watching the two-hour video above. The workshop shows students how to animate spiders using Autodesk Maya - demonstrating how to break down complex motion into simple parts to get a sophisticated result.  The tutorial is two hours long and is completely free.  

"Reach" Wins "Most Irresistible Animation"

"Reach" - "Most Irresistible Animation at ISAFF

Congratulations to the makers of "Reach", which has won an award for "Most Irresistible Animation" at the International Student Animafantasia Film Festival 2020. 

"Reach" is a short film directed by third year VFX student Matteo Balduzzi, and produced by Alessandro Cannucciari. It was completed as part of the third year animation Module PR6001,  a Studio Project worth 60 Credits. 

Advanced Animation is Back on 15 Feb 2021

Character Animation by Jamie Floodgate

Advanced Animation is back - starting on 15th February 2021.  Advanced animation is a six week extension of our 12 week short course in animation, and is aimed at students who want to polish and further develop their 3D animation skills.

This six week intensive class builds on the lessons learned in the 12 Week Animation Short Course,  developing and enhancing existing skills, making sure that our students are job-ready by the end of the course.

"Draw" in "Ruy Lopez" Nom at Chess Fest

"Draw" nominated for Ruy Lopez award

Escape Studios is proud to announce that the short film "Draw", directed by Martin Kamminga, has been nominated for a "Ruy Lopez Award" at the Hell Chess festival.  

The Ruy Lopez Award is named after the 16th-century Spanish priest and chess champion Ruy López de Segura.

Animation Evening Class Starts 23 Feb 2021

Dragon animation by Jamie Floodgate

Our 20 week part-time Animation evening class in 3D animation returns on 23 February 2021.

This online class runs for 20 weeks on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 7-10pm. The course starts with animation fundamentals and builds up to complex actions and performances, and a professional level demo reel.

Vivi Ossa "Best One Minute" Film at Varese

"Vivi Ossa" - Best One Minute Film at VIFF

Many congratulations to the makers of "Vivi Ossa", which has won the award for "Best One Minute Film" at the Varese Film Festival in Italy. 

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 several awards, including Best Microfilm at the Golden Nugget Film Festival, the Zero Budget Film Festival, and a "Special Mention" at the London Seasonal Short Film Festival.

Char Design Evening Class Back on 10 May

Steve Sole

Our online Character Design Evening Class is returning to Escape Studios on 10th May 2021.

  
Character Design is an eight week evening class 
taught by a working industry professional; our tutor Steve Sole will guide students through the principles of character design, building up to an industry brief.

Students will learn the basic principles of shape design; how to achieve contrasting characters, how work towards a client brief, and how to put together a "bible" of design information. You can find the official course page here. 

Nefertiti "Most Alluring Animation" at ISAFF

"Most Alluring Animation" - Nefertiti

Congratulations to the makers of "Nefertiti" which has won an award for "Most Alluring Animation"at the International Student Animafantasia Film Festival 2020. 

"Nefertiti" is an animated action-adventure set in an ancient Egyptian tomb.  The film was directed by Eilin Berrio Pena, produced by Priya Shah, and edited by Jack Devereux.

Toonboom Harmony is Back 4 May 2021

Our 2D Animation evening class in Toonboom Harmony with Blue Zoo's Jessie Ilham is back on Wednesday 4 May 2021.

Learn the fundamentals of 2D animation over 10 weeks, one evening a week using Toonboom Harmony, one of the leading software packages for the creation of 2D animation.

In recent years 2D animation has experienced a significant revival, both in the UK and overseas, as Studios such as Blue Zoo, Aardman Animation, and Brown Bag Films adopt the software.