Free Rigs, Sets & Props at Escape in UG Shares

Character in a Cartoony Landscape by Jamie Floodgate

Escape Studios' students can now access a very wide variety of production assets, including many production rigs from our students' short films, all now available at UG/Shares on the main drive. 

UG Shares is where we keep most of our production assets, including rigs, sets and props for student use.  Looking for a cartoony landscape, a friendly cartoon cat, a robot or a prison cell?  We've got an asset for you.

"Punch" Best Director in San Francisco Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Punch", an animated short film created at Escape Studios, which has won "Best Male Director" at the San Francisco Indie Short festival.

"Punch" was written and directed by Niccolo Smaldone, and produced by Stevie Stedman.  The original score was composed by Stuart Bramwell. 

Golden Acorn Wins Best Trailer at HEI Fest

Many congratulations to the makers of "The Golden Acorn", which has won an award for Best Trailer at the Art Film Awards.

"The Golden Acorn" is a movie trailer completed by 2nd year undergraduate Escape Studios Animation students, written & directed by Maciej Osuch, edited & produced by Miguel Teixeira. 

In The Golden Acorn a detective duo team up in NutTown to defeat the evil squirrel crime boss. Two agents, one nutcase. 

Simone Giampaolo Oscar Shortlist Q&A

Escape Studios' tutor Simone Giampaolo is hosting a free Q&Q tomorrow Friday 28 January at 7pm GMT about his Oscar-Shortlisted short film "Only a Child", a "visual poem" created by over 20 animation directors.

"Only a Child" is a short film based on the words spoken by the then 12 year-old Severn Cullis-Suzuki at the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, in which she made a plea in verse to world leaders for better environmental protection. 

March of the Potguins Best VFX at HEI Fest

"March of the Potguins" wins Best VFX at HEI Fest

Congratulations to the makers of March of the Potguins, directed by Michael Vodden and produced by Daniel Brooks, which has won an award for Best VFX at the Heart of Europe Film Festival (HEI).

March of the Potguins is about two penguin salt & pepper pots who embark on an epic journey across the kitchen counter top.  March of the Potguins has won many festival awards. 

Video Retrospectives at Escape Studios

At the end of most of our undergraduate modules at Escape Studios our students write a retrospective of approximately 2,400 words. Students must explain how they approached the practical work in the module, what they learned, and how they might perform a similar task better the next time around. The idea is to reflect on their performance, analyse what went wrong, celebrate what went right, and draw conclusions from the process.  Lately we've been exploring some alternative methods of creating a retrospective, either by writing a blog or - as in the case of Ross Green's Video Retrospective above - cutting a video.

Last Call for UCAS! 26 January 2022

UCAS - time to apply

Last Call for UCAS applications for Escape Studios - the deadline to apply is tomorrow, January 26.  

If you are thinking of applying to Escape Studios to study the Art of 3D Animation, Games or Visual effects, it's time to get your application in through UCAS. 

Escape Students Finalists in Rookies Contest

Knight Spider Contest Finalists

Once again our students have turned in a great performance for "The Rookies", the international VFX organisation which last year organised a global animation contest for their new "Knight Spider" rig, which you can find here. 

The Knight Spider Challenge opened on 24 September 2021, and closed on 14 January 2022.

We're delighted to announce that four of the ten finalists are students at Escape Studios. This is an amazing result - no other school succeeded in getting more than one name onto the board. 

Many congratulations to Eren Arnold, Matdawna J. Philipp, Wiktor Brodowski and Anthony Sarmiento on making it to the finals of the Knight Spider Challenge.

All About "The Art of The Title"

artofthetitle.com

Part of making any film is thinking about titles, and typography.  A good title sets the tone and style for the forthcoming film.

For all our students working on titles and title sequences for their short films, we recommend visiting theartofthetitle.com, a website dedicated entirely to the art and craft of movie titles.

Kiwi's Dream Best Micro Short at GNIFF

Kiwi's Dream wins Best Micro Short at Golden Nugget

Congratulations to the makers of "Kiwi's Dream", which has won Best Micro Short at the Golden Nugget International Film Festival. 

Directed by Paloma Zhu and produced by Daniel Rowe, Kiwi's Dream was based on an original concept by Freddie Belsom about an origami kiwi who dreams of flying in the clouds. It has won many festival awards. 

Ben Gardener Storyboard Artist at Brown Bag

Ben Gardener

We're delighted to congratulate Escapee Ben Gardener who is currently working at Brown Bag Animation as a Storyboard Revisionist.

Ben took our evening class in storyboarding with industry veteran Francesca "Chess" Adams and built up a storyboard portfolio over the duration of the course.

Storyboarding is a growing part of the UK animation industry, as studios develop more in-house content for the expanding creative industries.

Why Animators Need Sound Design

A sound designer at work

Animators need sound design. If you're working on a short film, sound design is a necessary part of the animatic you will put together to test out your work. 

Sound design includes voices, narration, sound effects (such as foley), and music. 

How these get combined together is part of the art and craft of film-making, and must be done before animation begins. 

Pet Shop Wins Best Trailer at Golden Nugget

Pet Shop wins Best Trailer at Golden Nugget Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Pet Shop", which has won an award for "Best Trailer" at the Golden Nugget International Film Festival.

Directed by Shauna Ludgate and Produced by Emmanouil "Manos" Zervoudakis,  "Pet Shop" is a story about animals in a pet shop who long to find a home.  It has won many festival awards. 

Amarok Wins Best Trailer at Golden Eagle

"Amarok" wins Best Trailer at the Golden Eagle Fest

Congratulations to the makers of "Amarok", which has won Best Trailer at the Golden Eagle Film Awards.

Amarok was written and directed by Shenaaz Suliman and produced by Josiah Martin-Lofters.  

Amarok tells the story of a First Nations police detective in a remote town in Northern Canada where a curfew is imposed as a killer wolf stalks the community. Amarok has won many festival awards. 

Escape Studios Saturday Club is Back

Escape Studios Saturday Club, part of the National Saturday Club Campaign, is back.

Saturday Club starts up in January 2022; you can register your interest here.

Saturday Club is open to students between the ages of 13-16, and aims to give them a taste of life in the creative industries, such as animation, visual effects and games.

We especially welcome students from disadvantaged backgrounds, many of whom lack the opportunity at school to tackle creative subjects.

Over Under Best No Budget at Dreamer's Fest

Many congratulations to the makers of "Over Under" , which has won an award for "Best No Budget Film" at the Dreamer's Film Fest.

This is the latest award for Over Under, a short fantasy sci-fi film directed by Lucy Harris and produced by Aidan Lonergan, as part of their graduation year Studio Project.

Sasha Fusini Storyboard Artist at Blue Zoo

Sasha Fusini

We're delighted to congratulate Escapee Sasha Fusini who is currently working at Blue Zoo Animation as a storyboard revisionist.

Sasha took our evening class in storyboarding with industry veteran Francesca "Chess" Adams and built up a storyboard portfolio over the duration of the course.

Storyboarding is a growing part of the UK animation industry, as studios develop more in-house content for the expanding creative industries.

Escape Studios "2D Pathway" for Animation

Animation in Toonboom Harmony by Lilian Fu

Escape Studios is delighted to announce our new "2D Animation Pathway" for our undergraduate animation students studying The Art of Computer 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 new software such as ToonBoom Harmony.

Steve Sole Teaches Production Design Jan 24

Steve Sole...and Mr Bean 

On Monday 24th January 2022 we welcome back designer & visual development artist Steven Sole to teach the fundamentals of Production design, starting at 9.30am. 

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

Steven Sole comes to us from Framestore and also from Tiger Aspect Productions, where he was Art Director on the hit series Mr Bean.  To see Steven's design work, visit his official site.

"Planet Mars" Best Cinematography at GNIFF

Planet Mars Best Cinematography at Golden Nugget Fest

Congratulations to the creators of the animated short mockumentary  "Planet Mars", which has won another festival award - Best Cinematography at the Golden Nugget International Film Festival.  

Directed by Escapee Sebastian Kuder, and produced by Katerina Zacharakis, Planet Mars was a Studio Project completed by second year animation students at Escape Studios. It has won many festival awards.