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Last night we hosted an event in our Santa Monica studio with our friends from a52 and the Chaos Group. Andy Hall and Kirk Shintani from a52 showed us some amazing commercials they created for the holidays for the Red Cross. The campaign, called "Holiday Giving with Fred" looks like it was shot stop-motion, but in reality it's entirely CG. They shared all of the behind-the-scenes details, including the tools and techniques they used. We got a special treat at the end when they shared a commercial they recently completed for VISA for the Olympics. Using old footage from past Olympic races - which cannot be altered in any way - they created slow motion scenes where four athletes win their respective races. Those sequences look completely real, though they're entirely CG. The spot is gorgeous and inspiring.

Don't miss out on your chance to win a free V-Ray license at our upcoming event at our Santa Monica studio on Thursday May 17th. Join us as we host an evening with Director Andy Hall from a52 and Lon Grohs from Chaos Group. Andy will be showing us some cool, award-winning commercials he recently directed for the Red Cross. They look like they were shot stop-motion, but amazingly, they're entirely CG. He'll show us some breakdowns and give us all the behind-the-scenes details, including how he used Chaos Group's V-ray software to create the spots. Then, Lon will tell us about the recent upgrades to V-Ray and how you can utilize it for your own projects. He'll also be giving away a free V-ray license to one lucky winner!

This month's intermediate level tutorial shows you how to create a mass of scurrying scarab beetles similar to those you’ve seen in "The Mummy" films. Our VFX instructor Dan Shutt will demonstrate how to animate hundreds of scarab beetles using a combination of goal objects and particle instancing. It's a more advanced tutorial, but once you learn it you'll be able to apply the technique to other objects. And, once you show this mastery on your reel, your work will surely stand out from the rest.

Summer is almost here, so what will YOU be doing during summer vacation? Watching TV? Surfing the internet? Hanging out all day at Starbuck's?

I'm not a kid anymore, but I do end up seeing a lot of kid's movies since my daughters LOVE to see movies at the theatre. I honestly don't usually look forward to seeing most of them but there is one in particular that looks both funny and visually interesting: The Pirates! Band of Misfits from Aardman Animations and Sony Pictures Animation. It doesn't open here in LA until the end of April, but I'm really looking forward to it. Check out this 'making-of' video and you too will be impressed by all of the imagination, creativity and time that went into making this film.  

Finding the cash required to make your dream of working in VFX a reality can sometimes be difficult. That’s why we’ve come up with a way for you to finance your courses at Escape Studios in a way that’s easier on your wallet. After all, it would be a shame to miss out on your life long dreams just because you don’t have immediate access to cash.