Gamescom, Europe's premier gaming event, starts today in Cologne, Germany and will run through until the end of this week (15th - 19th August). With over 275,000 visitors, more than 5,000 journalists and 557 exhibitors from 39 countries, Gamescom is the World's largest games event, uniquely showcasing all interactive game segments from PC and console right through to mobile gaming. This is the place for game devs and manufacturers to make an impression on Europe's tastemakers and games journalists.

Another year another SIGGRAPH and what a packed in week it was. This year, LA didn't just give us earthquakes, heat waves and the biggest burritos known to man but also a full week of presentations from some of the biggest and newest studios plus an exhibition hall packed with the latest technology from around the world.  

Here is a quick summary and a few favourites from last week. These are just some of the things to check out:

Even if you only managed to catch a glimpse of yesterday’s Olympic closing ceremony – there’s no way you couldn’t have been impressed. What a party! From the rollerblading nuns (Surely genius in their own right?), to a bus ride with our very own modern day Willy Wonka, Russell Brand – it was certainly memorable to say the least. Damien Hirst brought the stage together with one of his signature Spin paintings – signalling the importance and influence of British art across the globe. Like religion, it divides and conquers and in this case, it achieved the latter.

The sixth General Parallel File System (GPFS) User Group is set to take place on September 20th at The Bishopswood Golf Club, Bishopswood, Bishopswood Lane, Tadley in Hampshire. 

A short time ago, our current students were treated to a presentation from some chaps from Lexhag Visual Effects. Lexhag are a small post production house with in house grading capabilities and benefit from years of on-set experience to create stunning effects for mid-level tv shows, such as Whitechapel and The Fades. We were visted by Effects Supervisor Alexis Haggar, founder of Lexhag and fellow escapee (from way back when), and Senior Producer Dan Marbrook. They took the time to come exhibit some shows they'd worked on, so the Escape Students could see the quality of work a small studio can produce.

Just before the Olympics started I had heard of rumour that the BBC would be screening some of the sporting events, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies, at its Broadcasting House using some very special technology. As it's a screening you’d be right in assuming that it’s going to be some sort of screen and broadcasting technology. What's so special about this is that the BBC are showing off Super-Hi Vision TV, which is basically a branded way of saying UHDTV. UHDTV in simple terms is 8K television accompanied by 22.2 3D surround sound on a 300 inch screen. There are only 3 cameras functional in the world and are developed by NHK (the Japanese national broadcaster) and they are all in London. NHK have been developing this technology since the 1990's with the aim of creating a camera with a higher level of fidelity than the human eye and a screen that encompasses your entire field of view, and as a result create the ultimate visual experience.

Ladies and Gentlemen, prepare yourselves and dust off your knives and forks as we are happy to announce round two of the Assimilate and Escape Studios Technology BBQ!

On Thursday the 23rd of August at the Shepherd’s Bar we are hosting a second BBQ with Assimilate and HP, but this time we have also partnered up with NVidia and Red Digital Cinema Professional to showcase a SCRATCH turnkey package exclusive to Escape Studios Technology.

At the beginning of the month we gave a little insight into the world of Escape and how our graduation ceremonies work. As mentioned, we assemble all the different graduating classes into our breakout space, where students and tutors watch what each student has worked on during the first, or last, six weeks of their course.

Framestore has partnered with Secret Cinema to create enhanced viewing's of Scott's Prometheus. Secret Cinema has always been known to think outside the box when it comes to how films can be screened, with this box office smash being no different.

Last weekend saw the annual convention ‘Comic Con’ take place in San Diego. The event is always extremely popular as it offers attendees an opportunity to meet directors and actors, witness never before seen footage and be the first to hear about new releases, with this year being no different.