Very sad to hear that VFX legend Ray Harryhausen passed away yesterday, at the grand age of 92. Harryhausen created such films as Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and The Clash of the Titans (1981).
VFX vs Motion Graphics
In my early career exploring VFX Vs Motion Graphics; I was very tempted to try my hand at film title sequences. I loved the design aspect, the story telling requirement and strong visuals used to captivate the audience right from the start.
A positive move for a not-so-negative company.
With a plethora of articles lamenting the VFX industry in the western world right now, it’s always a refreshing change to read a story with a more promising outcome.
Escapees add VFX magic to short film & premiere is around the corner!
In the first week of May, escapees and a handful of Escape Studios staff will be joining a number of other film professionals to witness the premiere of “Enchanting Rupert”, a film by Play on Films that has had some magical work done in post, by a selection of escapees.
Just 2 weeks left to apply for MPC internships
Those who study VFX, listen up! There are only 2 weeks left to apply for MPC’s ‘Comp Academy' and ‘Global First Step’ internships.
Escape HQ - April 17th - '2D to 3D' - VFX Legend, Paul Chung.
We’re very happy to announce that in just over a week’s time, (Wednesday April the 17th – pencil it in!) we will have none other than VFX legend Paul Chung here at Escape HQ, presenting at our Open day to a room of eager VFX loving attendees.
GMUNK: Get Creative to Progress Your Career in VFX
It's very easy to lose creative motivation and it's something every artist will experience at some stage in their career. We all got into Visual Effects to work in a creative career, so why stop living the dream? To remain on the cutting edge of creativity, sometimes you need to take yourself out of your comfort zone and remind yourself of the things in VFX that speak to you the loudest - because ultimately that’s what will drive your best work.
"Man it's cool, it's the best thing I've written"
Harry Potter fans (there are a few of them out there) will have to readjust their vision come 2014/15, as it has been announced that Daniel Radcliffe is in final negotiations with 20th Century Fox over playing the lead role of Igor, in an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It is said that production will begin later this year.
A School in the Cloud
Those who watch TED talks, will know that the theme of education has been making regular appearances of late. An emerging theory is that the nurturing of children’s natural curiosity is a way to educate.
New Dates for our Compositing Taster Courses
Last week we released the dates for upcoming taster courses in Compositing. Due to popular demand we’ve been encouraged to add some additional dates for March.
Guess Who?
Although we can’t unveil the name of the top secret industry speaker at our next Academy Tour (on the 6th of March) I insisted that we dispatch a couple of ‘Guess Who?’ Q&A’s to get your minds racing, exciting!
A woman's touch...
The role of Visual Effects Supervisor is hugely important on set as well as during the whole post production process. This person works with both the Director and Clients to convert artistic concepts to stunning visual imagery.
Make 2013 your own! New course dates launched
2013 is set to be a massive year for film, (take a look at our recent blog post to see what cinematic delights we’re yet to sink out teeth into) so why not make it a massive year in film for you too?
Now THAT'S a portfolio!
Tomorrow, Escape Studios will be hosting another industry visit to the heart of Soho, where our friends over at Cinesite will be showing attendees exactly where the lifeblood of UK VFX is pumped from.
An Insight to Industrial Light and Magic
Industrial Light and Magic was created back in 1975 by the legend that is George Lucas, and has kept going ever since, racking up work on over 300 movies to date.
Lee's App of the week: The Walking Dead: Assault
I officially love The Walking Dead but hate the long breaks in between series (can I get an Amen to it's return this month!) so thankfully Skybound - the same company that publishes TWD comics - has produced a top-notch game app to see us through those tough times and give us our zombie slaughtering fixes.
Animation Ireland
And how has this happened? Well a decade of tax breaks and investment basically. Tax breaks to aid production costs and funding for development prior to production from various sources. Very interesting given the impending tax breaks around the corner in the UK. Could this be a new dawn in film and broadcast for us here?
I was amazed by how many companies are turning out real quality work in Ireland. The tax breaks have not affected the passion for excellence. In fact I would say it has merely fuelled it - the companies are competing against eachother to produce the best work. And as the industry steadily grows there are now whispers of full length animated movies being made there.
If you are curious about what has been happening in Ireland check out the Animation Ireland showreel on their website...
Here's something you may not know. Ireland has a booming animation industry. No I didn't know that either until I went to the Cartoon Finance conference in Dublin last year. In fact the animation industry is doing so well, that in the face of the downturn, it has become one of their major exports. At the conference, it was quipped that the animators are now the ones with the proper jobs.
WFTV: Women in Technology Networking
A big thank you to the ladies from WFTV (Women in Film and TV) for organising a networking event last night for women who work in technical roles across film and television. Three of us (Davi Stein, Anita Gribble and myself) from Escape went along to see what was going down! We had a great time meeting women from lots of different fields. Among them was a DOP, a few editors and to our delight two effects TD’s from MPC.
Too much Apple for Ashton Kutcher?
Ashton Kutcher has unveiled that he got himself into a a real pickle, taking on a method actors approach when preparing for his latest role in a film set to hit screens in April 2013, which will follow the life and times of Steve Jobs.