How time flies! 2013 is just around the corner, and what better way to kick start the New Year than by snapping up one of the last remaining spots on our January VFX courses.
All-change at Escape Studios!
Another month and a half has flown by, and this afternoon we hosted the end-of-course presentation for our latest round of escapees. Gathered in our breakout space, the afternoon has been filled with laughter and applause. The quality of work on show has been, as ever, astonishing—it never ceases to amaze just how far our students progress in such a short period of time; and we feel confident these bright young things now stand in good stead to polish up those all-important industry-cracking showreels.
VFX for Production Course… 8 Weeks In!
As a design graduate with 7 years’ experience working within design departments in architecture and retail I spent what time I could learning how to model and animate to create short sequences influenced mainly by films I like. Although fun, learning that way means progress is very slow as is the rate of improvement - at least in my case anyway. I wanted to get better quicker and that's why I signed up for the VFX Production course.
Looking to hire VFX freelancers?
Most people know that Escape Studios is a world class CG Academy as well as a leading supplier of the latest technology and software to the industry. A lesser known fact is that Escape is also a leading Post Production freelancer agency who work with some of the top studios in the world, we understand better than anyone the challenges of resourcing a project.
Happy Birthday Electric Theatre Collective!
We would like wish a big happy first birthday to Electric Theatre Collective who celebrate their first year with some massive success under their belts.
The VFX Festival 2012 - Get your tickets now!
Step into the mind-blowing world of VFX with The VFX Festival! Escape Studios has created the first ever four-day festival exploring the breathtaking world of visual effects, held in London on 10th-13th October.
Celebrating a decade of UK visual effects, the festival will be packed with the most respected VFX talent, visionaries and companies who have helped shape the industry. Offering inspirational insight behind the clever trickery in this booming VFX industry, with an exciting four-day programme packed with insider knowledge and information, showreel demos, hands-on workshops and exclusive premieres, it's perfect for those with a creative talent or thirst to develop their VFX Career.
A-level results 2012: top marks drop for first time in 20 years
A-level results 2012: top marks drop for first time in 20 years
The number of students awarded top marks at A-level has dropped for the first time in 20 years, suggesting the biggest decline in A grades since records began according to the Telegraph.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/9479182/A-level-results-2012-top-marks-drop-for-first-time-in-20-years.html
I’m not sure this is so sensational especially given that the overall pass rate increased for a successive 30th year but the papers have to report it all!
There are always lots of facts and figures banded about when it comes to results and I guess we can get a little lost in them all. However we do know the importance of getting good grades. There is no doubt that it is increasingly more difficult for graduates at any level to find work and the competition for jobs is at its highest level.
It’s also true outside of the mainstream, for our industry, VFX, students want to go to the best Uni’s to learn their trade and need the results to do so. They need to put in those extra hours, take on additional learning and finally focus on their show-reels… These are the ones putting themselves in the strongest position for work in one of the coolest industries on the planet (and beyond)!
Whatever your results today, we send you our best wishes and hope that if gets you your place in University or to whatever path you have chosen. Good Luck!
The number of students awarded top marks at A-level has dropped for the first time in 20 years, suggesting the biggest decline in A grades since records began according to the Telegraph.
A walk on the-not-so-wild side...
Wow. Sometimes you strike it lucky; I certainly did last week when our wonderful PR agency Inkling mentioned they could get me a family ticket to the Wilderness Festival in Oxfordshire at the weekend.
The Daily Grind
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Escape students possess a unique ability to intake an insanely-high level of caffeine. Some claim it assists their CGI wizardry in the classroom, others argue it's due in part to our breakout space housing the largest cappucino machine ever created by mortal hands.
The FREE tutorial for August!
August’s free tutorial goes out to all the Compositors. Take this opportunity to breathe a little life into your projects, using some NUKE trickery. Based on a technique applied while working on Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Compositing tutor and Head of 2D at Escape, Davi Stein looks at how to enhance basic elements within your scene for a more filmic look.
Eye-Eye!
These Autodesk eyeball sweets are causing quite a storm at Escape Studios—not least because a trail of Chinese whispers has led some students to believe we're giving away 'free Autodesk suites' ... awkward!
Also awkward: the look visitors give as you sit casually munching eyeballs, whilst taking a phone call.
A New Look for Escape
To mark Escape's 10 year anniversary we decided to give the office a new look. Some of you who have been to our office may remember the funky brown and orange colour scheme gracing our office walls and the old layout of the desks next to our Reception area. Over the past few weeks the Escape office has dramatically changed and now we have a fresh, chic and very cool colour scheme of metallics and white. We've opened up a new area for our main office space and moved the Tech team into their very own area. There are more changes to come - we've got big ideas for the uninhabited space next to the Reception area plus some trendy furniture is arriving from our LA office.
...New Lands...
Fans of French Electro Duo ‘Justice’ will be content this week as they release the adrenalin fuelled, VFX heavy video for their latest single ‘New Lands’. A brainchild of the bands work with production company ‘CANADA’, this video depicts a violent futuristic combination of American football and baseball, (with some motorbikes thrown in for good measure) VFX company Glassworks Barcelona bring the video to life, with sequences that match, and at some points, (speaking subjectively of course) exceed the excitement of the song.
Escape Studios Graduation Day
Today is a very exciting day for a lot of people here at Escape Studios. Yes, today marks the end of course for a few of our classes (Visual Effects Production and Visual Effects Animation Professional). And to celebrate this graduation day, we thought we’d give a little preview of what we do as a Bon Voyage for our escapees.
Full of E.Motion
On Tuesday, a lucky few of us got to go on a trip that ventured outside of the confines of the Shepherds West building. Drinking more coffee than one body ever needs, we went to do some film and games grade motion capture at the impressive facility at E.Motion.
For all you bears out there...
I came across this video the other day and as well as making me laugh (for quite some time...) it got me thinking. How many film / cinema buff type people exist out there who are secret VFX stars in the making? I'm talking about the naturals here, the people you go to the cinema with who appreciate the stuff that doesn't even cross your mind, or the friend who is an absolute Playstation wizzard. Sometimes, putting two and two together doesn't come easily and associating your love of film or great visual trickery with a career are poles apart. Or sometimes for whatever reason it just isn't possible. Because of family or work commitments maybe becoming the person who's sat behind the cinema screen, rather than someone who's watching it just wasn't an option. So watch the video let us know if the bear is familiar!
Fight! Fight! Fight!
2D or 3D - which camp are you in? This age old fight is battled out by two of our studio assistants and it seems, there is a rather heated argument for both. I'll leave it up to the guys to convince you either way. If however, we can't resolve it in this post, a mud wrestle might be the only answer.
Trading Insider Secrets
Scott Squires, of Industrial Light & Magic, has a blog called Effects Corner. Scott talks everything VFX, from artistry to wages. If you are looking to read the frank ins and outs of the VFX world then Scott’s blog is the place to go. Scott has 35 years’ experience in the industry and has work on film projects like Van Helsing, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Stars Wars: Episode I – Phantom Menace.
His articles are well written and packed full of industry top tips. He talks you through key skills like camera tracking and 3D match-moving as well as providing links to some of the latest visual effects news.
Who's That in the Spotlight?
Every month, Develop review the brightest and best courses and colleges in the world of Computer Graphics. And this week, we've found ourselves in the spotlight!
A Picture Paints a Thousand Words...
Those smiles pretty much tell this story! On 28th of March 2012 one of our Compositing classes had the exciting opportunity of having their work critiqued by two of MPC's finest: Christine Troianello and Doug Larmour and they loved every minute of it. The project they were asked to complete was a 115'" shot requiring both roto and keying which is taught on the course. The assignment was not without its challenges though! They had to deal with heavy motion-blur, integration of the key and the roto, as well as the amount of detail certain parts of the shot required. Toya Drechsler took the time to explain what the whole experience was like.