This is just a little reminder that the release of Adobe CS6 is just around the corner, but for those of you itching to upgrade, you should think about getting round to it soon. Adobe are currently running a pretty good upgrade promotion that will keep you up-to-date with the latest and greatest features in Adobe Creative Suites. When you buy a full CS5.5 license between now and May 6^th, you get an upgrade to CS6 absolutely free. Just to be clear, this will also save you money, as the CS6 price will undoubtedly be significantly higher. That’s a good incentive if ever I heard one, for upgrading now!

A recent venture undertaken here at Escape was to invite established post production houses in Soho to coach our students, to offer them direct feedback on their work here at our studio, and subsequently helping them prepare for what is expected once they enter the industry. On Thursday, 12^th April 2012, the alumni class of Studio 5 attended the final coaching session with Framestore commercials, where they got to present their ‘end of course’ project to the VFX producers for feedback. Charles Downman was among the group presenting work that day, and here’s what he had to say about the experience...

So we have a new class of students for the Visual Effects Production course and I thought I’d quickly run through what this class has been up to recently and where they’re at now in their studies. We are currently on week four and they have just started their first major project after covering the ins and outs of Maya (the industry go-to package in VFX). So far, we have covered modelling, UV’ing, texturing, some lighting and rendering and a bit of Photoshop just to mix it up a bit. To put all they have learnt into practice, they have been asked to create a CG object, integrate it into a backplate and to make it look photo-realistic.

Welcome to the Studio Assistant workshop, with Ashley Miles and Brad Collier-Brown, and here's our debut issue. As studio assistants, our main job is to make sure both students and escapees are getting the most out of the Escape Studios experience, which involves answering a lot of weird and wonderful questions. We thought it'd be a good idea if we blogged a few of the most common queries and solutions every week, so you guys at home could learn a little something from us too.

Here is an amazing chap called Michael Hansmeyer. Michael studied as an architect and programmer. He explores the use of algorithms and computation to generate architectural forms for artistic and commercial purposes.

The images of the forms that he creates are very intricate and beautiful...check them out.

Since its official release last month, HIERO 1.0 has been wowing the post-production industry as it is introduced to top studios here in the UK and worldwide. This is the new project management, conform and review application from The Foundry, and like their other tools, this software is going to dramatically change the way you work, for the better.

Following the recent release of ZBrush 4R3, we are running a webinar on May 10^th, 2012, that will present some of the more important new features now available in this 3D modelling software. We have invited the development team at Pixologic to show off what makes this new version even greater.

Industry proven among some great names in the VFX industry, SCRATCH has played a significant role for an impressive list of film and documentary titles. Developed by software vendor, ASSIMILATE Inc., it is the highly flexible and comprehensive tool for digital workflows, giving you a range of features at your disposal. SCRATCH can manage dailies, versioning, conform, colour grading and finishing all within one application. Often referred to as a ‘post-house in a box’, this tool has a great many qualities to impress.

Last night, Thursday 29^th March, was the Art of 3D Visualisation event at the Barbican Centre, and we’re delighted to report it was a great success. To start with, the setting was spectacular. The Barbican is an inspiring setting for architectural design. The event kicked off in the conservatory terrace, a hidden treasure in the heart of the Barbican and a lavish space with a back drop of decorative tropical plants. This time was spent wisely, arming ourselves with a cold drink the proceedings moved to Cinema 3 where we and our guests were treated to four presentations from five fantastic speakers.

Most people will credit Photoshop as the most used and versatile tool in the graphics industry, and now the mighty adobe have launched a public beta. You can download it from here and away you go.