Escape Studios Blog

A Career in VFX… a world of possibility!

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:49:24 +0100

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a career in Visual Effects is far from boring. As far as careers go, this is an industry that keeps us on our toes, offering us a never ending number of new creative project ideas to be realised, fun new problems to be solved and new technologies to be developed. This is an industry that constantly pushes us to learn and discover more.

Yes the Hollywood side of VFX is probably why most of us love working in this industry, but CG artists are putting their skills and knowledge to good use in lots of different areas. And this is what you’ll discover during our webinar with Junior Lighting TD and Escape graduate Alastair Cross next week.

Alastair’s inspiration to move into VFX stemmed from his love for computer graphics. Games and movies were certainly a big driver; but it’s the blend of artistic creativity and technical prowess that keep him continually motivated in his career, along with the sheer range of project opportunities out there.

If you’d like to see another side to VFX and the scope of opportunities available to a skilled CG artist, join Alastair as he shares the story of his career since graduating Escape. Learn how he went from the classroom to being an onset VFX Supervisor for a BP project in a matter of months and how working with boutique VFX facility, Polar Media, led him to an exciting collaboration with MPC.

This webinar takes place on Wednesday 29th May. To join us for this webinar, register here.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:49:31 +0100

So, many of you will be on wind down for the long weekend which is almost upon us, but for us here at Escape it’s business as usual, well, almost...

Our Content Editor, Ash, has employed the skills of some of our Classroom and Online Mentored VFX course graduates to design and create 3D visual effects which will be included in an online tour of our facilities.

Today was the turn of the Breakout Space where they were filming what appears to be a pretty ordinary scene of our students sat drinking coffee and chatting. Naturally the guys are going to work their magic back in the studio and from what I’ve been told it’s going to look pretty damn cool. I’m afraid it’s all very top secret at the moment so you will just have to wait for the finished product to find out exactly what they have in mind.

It wasn’t all work and no play though, as can be seen in this sneaky snap I took of Ash ahem, 'dancing' during a break from filming…

Nice moves Ash!

Creator of VFX Youtube channel 'deepfriedectoplasm' takes on Escape Taster Course!

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:59:17 +0100

Acquiring some VFX skills is a natural path for most people who are currently using all the great tools we have today for video/film production and editing. The technology has matured to the point where we (the average single graphics guy or gal) use it almost on a daily basis.

I started in commercial video production and editing about 10 years ago and in 2009, I woke up one morning and decided to learn Maya by myself (what was I thinking!) I purchased Maya 2009 Student Edition and the book, Mastering Maya 2009 by Eric Keller. I began reading about how to create stuff in Maya. At first, it was like reading a foreign language and I quickly realized that I was going to need some help both visually and instructionally.

The beauty of the internet today is that there are many people out there posting free tutorials to You-Tube and Vimeo as well as speciality tutorial sites for a subscription based fee. I began the process of learning Maya from these people who were kind enough to post tutorials, some of which were great and some that were the absolute worst. Either way, I learned something from all of them regardless of the quality of delivery.

The online learning experience led me to the idea that I could do this in a better way than the content I was finding "willy nilly" on the internet... and I also sensed that I was not the only one finding it difficult to navigate all the random tutorials. So, I established ‘deepfriedectoplasm’ on You-Tube with the idea that my channel could be a Maya only, core concept learning channel for anyone like myself who yearned for a unified "voice" and approach to learning Maya.

After doing a couple of exercises based on information straight out of the Mastering Maya book by Keller, I realized that it is very difficult to deliver a flawless lesson. If the material and delivery are not perfect, the educational experience would suffer, as well as frustrate and alienate the student. So, my philosophy toward creating tutorials is to simply make every one with the idea that this is the first tutorial a student is viewing to learn a core concept in Maya, and NOT assume they know anything about the program as they begin watching a tutorial. I think this approach is why deepfriedectoplasm is a popular You-Tube channel for beginners and intermediate Maya users to learn some cool stuff.

Today, there is a huge wave of people turning to online education in order to learn media production, animation and VFX. The benefits are that you can work at your own pace, on your own time and on your own machine. As well as this, when you are learning from a place like Escape Studios for example, you also have the ability to interface with top notch instructors, tutors and mentors who will answer your questions and give feedback on your work which is extremely beneficial for a superior learning experience. The most frustrating part about learning Maya is not having anyone to ask or answer questions which slows the overall process, and that's the great thing about Escape Studios approach to education, they are simply there when you need them.

My experience so far with the Taster Course has been very enlightening because no matter how much I already know about Maya, there is so much that I don't know and it's a thrill for me to learn new stuff. I originally found Escape Studios while surfing the internet to learn new things. I watched a tutorial by Mark Spevick about how to create a dry ice effect, which is a very difficult effect to create and control. His delivery and teaching style was enough for me to decide right away that he should receive a "Deepfriedectoplasm Award of Excellence in Education". And now, midway into my Teaser Course, I should just give the whole operation an award of some sort as well, because the presentation of everything I have seen so far is spot on! Stay tuned for more about my progress and thoughts as I'm only halfway through the Taster Course! This is good fun!

Sincerely,

Stuart Christensen

Ready, Set, Design.

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:13:27 +0100

Set design is a real passion of mine, and I recently found this great video on the film club website, even though I’m a 3D artist I thoroughly enjoy seeing real models

The host of the video, ‘Film Club’, is a fantastic charity educating and transforming life through film, they set up film clubs in both Primary and Secondary schools across the UK.

This particular video is of a rather inspirational talk from art director Chris Lowe, and answers the question; how does a big blockbuster come together? Often when watching something on the big screen we are left in awe of how a team of people even began to create such a set, and using some of his models from one of his more recent projects 2012’s smash hit Skyfall, he talks students through the process of set creation using to scale models.

Get Me To The Church On Time!

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:29:19 +0100

Escape VFX student receives recognition at BSC Event.

One of the things I like most about my job is being able to interact with the students when they come into the Breakout Space throughout the day. It’s always nice to have a chat with them about how their projects are going or what plans they have after class, especially when I get to discover that one of our very own VFX students, George Zador, has been working on a film which was chosen to be shown at the BSC Young Cinematographer’s Night recently.

The event took place last Wednesday at the Courthouse Double Tree by Hilton, in a rather atmospheric setting of the old courthouse cells. It was an excellent opportunity for any budding cinematographer wishing to network with established BSC members while also giving them a flavour of what their peers are currently up to in the industry and it would seem George is at the head of his game with this latest project!

Ever the modest guy, this wasn’t announced by George in any way, shape or form, it simply came up in the ‘so what are you up to this evening’ chat we tend to have at the end of the day. He worked as the Editor and Sound Mixer on the film, entitled 'Get Me To The Church On Time' and exclusively revealed to me that there are also plans to take it to some rather well known film festivals this summer.

He was unable to share any other information as he has been sworn to secrecy, but rest assured, as soon as there is anything else to report I’ll be the first to know, so watch this space…

Make it Polycount

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:19:59 +0100

As a 3D lover I am also a regular frequenter of Polycount. Some of you out there will no doubt already be familiar with this site, but for those that aren’t – it’s a community of pros and hobbyists that specialise in creating 3D for videogames, and it is always brimming with infatuating content.

2 links on the site have caught my eye of late; the first is this collaboration with ‘Sketchfab’. Sketchfab is a fantastic way to show off your 3d models; and when you post something on polycount you’ll now be able to embed Sketchfab’s viewer and display your work in full 3D – welcome to the future!

The second is Judd Simantov going over some of the rigs for “The Last of Us”, a project that is sure to break a few 3D boundaries in the gaming world upon its release on June 14^th; if you’re even the slightest bit interested in 3D characters then this video is well worth checking out.

The Scouts take on Game Design!

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:02:08 +0100

It’s no longer just about woggles, tying knots and collecting firewood, as the Scouts of America have fully embraced the digital age with perhaps the world's first digital badge of merit!

Getting started young with an eye to CG's place in the economy now and in the future – the Scouts of America have launched an initiative to engage with young enthusiasts interested in CG.

The Boy Scouts had spent 2 years developing their game design badge, and drafted in help from volunteers from the games industry and game enthusiasts across the country, it was unveiled a couple of months back it at the SXSW gaming expo in Austin Texas, and met with a great reception

The Girl Scouts of Los Angeles have teamed up with Women in Games International, to encourage girls to take the route of game design with the incentive of a new badge. They unveiled it a month after their male counterparts.

Amy Allsion, vice president at WIGI commented “Our ultimate goal is to create a STEM-aligned video game badge for the Girl Scouts of the United States of America… creating this badge will get young girls excited in technology and science and let them know that they, too, can have a career in the video game industry.”

We can only hope these changes make waves in the US and are implemented across the pond here in the UK! Bring on the CG!

VFX on your tablet!

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:13:07 +0100

Cinefex, the long standing centre of behind the scenes VFX information is now finally available on the iPad and online, check out the free copy of issue 127.

The edition created for iPad, is jam packed with all the content you’ll find in the print version of the magazine – but this bad boy includes double the amount of photographs (some of which are interactive) allowing the reader to smoothly navigate between plates, comps and elements to see how a VFX shot is constructed – there’s also sure to be video clips and breakdowns included, it’s like tablets were made for this sort of thing!

It gets better too, as the first edition of the tablet-ized magazine is free, with all the previous editions also accessible on the app - check it out!

3D Print your way to your very own Golden Ticket!

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:44:29 +0100

There’s been a lot of controversy recently over the seemingly limitless possibilities to 3D printing, but for every gun that’s created, it looks like there will be hundreds of these bad boys made to level out the playing field of naughty vs nice.

Sugar sculptures. These awesome creations use white sugar as their base material and print the most bizarre looking of 3D structures that are also edible.

This idea was pioneered by a couple who wanted to make their friend a birthday cake but were without an oven, so they began experiments in 3D printing with sugar. The revelation came after their friend’s birthday, but I think it’s safe to say that these will become commonplace at special occasions in the future.

Remember that scene in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where they go into the chocolate room and everything is edible? That’s right people, we’re one step closer to that becoming a reality!

Riding the storm

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:25:11 +0100

Helen Hunt ain’t got nothin’ on me…

Some of you may remember my previous blog anticipating a rather hectic conclusion to last week, with a Graduation, an Open Day and One-Day Taster Courses all in the space of three days my feet hardly touched the ground!

Well, I’m pleased to say it all went without a hitch and I survived - just.

Beer and conversation were flowing well on Wednesday night as we celebrated with our new batch of Escapees in the Breakout Space. Spirits got particularly high as the guys posed for their all-important ‘mug-shot’ against our signature height chart, as is demonstrated rather well below…

Looking good Declan!

Thursday and Friday saw us fill three studios with sold-out Taster Courses and I'm pleased to say that I was among the lucky ones who got to try out the Compositing Course on Friday. I had great fun working on a Dr Who scene in Nuke, learning about slap-comping, pre-multiplication, Nodes and RGB chanels. I don’t think I’ll be pursuing a professional career in 2D but at least I’ll be able to understand some of the conversations I overhear in the BOS now!

After a well-earned rest over the weekend we were straight back into it yesterday morning, welcoming two brand new groups to our VFX and Compositing Courses, so another set of new faces and new names to try to remember, bring it on!

Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore…

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:38:55 +0100

Escape whips up a whirlwind of activity this week.

It certainly felt like the calm before the storm when I came into work on Monday, there was a buzz of energy slowly building through the office in anticipation of what was going to hit us from today onwards. With Clementine Lo guest speaking at our Academy Tour this morning, three courses graduating this afternoon and our One-day Taster Courses taking place tomorrow and Friday I’m going to feel like I’ve been in a twister movie by the weekend!

Next week is a little less hectic so I’m looking forward to a short respite before being whisked off once again the following Wednesday when we welcome Blue Zoo co-founder Tom Box to our studios.

Tom will be our guest speaker at our next Academy Tour on 29^th May, so if you want to know what it takes to set up your own independent, multi BAFTA award winning animation studio then this is the one for you. Make sure you sign up to secure your place and we look forward to seeing you in a fortnight!

Just don’t be surprised if, on arrival, you see a girl wearing ruby slippers wandering around aimlessly repeating “there’s no place like home, there's no place like home”…

How's your trivia?

Mon, 13 May 2013 15:58:20 +0100

Everyone loves a bit of trivia, and for fans of US TV series, here’s a fun trivia site if you want to go above and beyond when it comes to televised entertainment, and learn more about the creators of your favourite shows.

This site 'universeries' has a vast collection of US series collected in a rather visually exciting multi coloured mind map, the site mashes up 3D data visualization with editorial profiles, created for easy browsing - you can click to your heart’s content and get your teeth into the details of the writers of your favourite shows, well worth half an hour – just make sure you get your pen and pad ready so next time you’re viewing, you can refer back to the huge amount of knowledge you’re bound to soak in!

Saddington Baynes heads to L.A.

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:37:07 +0100

Taking newly appointed MD, Jigisha Bouverat along for the ride…

It’s exciting times ahead for the guys at Saddington Baynes who announced recently that they will be opening an office in L.A. this coming June. Formerly Director of Art Production at TBWA/Chiat/Day, Jigisha Bouverat has left her 24 year post to spearhead the imminent launch of the new premises.

Saddington Baynes’ CEO Chris Christodoulou is excited about the new opportunities that will arise from opening a local studio across the pond; “Beyond the great collection of creative agencies out West, there is the technology sector in Silicon Valley and the start-up automotive businesses, the web tech in San Francisco, as well as the entertainment industry. Having a local office means we can more easily reach these sectors.”

We’ve always had an excellent relationship with the guys at SB - some of you may remember the successful Graduate Reunion Party they kindly hosted for us last July - so everyone here at Escape would like to pass on our warmest congratulations to the team and wish them the utmost success!

Iron Man 3 - VFX Straight out of London

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:22:15 +0100

It’s a delight to say that a sizeable chunk of the VFX for Iron Man 3 were produced right here in London, and many of them by our friends at Framestore. Their contribution to the project undeniably creates the all-round key look for the movie.

The third instalment of the Iron man trilogy has been received very well all over the world, directed by Shane Black, this movie is, in Stark’s words… “just good old-fashioned revenge,” which as you can imagine offered a lot of scope for some serious visual action.

VFX Supervisor Chris Townsend commented “This is the second time I've worked with Framestore, and again, it was an absolute pleasure… they have a truly talented group of artists and a dedicated production team and, from the outset, I was impressed with not only their creative solutions, but also attention to detail and the overall quality of work."

You can see the full length trailer for the film above, and keep your eyes peeled over the coming months for what will no doubt some of the most awesome VFX breakdowns of the year. For more information on Framestore’s work on the film –have a look at this article on their site!

MPC comes to Escape

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:12:46 +0100

Okay folks, our Academy Tour is almost upon us; on Wednesday 15^th May Escape Studios will once again open its doors to all you VFX lovers out there wishing to get ahead of the game in the industry.

We’ve been spoiling our attendees recently with special talks from the guys at Framestore, 2d artist Simon Richardson and esteemed animator Paul Chung and I’m pleased to say that this time is no different.

MPC's very own FX TD, Clemetine Lo will be joining us next week to impart her wisdom and share her experience of working in the visual effects industry. With her recent work including blockbusters Prometheus and Jack the Giant Slayer it looks set to be an interesting day, so if you haven’t already bagged yourself a place, sign up here before you miss out!

Ray Harryhausen - A VFX Legend.

Wed, 08 May 2013 10:00:22 +0100

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).

He created his models by hand and shot them frame by frame to create some of the best known battle sequences in 20^th century cinema. An official announcement from the Ray Harryhausen Foundation was released yesterday “Harryhausen's genius was in being able to bring his models alive… whether they were prehistoric dinosaurs or mythological creatures, in Ray's hands they were no longer puppets but became instead characters in their own right”

As well as inspiring such legendary directors as Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Peter Jackson (to name a few) he also inspired a whole generation of VFX artists, and we can’t keep count of how many people we speak to who have entered VFX because they wanted to make skeletons fight! Thanks for the inspiration Mr Harryhausen, rest in peace!

A Deadly Combination!

Tue, 07 May 2013 10:44:43 +0100

In this modern age, the desk of the busy designer is likely to be filled with graphics tablets, laptops and PC’s, and let’s be honest, there is such a thing as too much clutter. But hopefully when this invention hits the design world, things will change!

French designer Amir Labidi has developed a laptop concept with the working title ‘LapTouch’ and it’s designed specifically for the creative community.

Its aim is to combine design functions and thus reduce desktop congestion. Labidi himself is also a user of a graphics tablet and computer; they say necessity is the mother of invention!

Although there are touchpad laptops already on the market, Labidi has formulated his idea with a specific group of people in mind, and its killer feature is a larger removable touchpad which also doubles up as a graphics tablet, saving the user valuable time when they would usually have to move their hands over to the keyboard for navigation.

Until the patent is approved, you creative types will have to stick with the desk clutter, but keep your eyes peeled for this creation - we also have our fingers crossed that it’s not too far away!

Check out the Labidi’s blog for a better look at the prototype!

VFX vs Motion Graphics

Fri, 03 May 2013 10:04:42 +0100

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.

But in the end, my decision to go down the compositing route came down to two basic reasons, a) Because at the time jobs on film titles were far and few between, and b) There were far more innovative techniques being explored in full film visual effects.

I still have that appreciation for the artistry though and how far and creative these people have become, especially in the last few years. I’m always sure to keep my eye out for some cool ones on the big screen! This article in particular caught my eye recently.

What is your favourite film title sequence of all time?

Denmark Invasion!

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:10:48 +0100

Escape takes on a decidedly Nordic air…

We’ve had the pleasure of welcoming 3D College Denmark to our studios this week. Over the last two days the college’s first year VFX and Game Art students have arrived in their droves, eager to find out what delights await them should they decide to continue their studies here after they complete their current courses. The poor guy on the main reception didn’t know what hit him!

Chaperoned by the college’s Senior Advisor/Associate Professor Jacob Honore, the guys and girls joined the Academy Tour yesterday and were lucky enough to catch our guest speaker Simon Richardson in action before taking a peak into one of our Accelerated Classroom sessions.

I have to say I was rather taken by the cool jackets the students were wearing; I’m hoping I might be able to sweet talk Professor Honore into sending me one!

Ladies medium size if you’re reading this Jacob…

McLaren P1 Light Painting Video - Check it out!

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:51:16 +0100

Feast your eyes on the behind the scenes footage of the McLaren P1 Light Painting video.

You may remember the launch in 2012 but I've only come across the 'behind the scenes' footage now and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

This motion light painting film consists of stop-motion, long exposure photography, light painting animation, driven by real-life wind tunnel data and two motion control rigs. It is a photographic technique in which exposures are made by moving a hand-held light source or by moving the camera. Light painting has been around for decades but has never been put into full motion until the last couple of years. And I have a feeling we will be seeing more of this technique in the present and beyond.

Here is what the artists who did the light painting, MarshmallowLaserFeast, and James Medcraft, had to say about it:

“Working with McLaren we were able to process their wind tunnel airflow data and score out paths for individual trails of light. Each frame was then sliced into 650 frames that represent depths of 3D space and a plasma screen, mounted on a motion control rig, was used as a 3D light printer to play back the 650 slices as it moved through the space. We then repeated the move a thousand times for each frame of the animation and with each frame the camera, mounted on another motion control rig, moved a few millimetres so that over the course of the shoot we were able to create the effect of a moving camera.

I'm not sure if you'd agree with me but the result looks sleek, futuristic and simply stunning. The finished video merges photography, sculpture and animation into one neat package. It is a truly unique way of representing the aerodynamics property of the McLaren.

A big shout out to guys in MPC who have worked on this project as well!