On 7^th of February 2013, Escape HQ will be welcoming Jakub Krompolc, who is head of rigging at London’s Prime Focus world.

Thanks to the kind people at Rhythm and Hues, who last month gave us some very informative industry info, Ang Lee’s Life of Pi has already made an appearance on the Escape blog. But now we've all seen it, and since it’s received 11 Oscar nominations (not bad eh?) we reckon it’s worth another mention!

VFX fans and readers of WIRED magazine will have noticed a special feature in this month’s edition, as Soho’s VFX teams are made into super heroes by, well, themselves.

Followers of the Escape Blog may remember that last week, we wrote about a few up and coming films due to hit the screen in early 2013. One that caught our eye in particular, was the Tommy Wirkola directed adaptation of the brothers Grimm fairy tale ‘Hansel & Gretel’.

We were quite pleased this week then, as you’d imagine, when another trailer for the movie, (that, by the way, is aptly titled 'Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters') was released as part of a final promotion push by Paramount, before the film’s belated release on the 25^th of January.

The film stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton, and picks up the plot 15 years after the gingerbread house-kidnap trauma, when Hansel and Gretel are fully fledged bounty hunters. Prepare yourself for an array of outrageous weapons, some serious explosions and all enhanced of course by some state of the art 3D!

Having started a VFX course here at Escape Studios, I’m keeping a diary to share with you on how the course is going. Here's my update from week ten!

The height of the Ski season is fast approaching, and with the increasing demand for functional yet fashionable attire, here is something that, just like Eddie the eagle, is sure to take off on the slopes.

It goes without saying that film fans everywhere are looking forward to the release of a vast number of motion pictures in the upcoming year. Over the course of 2012, how many times have we heard the line “I can’t wait for this film to hit cinemas next year!”?

We’re back, and with that we’re preparing some exciting events, bringing you the very best in VFX education. Kicking things off as we mean to continue we're holding a live interview and career talk, and look forward to an exciting 2013 filled with creativity and VFX know-how. We look forward to sharing the latest goings-on within the industry. But most of all, we look forward to seeing what you lovely people are creating or will create with the right training behind you.

Many 3D fans will be aware of the power of Maya, and the influence it has on the world of VFX, from blockbuster films to major games series, Maya is one of the most incredible creative tools on the planet. But like a pack of Arctic Huskies, it demands time and attention if you wish it to take you voyaging across the vast plains of 3D.

Just when you thought Hollywood couldn’t create VFX on a larger scale than Cloverfield or Transformers, this trailer is released, for ‘Pacific Rim’, and it really takes the biscuit!

Directed by the world renowned Guillermo del Toro, this is a tale of wait for it, giant robots made by humans, fighting giant monsters that have arrived through a time portal at the bottom of the sea - Sounds crazy right? Check out this trailer and if you plan to go to see this at the cinema, be sure to prepare yourself for some bone crushingly epic VFX sequences.