We had an enquiry from one of our online students asking if she could view our online courseware on an iPad via the Skyfire app to view flash content... As we have not yet worked on mobile releases of our learning system (busy building fab courses), I thought I would take a look at it as I was kind of intrigued.

So I invest my £2.99 and loaded her up! I was amazed I could get in to our system and play the video content! Sadly my joy soon tempered when I could not make out the text in the 3DS Max interface. #disappointed!

The loading was also a little clunky to be honest, you would select a video to view and it would load a little window in the bottom left hand of the screen and find the video. Not elegant.

Not to be beaten I decided to look at some additional apps. Whilst I am sure there are others I came across iSwifter. It was also cheaper at £1.79 ;-)

So I was again a little disappointed, this time with the speed of scrolling in our system... However - once I played a video it was seamless, no drop outs excellent quality and I was really very happy with the results.

Whilst we do not 'officially support' the iPad or mobile devices, I now know at least I can grab iSwifter and load up a video with my iPad. If you do have an iPad and want to try this out iSwifter do allow you to take a peak so why not grab one of our free tutorials and give it a go?

Have a great weekend everyone.

No doubt you’ve heard about Rockstar’s latest release LA Noire - apparently a completely new type of video game. Up until recently, most games have been all about hand eye co-ordination but in LA Noire, which is set in the late 40s, the main skill is about being able to judge body language and characters’ faces to figure out if they’re lying or not - or ‘emotional perception’ as some are calling it.

Are you looking for something to do this summer? Ever heard of StudioAKA? They are a London based multi-BAFTA winning animation production company, known world-wide for their amazing innovative work. And they may want you for the Summer!

They are looking for a bright spark to work in the field of DB & pipeline development (within June to August).

In recent years we’ve seen massive leaps forward in entertainment technology. 3D TV is all the rage and the release of the Nintendo 3DS has given us our first, glasses-free, 3D console. But what does this advance in entertainment technology mean for the Visual Effects industry? According to the latest statistics, the industry in India is set to grow at 18.5% a year - in short, it’s a great time to be working in VFX and 3D in the Indian subcontinent.

The students on our Mentored Courses have been talking to us about their experiences through out their study with us and we thought we'd share their feedback with you. 

Silent Studios are by no means a big company. As a team of four, they are a tight knit unit comprising a Creative Director, a Music Director, an Art Director/Designer and a Composer. However, they have certainly made some noise (quite literally) in the world of digital media. The Creative Director, Nathan Prince, came to Escape Studios to talk to our classroom students about digital media and how CG is playing a massive role in what they do every day. Liam described Silent Studios as a design and music partnership that blends moving image, creative direction, graphic design, installation and musical composition. A little bit of everything then.

We’re always pleased when our students start work in the industry working for their dream company or in their dream job. That dream recently became reality for Ben Cantor. 

Since winning our 2010 CG Whiz competition last year Stu Schwartz, Natalie Rocks and Justyna Galka have been on a world wind of activities.  Stu wrote a blog recently about how excited he is to start studying with us in our brand new LA campus .  He's also going to continue to blog about his experience on the course throughout his study so make sure you keep and eye out on our blog for that.

Currently wowing audiences everywhere, and hot off the back of its Oscar nominations, Danny Boyle’s latest film 127 Hours is something we’ve been keeping a particular close eye on. Obviously we’re fans of Mr Boyle’s work (personally, I can’t wait to see the Olympic opening ceremony), but in this case we’re more interested in a small team of people working behind the scenes.

Roy Trosh (Head of Technology at The Mill) must be feeling pretty proud of his son James, Television Production student at Bournemouth University. He's the first person in the UK to attach a Go camera to a helium weather balloon and...a toy Robot! The project was initiated as part of a music video but produced some amazing footage of the earth’s curvature, the best bit is that it's being screened on tube station platforms as part of ‘Smile for London’; a campaign to brighten up the commuter's journey to work. James explains: “We attached the rocket and robot to a helium filled weather balloon with a GPS unit and mini HD camera to track and film the flight. The balloon then popped and fell down to earth with a parachute, where we found the robot and camera 11 miles away in a farmer's field.”