Last month we asked architects and designers to enter a competition to win an HP mobile workstation with V-Ray for 3ds Max software. The competition is now over, and we have to say we were really pleased with the response we had. It was great to see so many excited about the prospect of winning these two powerful technologies. A large number of you got all three answers correct but unfortunately there could be only one winner, and picked at random the winner is Simon Jennings of Jennings Designs, Nottinghamshire.
NUKE Gets Results at Flipbook Studios
Flipbook, the Manchester based animation and VFX boutique studio, are celebrating a second year in business this week. Quite literally two years ago to the date (February 8th 2010) they took on their very first job. Since then Flipbook have grown from strength to strength, and look forward to a prosperous future as they make some significant upgrades in the company’s workflow.
Reach for La Luna
Ever since escapee Afonso Salcedo aka @fonziewonzie, tweeted about a cool Pixar Short animation he worked on called La Luna, I had been extremely keen to see this gem.
Escape Pod Reunion
Back in 2005 Escape Studios took the bold step of not only training CG professionals, but employing those graduates in an experimental outsourcing project, which became known as the Escape Pod.
PC Pro Recommend Boston’s Quattro 1332-T
PC Pro recently took advantage of an exclusive opportunity to test-drive Boston's Quattro 1332-T, a machine that may challenge current misconceptions about micro-servers. The outcome was a positive one, where the team at PC Pro gave it their seal of approval, recommending it an ideal cloud platform. By combining qualities like high server density and low power consumption, this machine may give blade servers a run for their money.
The CAMERATRACKER for AFTER EFFECTS 24hrs Discount Offer
Attention all Adobe After Effects users, today may be your lucky day. The Foundry are running a massive discount on CAMERATRACKER, where you can save over 40% if you purchase a nodelocked version today. This offer is for a limited time, running over the course of January 24th only. The promotion will close at midnight tonight, where ever you are in the world.
Freelancers Wanted Across the Board!
After the usual slow down over the festive & new year period, here at Escape Studios recruitment department we're now experiencing a big surge in demand for freelancers, right across the board.
The Foundry Open Beta for HIERO
This is possibly the moment many of you have been waiting for… HIERO, The Foundry's latest software project, has gone to beta. A closed beta ran over a short period of time for few individuals who got their name on a waiting list nice and early, and from what I’ve heard, they really enjoyed putting it to the test.
What is an '80% Showreel Ready' Shot?
With all the excitement of new courses starting here at Escape in 2012, we’ve not yet had time to share the work that last year's students put together at the end of their courses.
Houdini: The VFX Industry’s Best Kept Secret
A few weeks ago, we posted some details of changes and improvements we were making to our courses. We promised we would be giving details of these improvements soon, and today we are going to be talking to you about Houdini.
10th Annual VES Award Nominations
The Visual Effects Society (VES) are holding their 10th annual awards ceremony very soon, set to define the greatest VFX moments from 2011. Earlier in the week VES released their nominations for this year’s awards, a list that recognises the outstanding VFX achievements across film, animation, television, commercials and games. Regularly referred to as the “Oscars” for the visual effects world, this is a highly prestigious event for VFX professionals internationally. Receiving an award from any of the 23 categories is a great honour.
The Future of 3D Display for Post Production Houses
Good news for people who require outstanding visualisation of their work, because as part of their Digital Signage series our friends at Planar have introduced the Clarity Matrix 3D.
Win an HP Mobile Workstation with V-Ray for 3ds Max Software
For all of you architects and designers out there, we’ve just launched a competition which could see you win the latest kit on the market! In association with HP and Chaos Group we have a much coveted prize up for grabs for one lucky winner who can answer three questions correctly. The successful winner will take home an HP EliteBook laptop with software V-Ray for 3ds Max – two essential tools to compete in a fast paced, competitive industry.
Pixel Palace Artist in Residence: Kelly Richardson
Digital artist Kelly Richardson recently completed an artist’s residency at the Pixel Palace, a new digital media arts programme of the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle upon Tyne. During her time there, she began initial research and production into an ambitious new three projection video installation entitled ‘Mariner 9’. During her residency, the Pixel Palace commissioned a short film about the work being developed where she explains some of her processes and ideas behind the new installation.
iNuked - Part Deux (Read & Write Nodes)
After an incredibly busy couple of months dealing with students' end of courses projects, as well as completing the first shot for my own showreel, I've found the time to work on the next episode of iNuked: my personal project to explore the possibilities of using The Foundry's professional compositing software NUKE, on my MacBook Air.
V-Ray Renders in 3 Seconds on a New BOXX Workstation
We came across this video and just had to share it with you all. Check it out!
Phoenix FD 2.0 Release
Chaos Group recently released Phoenix FD 2.0, the latest version for their grid based simulator. This latest version now comes with liquids, foam & splashes simulation capabilities, a particle shader and GPU preview improvements.
Tweak Software Release RV 3.12.13
Tweak are working hard to develop and expand their powerful playback software, RV-image and sequence viewer. Their latest development comes in the form of RV 3.12.13. With this new version you get all the usual benefits of real time reviewing software, but now with the additional support of Python to make this version the most powerful yet. This new addition to the product has been in beta for a while now, and has benefitted from extensive feedback from customers reporting rough edges and bugs. With this valuable knowledge behind them Tweak are happy to release RV with Python, confident that the results will impress all.
The Future of University Applications Looks Confused
There were a whole raft of announcements and news stories about university applications last week - sadly they didn't get much air time as TV and radio stations remained firmly focused on the state of the Euro. Still, the BBC did publish a few stories which are worthy of further discussion.
Xmas Gift Ideas for CG Geeks
We all know that the geeks will one day inherit the earth, but what do they want for Christmas?... The 'Season of Goodwill' is here, so I thought I would kick it off in style by sharing with you a bunch of sites where you might find the ideal gift for your favourite CG Geek.
