We're big fans of IKinema and its unique ability to save artists from the heartache of confronting the tricky and often time-consuming task of motion capture. We came across a great article on the CG Channel blog this week that we just had to share with you all.
The new season of Game of Thrones
Being relatively new to CG and to Escape Studios I am still astounded by the standard of work that comes from our students. Despite studying Media Production at University, where I majored in Scriptwriting, I never knew the actual amount of effort that goes into creating CGI. It gives me a completely new perspective on everything that I watch in the cinema and at home on TV.
Webinar: Explore the New Features Inside ZBrush 4R3
Following the recent release of ZBrush 4R3, we are running a webinar on May 10th, 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.
Upgrade from CS5.5 to Adobe CS6 for Free!
Adobe CS6 is due for release very soon, and for those of you who haven’t already purchased an Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 or a Creative Suite 5.5 component, we recommend you look to do something about it now. Adobe is currently running a promotion that entitles anyone who has upgraded to or purchased CS5.5 between March 26th and May 6th, 2012 to a free CS6 upgrade. The advantages to this are that you pay the current price for the Suite and can request an upgrade to CS6 at no additional cost. If you wait until CS6 ships, you’ll have to pay the CS6 upgrade price, which could be significantly higher.
SCRATCH: An All-In-One Tool for Post-Production Pipelines
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.
IKinema Action 2.0: The Animation Solution Chosen by Lead Studios
IKinema is a UK based company with a great technology for quick full-body solving and animation. Their flagship product, IKinema Action, is a plug-in for Maya that enables artists to rig characters as well as stream, retarget and record motion capture data, in less time. It is also a very cost effective solution.
To the End of an Era!
About 18 months ago I quit my job as a support analyst for IBM, left the comfort of my friends and family in Dublin and moved to London to pursue my dream of working as a visual effects artist in the post production industry.
Great 3D Visualisation Event at the Barbican
Last night, Thursday 29th 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.
HP Next Generation Product Launch
HP recently announced the new Gen 8 technology based on a number of new processors now hitting the market. These include a whole new range of workstations, ProLiant solutions, servers and blade centres.
The HP and DreamWorks Partnership
HP has partnered with DreamWorks since the beginning, helping the business mature into the well-oiled animation machine we know today. HP is responsible for the hardware platforms at the very heart of the company, with a storage infrastructure that allows the team to share data quickly and easily over a global network, as well as state of the art workstations and monitors for creating detailed and realistic effects. In the video above, the team at DreamWorks discuss how HP technology has contributed significantly to the company staying on the cutting edge and how this technology brought to life the 2011 production of Puss in Boots.
The Foundry Release HIERO 1.0
Following an extensive period of beta testing The Foundry release HIERO 1.0. This new project management, conform and review tool is now available for purchase worldwide.
An Exclusive Event on 3D Visualisation
On Thursday 29th March, Escape Studios are hosting an event at the Barbican Centre that will discuss the art of 3d visualisation. Joined by four industry speakers this is an opportunity to discover how professionals in film and other media create stunning as well as captivating animated visuals. The event is aimed at anyone working in the business of 3d visualisation, whether that’s in architecture, design, engineering or media and entertainment. We would like to invite you all to this exclusive event as we expose the creative side of this visual form.
Spot the CG...
After six weeks of intense Maya core, halfway through the VFX Production course, escapees gather in the break out space to present their work to their class colleagues, as well as to view the other studio classes projects.
SideFX Master Class in Houdini at Escape
Around half an hour into the demonstration, after setting up the HUD and preferences, Jeff turned to the group and said, "Now, select your cube, and press the 'Fireball' button, then press play!"
@Escape_Studios Follow: @Spacepilot2000
Five questions finding out more about our Twitter followers, how and why they got started, and what they feel about the industry asked by Social Media Manager @TobyJOYdigital
Pixomondo Pick up VFX Oscar®
Pixomondo’s first Oscar was won for their contribution to Martin Scorcese’s 3D cinematic triumph, Hugo. Visual & Digital Effects Supervisors Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning were there to pick up the award, but the entire Pixomondo worldwide family contributed to the success, including a couple of escapees here in London.
HIERO Launch Party in London
Wednesday 29th of February marks the official release of HIERO, a VFX tool we’ve been lusting over for the past 6 months. Following rigorous beta testing this product is now ready for integration with VFX pipelines around the globe. To give this product the welcome it deserves, The Foundry are hosting launch events in LA, Toronto, Vancouver, New York, London, Paris, Hamburg, Munich and Sydney. Escape Studios are teaming up with The Foundry for the launch in London, an event we hope you can all attend. The event is on Tuesday, 6th March at the VUE Leicester Square, running from 7-9pm, followed by drinks. Registrations will start at 6:15pm so try to get there early to avoid queues.
Framestore Industry Coaching for Escapees
We believe it's crucial for students to not just have a thorough knowledge of work flow and software, but also understand the VFX industry and pipeline where they will work. So during their course we invite established post production houses to coach them, this means they get direct feedback on their work from respected VFX supervisors.
Escapees: Return of the Podi
A couple of weeks ago we announced a reunion of the first Escape Pod from 2005, and last Friday we got them together. Pictured above are the Podi on their return to Escape, from whence they were jettisoned seven years ago.
Greg Malkin of Mars
We heard on the Soho grapevine that escapee Greg Malkin, had been working at Cinesite on John Carter of Mars. So we sent Training Manager Miles Petit rocketing off to catch up with him, to discover how after leaving Escape Studios, he got to Mars.
