Forget microscopic hyper intelligent computer chips. modern technology? I laugh in the face of modern technology (for a moment anyway) - you will too after watching some of these mechanical toys from yesteryear, they are simply amazing

I caught up with escapee Paul Daiko this week, upon his appointment at world renowned post-house, MPC London.

The VFX industry has emerged to become the most fervent, vibrant and limitless creative platforms of the 21^st century, and has created a world where, equipped with the right skills and determination, the phrase ‘the sky is the limit’ is rarely an understatement.  

How does someone go about getting a Junior Compositor role at an international VFX studio like The Mill? Well in this month’s tutorial Simon Richardson reveals how it all started for him. From experimenting with Adobe’s After Effects at University, Simon was introduced to basic keying techniques in a layer based system. And this was when the seed was planted that would flourish into him conquering NUKE, and working at one of the top VFX studios in the world.

Another month and a half has flown by, and this afternoon we hosted the end-of-course presentation for our latest round of escapees. Gathered in our breakout space, the afternoon has been filled with laughter and applause. The quality of work on show has been, as ever, astonishing—it never ceases to amaze just how far our students progress in such a short period of time; and we feel confident these bright young things now stand in good stead to polish up those all-important industry-cracking showreels.

As you probably know Escape Studios organised and hosted the UK’s first VFX Festival last week with events, seminars and master classes taking place across London. The VFX Festival went down an absolute storm and was a fantastic platform to demonstrate the success of the UK’s ever-expanding visual effects industry.

Anyone who knows Escape Studios will know how valued our Studio Assistants are. Representing the heart of Escape, they keep this VFX academy a well-oiled machine. From supporting current students with their projects, making sure deliveries go out on time, to editing showreel videos, no job is too big or too small. And in return they are in the best place to ready their showreels for that next step in to the CG industry.

Step into the mind-blowing world of VFX with The VFX Festival! Escape Studios has created the first ever four-day festival exploring the breathtaking world of visual effects, held in London on 10th-13th October.

Celebrating a decade of UK visual effects, the festival will be packed with the most respected VFX talent, visionaries and companies who have helped shape the industry. Offering inspirational insight behind the clever trickery in this booming VFX industry, with an exciting four-day programme packed with insider knowledge and information, showreel demos, hands-on workshops and exclusive premieres, it's perfect for those with a creative talent or thirst to develop their VFX Career.

Ever peered out of your window and imagined ginormous mega-robots having a scrap on the quiet road below? Well now you can forget imagining and actually watch the drama unfold on your very own computer screen, thanks to this nifty online tool.

A few weeks back, August 14^th, we said our farewells to another class of Compositing graduates, ready to embark on a professional career in VFX. An exciting day for all involved, we had the opportunity to check out their end of course projects. Presented to tutors as well as fellow students, each project got some constructive feedback from the pros on where improvements could be made, and where their talents excelled.