Okay folks, our Academy Tour is almost upon us; on Wednesday 15^th May Escape Studios will once again open its doors to all you VFX lovers out there wishing to get ahead of the game in the industry.

Those who study VFX, listen up! There are only 2 weeks left to apply for MPC’s ‘Comp Academy' and ‘Global First Step’ internships.

It's very easy to lose creative motivation and it's something every artist will experience at some stage in their career. We all got into Visual Effects to work in a creative career, so why stop living the dream? To remain on the cutting edge of creativity, sometimes you need to take yourself out of your comfort zone and remind yourself of the things in VFX that speak to you the loudest - because ultimately that’s what will drive your best work.

This morning, Escape Relationship Manager Anita Gribble and Head of 2D Davi Stein, took students on a trip to the heart of the West End – to see the newly opened Double Negative facility in Great Portland Street, which opened just 3 months ago! As is always the case with our studio visits, everyone set off early with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and a hunger for adventure.

To get a real good grasp of compositing and the discipline that surrounds it, there’s no better way than seeing the process in action for yourself. And if this is something that sounds right up your street, the only other thing to add is that your guide for this comp session is none other than NUKE devout, Simon Richardson.

Last week we released the dates for upcoming taster courses in Compositing. Due to popular demand we’ve been encouraged to add some additional dates for March.

Lincoln is very much a hit with the award bodies this year. Having only just recently hit the cinemas, the film has already scooped up a Golden Globe and a BAFTA as well as being nominated for 12 Oscars. And although this is all very lovely, we’re more interested in the stunning results achieved by Framestore for this epic biopic. Providing the backdrop of 1865 America, a country ripped in two by civil war, Framestore worked alongside the filmmakers to make a historically accurate recreation that was both invisible and believable. And having already proved their expertise on Spielberg’s previous project War Horse, Framestore have obviously earned the trust and respect of Steven and his team.

The legend that created the lab process of travelling mattes, (that’s blue/green screens to the rest of us) sadly passed away last week, at the grand age of 96.

This rather charismatic chap called Barry has made his very own diorama model of the battle sequence on ice planet Hoth, from the Empire Strikes Back.

My goodness, it’s only January but for games and scifi fans dare I say it, Christmas is coming early.