Escape Studios :: News

Improve your 3D Maya skills with FREE tutorials

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2009-04-07T12:47:35Z

To succeed in the current climate and stay ahead of the game you need to continuously improve your skills. Free tutorials are the most cost effective way to fine tune or broaden your expertise. We are offering you 3 hours of Maya tutorials in our community based online learning system – absolutely free. Unlike a DVD the system lets you ask questions of our tutors and fellow students and search for related videos so you never feel like you’re studying alone. You can sign up and access the free tutorials right away. Click here to start learning…

Landing your dream job during the economic downturn

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2009-04-01T14:59:35Z

All your questions answered by our experts

Joseph Kelly, our Training Manager, and Paul Wilkes, our Recruitment Director, shed light on what you need to do to secure your dream job in these difficult times and answer some of your most frequently asked questions. Whether you are thinking of continuing your studies or re-training altogether, you need sound and practical advice from the people in the know.

Take a look at the advice by downloading this PDF.

Fast track your career with our online visualisation course

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2009-03-23T11:20:37Z

If you’d love to study the V-Ray masterclass, but don't yet have the skills, then our online course for visualisation is the perfect place to get your career started. Under the expert tuition of award winning professional Mike Merron, formerly of the renowned design studio Uniform, you’ll learn the complete fundamentals required by any visualisation artist and will soon be well on the way to success... Learn more about the online Visualisation course.

Hardware & Software Expert Advice

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2009-03-23T10:29:37Z

We supply numerous visualisation companies with the best technology advice and industry standard equipment available, from Foster and Partners and Saddington & Baynes through to Burrows and Vyonyx. Whether you're a fully working studio needing a consultation or an individual who is serious about getting the right equipment for a professional career, we would love to help...

Exclusive short course with V-Ray creator Peter Mitev

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2009-03-16T12:48:43Z

If you want a career in visualisation then you’ll need to be completely proficient in using one of the most celebrated rendering tools on the market, V-Ray. And who better to teach you than acclaimed tutor Rusko Ruskov alongside software creator, Peter Mitev.

'It’s great that Escape encourage high end training to those who are serious about wanting to further their professional career in visualisation' said Mitev: 'It’s an exciting opportunity for users of the software who want to fine tune their expertise, become more employable and ultimately of more value to their company.'

There will be two training sessions - V-Ray for Maya and V-Ray for 3ds Max - and both will be held at Escape Studios' UK based training studios in May this year. Each course promises to be an intensive experience for attendees, and those interested can get a glimpse of what to expect in a free public demo taking place on May 13th.

Click here for more information on this course, or contact Jason our Training Manager.

Get the careers advice you need

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2009-03-13T10:34:21Z

At Escape we want to help you get your computer graphics career on the right track from the start.

If you're undecided as to whether a career in computer graphics is for you then coming along to one of our open day's could be the perfect solution. Our Open Days provide prospective students with the opportunity to take a tour of our facilities and participate in a training session. In addition both training and recruitment staff will be on hand to answer any course or career questions you may have.

Our Recruitment Director Paul Wilkes - who in the last 10 years has placed hundreds of people in jobs - will be able to talk you through opportunities that exist in the world of computer graphics -confirming the skills that companies expect of young professionals and how you can develop them.

You can book to come along to one of our Open Day's, alternatively if you have any questions about your career whether it's training or finding a job, then get in touch.

Escape’s games course with Simon Fenton is just the ticket...

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2009-03-12T10:29:35Z

With the much anticipated launch of games such as Resident Evil 5 and Starcraft 2, the next-gen video games industry is an exciting place to be working right now. And with the well documented skills shortage in the games industry, there’s no better time to train and get your career up and running.

Simon Fenton, games course tutor at Escape knows all too well what is expected of a games artist in the industry having worked at Sony for 10 years: ‘Escape’s games course was designed to achieve the artistic and technical balance that all the major companies require. It's having these skills that will put you on the road to a successful career in games.'

After twelve intensive weeks using industry standard equipment and taught by the best tutors in the business it’s not surprising that our games students are snapped up by the biggest companies; Sony, Rockstar and Rare to name but a few.

The next games course starts 31st March and has just a few places remaining.

To avoid disappointment find out more or reserve your place on the course, please contact Jason our Training Manager.

Luxology release latest version of modo

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2009-03-11T15:01:53Z

Luxology has just launched modo 401 the latest version of modo. modo has been used in films and game production and is quickly becoming a big name in 3D art creation. What additions have been made this latest version? Fur modo 401 adds in fur creation tools which have many applications. Whether it be creating fur, hair, roots, grass or tinsel. It can also be used with sculpting and rendering. Volumetric Lighting Volumetric lighting simulates the effect light has as it hits small particles in the air and forms visible shafts of light. These lights within modo 401 can be textured and are also visible in the Preview Renderer. ReplicatorsReplicators provides a way to get amazing detail and yet still keep your scenes very lightweight compared to using instances. Using modo’s texture layers it is possible to control density, rotation, and size of the replicated mesh. This can be very useful for creating things such as leaves or mechanical welds. Light and ShadowRendering in modo 401 has got numerous enhancements enabling you to create more nuanced and physically-accurate images than ever before. New tools for catching shadows, and creating blurry refractions as seen on frosted glass. By using Anisotropic Direction you can control the orientation of the micro scratches on a surface that spread out specular highlights and blurry reflections. Contact usTo learn more about modo 401 or to purchase modo please contact our Technology Team.

Quick fire interview with professional games tutor Simon Fenton

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2009-03-10T10:34:48Z

What was your favourite Game of 2008 and why?
I finished 'Half-Life 2 episode 2' at the end of 2008 so that should count! This is my favourite game of all time and Valve are my favourite developer.

Tell us a little about your background...
I studied Fine Art at Norwich before making the move into 3D. Soon after, I started running for a post production company called VTR and then got a full time job at a company called Bits Studios, which was great, hard work, but great. After moving on to work at Sony for 10 years on projects such as Kinetic and Home I decided that I wanted to put what I’d learned to good use and started teaching here at Escape Studios.

Which games artists or artists in general inspire you?
Most recently, the game ‘Dead Space’ which artistically, is really impressive. You can take inspiration from anywhere as I do, from painting through to architecture, illustration and film.

What was the main aim when creating the Games course?
This course is designed to get you a job in the industry; it’s as simple as that. We'll teach you the skills that are required by industry, the tips and tricks, work ethic and practice which they will expect. It's important that you become proficient in the technicalities - knowing which buttons to press and when - whilst being confident using software packages which come as standard.. Maya, ZBrush and CrazyBump. Artistic development is equally important, there are set principles which never change and these make up the foundation of our art practice. This is what I love about the games industry, it’s really democratic and if you have a good grasp on what’s required, there’s lots of scope to move around.

What kind of person do you need to be to study on this games course?
Creative and dedicated. You really don’t need to have any prior knowledge about 3D - just the passion for learning it.

What’s so good about being a games artist? What do you need to be prepared for?
It’s inspirational - when you’re working on next gen games you feel part of something important, plus you get paid to be creative doing the thing that you love most. Like any job there are downsides, you need to be prepared for long hours and staying late - I spent many evenings, during my career staying late to debate which shade of blue to use! Its tough - but - if you get to work on the latest games projects out there - it’s the best thing ever.

What video game are you most excited to see in 2009?
'Half-Life 3' - please Valve please! Or 'BioShock 2', 'Ghostbusters' and 'Dead Space' on the Wii...

Which game do you wish you’d thought of?
I like defending the world against aliens and zombies so it has to be 'Resident Evil'.

What advice would you give to someone wanting a career in games?
You first need to decide whether a career in games is really for you. If you’re still unsure about that then speak to someone about what it’s like to work in the industry - and get them to be honest - the highs and the lows. Nothing like first hand experience. If you decide it’s what you want, enrol on a course that’s going to get you where you want to be - as quickly as possible. If you want to be an artist in games then you need to educate yourself in proportion, colour and light and absorb as much information from film, painting and sculpture as you can.

Nice one James! – Escape graduate wins VES award.

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2009-03-05T09:48:31Z

Congratulations are in order for one of our very own escapee’s, James Sindle. James won a much coveted Visual Effects Society award for outstanding animated character in a live action broadcast for a program or commercial for Britvic’s Drench ad. Escape were thrilled when we found out and couldn’t be more proud, Dominic Davenport CEO at Escape Studios said: ‘James is an important member of the escapee community - as one of the original students of our Maya Core course, it’s so good to know that he’s doing what he loves best and being rewarded for it’ We caught up with James during one of his manic working days as 3D supervisor at The Mill to find out what his real reaction was when he found out he’d won: ‘It's great; winning this award means that those long hours are worth it! Escape definitely put me on the right path' We’d like to wish James all the best with his career and have asked him to keep us posted about the latest goings on in the industry. Watch James talking about his time working on the award-winning commercial or, take a look at the course James studied which is now available online.

Get invaluable help from the experts

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2009-01-20T10:49:11Z

At Escape we want to help you get your computer graphics career on the right track from the start. Competition for work in the industry is growing and candidates cannot afford to miss a trick when it comes to the interview itself. So, on February 12th, two of our directors will lead a career advice day, packed with insider knowledge that will make all the difference to you when you apply for a job. Recruitment Director Paul Wilkes - who in the last 10 years has placed hundreds of people in jobs - will highlight the opportunities that exist in the world of computer graphics. He’ll confirm the skills that companies expect of young professionals and how you can develop them. Training Development Director - former Deputy Head of 3D at MPC, Lee Danskin - will outline how to put together the perfect showreel which will help you show prospective employers that you have exactly what they are looking for. By the end of the day you’ll be far better placed to secure interviews, handle them with confidence and effectively demonstrate your talent. The day will take place at Escape Studios in London on February 12th from 10.30am – 3pm. The cost is £25 and lunch will be included. If you’d like to get a significant advantage over other candidates for the perfect job, then drop a line to Rebecca, our Training Operations Manager. Places are limited to 25 and will be taken up quickly so book now and give yourself the best start to your career.

4Talent competition winners win access to Maya Core

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-12-15T17:37:59Z

Earlier this year, Escape Studios ran a competition with 4Talent magazine that offered three individuals the chance to win access to our Maya Core online course, two of them came along to our studios for the day. The main prize winner Richard Phelan (left) also won a place on our Animation course and is pictured with our Training Manager, Jason Jenner (Centre) and second prize winner, Michael Rokes.

‘I am absolutely ecstatic, I never thought that I would be chosen’ said Richard, ‘Being able to study at Escape Studios will be incredible - so many of their graduates have gone on to work in the industry, and are doing what they’ve always wanted, I hope to be one of them.’

The prize winners had to write 50 words on why their passion for computer graphics and animation should win them a place. The two runners’ up Michael Rokes and Rachel Hassler couldn’t believe their luck when they got a call to say they’d won access to Maya Core online.

‘We are both currently employed and so having access to Maya Core online means that we can study at our own pace in our own time. It’s a real privilege to have access to a course that is being adopted by so many companies within the industry.’

Escape Studios Training Development Director and competition Judge, Lee Danskin said: ‘The competition was tough, they had to encapsulate in 50 words a lifetime of passion to be part of this industry - this is what we were looking for, if you have the passion, we can give you the skills to get into the industry’

For more information on forthcoming opportunities at Escape get in touch.

Escape Helps University of West England

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-11-21T11:23:39Z

The University of West England are elated, Escape Studios has provided a complete technology solution for their new animation courses in the School of Creative Arts.

Rachel Robinson, course tutor at UWE said: We want to ensure that our new animation courses are industry quality; Aardman Animation Studios introduced us to Escape - having recently adopted their online learning system - to lend their expertise.’

Ian Costello, Media Resources Manager at UWE said; ‘Escape listened to what we needed and delivered the perfect solution. All of the software and hardware the students will work on has been prescribed and supplied by Escape, plus we have adopted their online learning system, the Maya Core course, so that the students can have a constant industry proven resource.’

Escape Studios’ Business Development Manager, Richard McGuinness added: ‘it’s great to be able to offer Universities the same technology as we do with our professional customers. UWE’s investment in Boxx workstations, Nexsan SATABeast, Pixar’s RenderMan, Pixologic ZBrush and Autodesk’s Maya mean they have the tools industry are using. Our consulting team were able to install the hardware and software in two days to complete the service we provided’

UWE are also the first University to adopt our Maya online courseware following a succession of companies making the investment. They clearly saw the benefits it will give to their students.

For more information on Escape Studios training, software and hardware consultancy please contact our Business Development Manager, Richard McGuinness.

Escape Studios is attending the Autodesk 3December event!

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-11-21T09:52:10Z

Escape Studios is delighted to announce it’s involvement with Autodesk for one of the major CG events of 2008, 3December.The event is taking place on the 3rd of December in London and on the 2nd December in New York and Escape will be at both!

Doors open at 4pm in London and the event is free to all students who register; the evening is set to celebrate the world of CG. There will be a bar and chill out lounge where you can relax and take the time to speak with colleagues. Escape Studios will be showcasing their brand new online learning tool and course Maya Core.

In 3December New York, Escape will present a discussion on how to kick start your career in the computer graphics industry - time yet to be announced - but you can register to attend here.

Dominic Davenport, CEO at Escape Studios said: ‘This couldn’t be a better place for students to get involved and find out exactly what is happening in the industry - the day is designed to help and inform. Escape Studios bases all of its courses on the skills required in the industry and our close ties with Autodesk enable our world class courses to get even better.’

The London event will be held at the New Connaught rooms in Covent Garden and starts at 4pm.The New York event will begin December 2nd 6-9.30 at the Pratt center for Continuing & Professional Studies.

For more information, or to register to attend, please visit the Autodesk website here.

ZBrush Foundation

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-11-17T09:07:25Z

What is ZBrush? ZBrush is a digital sculpting tool that combines 3D/2.5D modelling, texturing and painting. The main difference between ZBrush and more traditional modelling packages is that it is more akin to sculpting. ZBrush is used by many leading industry players in both film and games, so being able to use the software is a key skill when looking to get a head start in the industry. What is taught on the ZBrush course? Our ZBrush Foundation course is the most comprehensive online course currently available. It is aimed at 3D artists and consists of theory and video tutorials covering everything from basic introductions to pipeline examples showing integration with Maya and Photoshop. The course is focused on giving you the skills required by industry – all of our tutors' experience and expertise has been put into providing a truly production focused introduction. How is the course taught? ZBrush Foundation is delivered through our online learning system. The course comprises over 11 hours of HD theory and video tutorials and is completely self paced – so you can stop and start at a time that's convenient for you – you just need a broadband connection. You can ask questions of our tutors and the escapee community at any time; so you'll never feel like you're studying alone. What is Pixologic saying? Martin Knapp, Marketing and Education Director, Pixologic inc.said: "I am very impressed with the quality of ZBrush training Escape has created. The videos are easy to follow and the unique player that allows interaction with the instructors is top notch! I know that ZBrush users new and old will benefit form this training series. I am really looking forward to seeing many more ZBrush training titles from Escape!" Additional Information
Once purchased, you will receive 12 months access to the course after which you can renew your access to the course for 20% of the price. For more information, contact our Training Team.

NVIDIA Quadro CX

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-11-07T10:53:24Z

The NVIDIA® Quadro® CX is the accelerator for Adobe® Creative Suite® 4 giving you the performance, tools, and reliability you need to maximize your creativity. With Quadro CX you can encode your H.264 videos at lightning-fast speeds with the NVIDIA CUDA™-enabled plug-in for Adobe Premiere® Pro CS4, accelerate rendering time for advanced effects, and accurately see what your deliverable will look like with 30-bit color or uncompressed 10-bit/12-bit SDI before final output*. Quadro CX is also engineered and optimized by NVIDIA to ensure your system works when you need it. Plus, Quadro CX is designed and optimized for Adobe for Creative Suite 4. Quadro CX hardware is capable of native 30-bit color DisplayPort output; SDI capability via optional Quadro SDI board and application plug-ins. The Quadro CX is available from £1,169 + VAT, to purchase please contact our Technology Team.

Ben Rollason

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-11-05T14:33:22Z

Featured Artist: Ben Rollason Job title: Senior Motion Graphics/Compositing Artist Recent placements through Escape include: The Mill If you're interest in hiring this artist or someone like them please contact our Recruitment Team.

Aardman adopts Escape Studios' online learning tool

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-10-21T15:35:49Z

Escape Studios today announced that industry-acclaimed animation firm Aardman has selected Escape’s comprehensive, yet easy-to-use Maya courseware and online learning system to augment its in-house computer graphics training program. An exciting addition to Escape Studios’ growing portfolio of prominent industry adopters, Aardman’s announcement comes only three weeks after game developer Rare announced its decision to implement Escape Studios’ online learning system. The online Maya program was developed by Escape’s world-class tutors and features extremely dynamic HD content and an unprecedented learning experience.

“There is a growing need for studios to take a more proactive stance in acquiring the skills they need to remain competitive,” commented Mark Cass, Escape Studios’ Commercial Director. “Unfortunately, entry-level staff is rarely equipped with the hands-on technical experience necessary to ‘hit the ground running’ and bring value to employers. Our online courses are the easiest, most efficient way to gain practical, real-world skills from industry experts. Aardman adopted the courseware because it provides the technical foundations to create superior 3D computer graphics and keep them top-of-mind.”

Escape’s online learning course comprises over 600 video tutorials that can be watched in 720 HD as well as an extensive Q&A tool that ensures learners have vast resources at their disposal, making the system easy as well as comprehensive. The most in-depth online Maya training ever created, Escape Studios’ courseware is designed to take the absolute beginner through to an advanced level, but is also designed to further the knowledge of seasoned professionals. For more information on Escape’s Maya Core online courseware, or to access two-and-a-half hours of free 3D tutorials and courseware, please click here.

“Both Escape and Aardman are excited about this partnership and definitely see it as a step forward for the industry as a whole,” said Alan Short, Head of Department at Aardman CGI. “The modular and customisable approach that Escape has taken allows us to more easily tailor our technical training to the various specific needs of individual artists. We are very much looking forward to using Escape’s online courseware and anticipate it will form part of Aardman’s wider ambitions for training and creative development in the future.”For more information, please contact Marketing.

Rare adopt Escape Studios online Maya course

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-10-01T15:04:30Z

Escape Studios announced today that Rare, one of the world’s foremost games companies has adopted Escapes’ new online CG animation course to form part of the company's continued professional development for employees. The courseware is based on Autodesk's® award winning Maya® software. In an ever demanding industry it’s almost impossible for teams to follow the latest updates and revisions of software and have knowledge across such a broad depth of tools. By adopting the online Escape course Rare will now be able to keep its staff up to date and implement different learning initiatives without the need for DVD resources. Escape’s commercial director Mark Cass says “It’s vital that an artist can get information quickly, when they really need it. The search functionality enables users to easily find what they are looking for, learn what they need and get back to the job in hand. In a working environment the ability to give up hours in training just isn’t possible all the time”. This has been echoed by Rare’s Head of Art, Lee Musgrave, “It took a proper evaluation of the system to appreciate the depth of the content. Escape has covered lots of ground in depth, and the in-built Q&A system takes the learning experience beyond any other delivery mechanism. The online course will enable many of our artists to get a much more rounded view of Maya. Having people 'knowing' other aspects of the software can be very powerful for us. The course solves many training issues for us here at Rare and we are excited about all the new courses currently in development at Escape” The computer graphics school, which is responsible for training some of the world’s best animators and Oscar® winning CG artists, is now hoping this partnership with Rare will help bridge the gap between the competitive games industry and students. New courses that will soon be available from Escape Studios include new courses in VFX, ZBrush, Animation, Characters and Games. For more information please contact Mark Cass our Commericial Director.

Escape launches Online Training Tool!

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-09-09T10:37:10Z

Escape Studios is proud to announce the launch of its revolutionary CG online learning tool.

The online platform allows students to become computer graphics artists from wherever they are in the world. And it promises to open doors into the film, games and animation industries.

Students now have access to world class training in Autodesk Maya at the click of a mouse.

The online training tool allows entry-level students, and anyone wanting to re-train, the ability to learn in their own time and at their own pace, with instant help from Escape's online community.

The option to create a custom course will also appeal to established industry talent who want to develop their skills set, as aspects of the course can be mixed and matched depending on the required focus.

And the system is available to art schools, colleges and universities, where it can be integrated into the curriculum or used as a learning resource for students.

Robin Shenfield, CEO of Oscar-winning The Mill, is a supporter of the school and employs many Escape graduates. "Escape trainees are in a class of their own and well-equipped to enter the working environment. We're looking forward to meeting more of them with the launch of Escape's online learning tool."

Escape Studios' CEO, Dominic Davenport, says: "Training the next generation of CG creatives via the internet is a very exciting development for us and for the industry."

With Escapees already gaining credits on major films including The Golden Compass, 10,000BC, The Chronicles of Narnia:Prince Caspian, and Harry Potter:The Order of the Phoenix, Escape Studios is truly established as your route into the CG industry. And you can now set out on that route from your own home.

There are two and a half hours of 3D tutorials in our tryout course, absolutely free. Why not take a look while you're here!

Autodesk unveil 2009 line up!

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-08-28T08:54:27Z

Ten years since the Maya software industry-redefining launch, Autodesk® Maya® 2009 software continues to push the envelope, with a feature-packed release that responds to the needs of its customers in games, film, television, and design. Addressing the increasingly steep challenges faced today by everyone from artists handling an entire project alone or in a small team to Chief Technology Officers managing a complex production pipeline, Maya 2009 delivers a host of new features and enhancements intended to maximize productivity, optimize workflows, and offer new creative possibilities. Autodesk Maya Complete 2009, Autodesk Maya Unlimited 2009 and Autodesk mental ray 3.7 o Scheduled First Customer Download: 29th September – For maintenance customers. o Scheduled First Customer Shipment: 6th October Autodesk MotionBuilder 2009 o Scheduled First Customer Download & Shipment: 14th October - For maintenance customers Autodesk have now released the latest 3DS Max 2009 and Max Design 2009 Extension. It is called The Creativity Extension. Some key benefits of using this update are listed below: Polygon Modeling: ProOptimizer allows artists to optimise high polygon count 3D Models quickly and intelligently. Advanced Particle Effects: Pflow/Advanced Technology produces faster performance, improved memory management and streamlined workflow. Integrated Audio: ProSound technology allows users to integrate up to 100 audio tracks directly into a scene. Objects inside a scene such as fountains or doors can be assigned sounds. All of your customers that are currently on subscription will be able to download the extension free of charge by logging on to the Subscription Centre. Please note that Service Pack 1 is now available for both flavours of 3ds Max 2009. 3ds Max 2009
3ds Max Design 2009 Please contact our Technology Team

Escape Artists go through the Wrong Door!

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-07-18T17:16:40Z

BBC Comedy has just released details of a brand new comedy sketch show called The Wrong Door. It is set in a parallel universe governed purely on the laws of comedy where special effects roam free and are part of everyday life. With the BBC just round the corner from Escape Studios, they didn’t have to look far for the best hand picked talent.Our recruitment team sent along Mike as the Lead Compositor, Shayne and Patrick as Compositors, Dan as an Animator, and Paul as a CG Artist. Our Escape Artists were snapped up and proved their worth. Escape's recruitment team are on hand to help with any personnel requests companies may have. It has access to the best talent in the industry. Contact Paul our Recruitment Director for more details. If you're an Artist or Animator currently looking for a job please check our CG Jobs Live Search for more details, or contact our Recruitment Team.

Escape Studios becomes Softimage reseller

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-07-03T12:23:48Z

Escape Studios are pleased to announce that it has signed up as a reseller of Softimage products, XSI, Alienbrain and Face Robot.

Mark Pammenter, Director of EMEA for Softimage said
‘Softimage is experiencing a major resurgence due to its focus on the entertainment market and the introduction of new products to enhance 3D pipeline productivity.

We are really excited to have the opportunity to work with Escape Studios. Their reputation for real world expertise is second to none. They have the most experienced sales forces in the industry and we believe this relationship is key to us understanding our customer’s needs.

We are very confident in Escape's ability to help us reach and support the growing market for Softimage XSI'.

Mark Cass, Escape’s Commercial Director added, ‘Escape was set up to serve the needs of our customers, our remit is to provide all the tools that are being used in production today, XSI being specifically one of them'.

For more information please contact our Technology Team

Escape Artists land jobs at games studio Rare!

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-06-26T14:31:08Z

Rare have again come to Escape Studios in search of junior talent to work on a new secret project currently in production. Escape was asked to find a team of able artists to work in-house at Rare for 3 months creating in-game assets. Escape was able to find 7 artists, all of whom have previously taken the 12 week games course, equipping them with the skills required to work in the demanding production environment at Rare's Midlands headquarters. Paul Wilkes, Escape's Recruitment Director, said “We're really pleased to be able to provide Rare with this group of artists. It's a great opportunity for the guys who worked so hard on their courses and a brilliant reflection of the quality of training we're able to provide.” For more information, contact our Recruitment Team.

Ninja Theory unveils techniques used on Heavenly Sword!

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-06-24T16:58:39Z

On Wednesday 13th June Stuart Adcock of Ninja Theory- creators of Heavenly Sword- came to talk to the Escape Studios Games course students about creating the game, next-gen gaming, and his experiences in the industry. Responsible for facial development in the game, Stuart was in an ideal position to give a unique insight into the various innovative and complex techniques used to create the game, and the type of work that our games course students will be engaged on entering the industry. Going through the entire production pipeline, the students enjoyed the talk thoroughly and stayed asking questions well into the evening after the talk had finished. One student, Rian Sturgess, summed it up: “He gave a fantastic insight into the industry, showing us facets that we would never normally cover on the course, like animation in gaming and working with actors.”

Escapees visit the studios of Framestore, The Mill and Blitz!

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-06-24T16:25:56Z

Our relationships within the industry mean that we are often lucky enough to offer our students the chance to get a first hand glimpse into the realm of CG. As we so often say, a course at Escape Studios is not just about the best training but about seeing the industry in action and forging relationships that will benefit your career aspirations. Recently our Visual Effects classes had two afternoons away from Escape visiting top visual effects facilities The Mill and Glassworks. This was followed by a longer trip to Pinewood Studios where they visited Centroid3D, a motion capture studio (pictured). Both the Characters and Animation classes enjoyed a visit to Framestore, where they met with the Oscar-winning team behind the bears in 'The Golden Compass'. They were then fortunate enough to receive a unique presentation on the Emmy-nominated 'Human Body: Pushing the Limits' by Rushes' VFX Technical Director and Escapee Mark Pascoe. Finally, the Games class also received outside influences. The brilliant lecture on facial development techniques from Ninja Theory’s Stuart Adcock was followed swiftly by a day trip to Blitz Games.

Skillset Film Visual Effects course with 100% funding this summer…

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-06-18T16:16:42Z

We are thrilled to announce that the Skillset Film Skills fund have awarded us a new grant as part of their Structured New Entrants Training initiative. As a result of this generosity we will be offering the fantastic opportunity of a 100% funded course to 12 successful candidates totally committed to developing a career in film visual effects. Skillset Visual Effects will be held here at Escape Studios in London and will commence on August 11th 2008. The course will run full-time for 18 weeks, before concluding with a 4 week industry work placement at a major London film facility. In addition to having their fees met, participants on the course will be paid the minimum wage throughout the duration of the course. The 18 week tuition section of the course will teach you everything you need to know in order to combine CG elements with live-action and create professional visual effects shots. Participants on the course will receive thorough training in the use of Maya to create realistic looking 3D elements, before learning all of the camera-tracking, lighting, texturing and 2D compositing techniques used professionally in the visual effects industry. Students will then spend 4 weeks putting their skills to use during a work placement with a film visual effects department.Click here for the application guidelinesClick here for a full course outline
Applications have now closed. Please keep checking the website for future funding opportunities and news on the successful applicants.

Red Vision succeed with Pixar's RenderMan!

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-04-10T14:21:38Z

Back in January 2007, Red Vision were approached to produce the animation for ‘HEADCASES’ a ground-breaking comedy for British broadcaster ITV. After completing a four minute pilot Red Vision received the commission. Needless to say the whole team at Red Vision is proud and very excited about the production.

Escape caught up with Pete Farrer Red Visions (CCO) who gave us a great insight in to the production and specifically how RenderMan was used in production. How many people did it take to make this project happen?In total there was 60 staff (20 permanent & 40 fixed term contracts) working on a variety of programs, Photoshop, Maya, Fusion and RenderMan. How long has it taken?The Pre-production lasted 3 months then the work started in earnest: Modellers started work in August 2007 and animation started in October whilst lighting and render started in late November. Animation and final renders are being delivered throughout right up until the final episode so there is still a lot to produce - also Red Vision are to produce 2 minutes of topical material per week written midweek before TX on the Sunday! Why RenderMan?RenderMan already played a large role in our pipeline. We've become quite dependent on many recent RenderMan features such as fast flexible baking that aren't as accessible or production ready in some other renderers. But perhaps the most important factor was the production schedule. The whole lighting and rendering schedule ran for about 15 weeks over which time we delivered around 2500 shots. So with that much to get through we really couldn't afford to take many chances with the renderer. How did RenderMan help, how was the Pixar'ssupport?Speed was a big factor so effects like baked occlusion became very important. Typically we'd have multiple point clouds for backgrounds and characters. We'd bake anything expensive and keep the pointclouds around on disk just for a few days so that second or third renders of shots would go through much faster.
Pixar's support is always very fast which can be critical if there are any problems. It's so valuable to have the 'basics' covered in such a robust way because it gives everyone the confidence that it’s ok to concentrate on the creative aspects of the lighting and shading. If that weren't the case everyone would just be worrying about getting frames out and nothing else.
In terms of learning RenderMan, did you find it difficult, what was your experience? I wouldn't say any of our crew has struggled getting to grips with RenderMan. In many ways it's actually more straight forward in the sense its way easier for artists to produce very high quality renders. That's in part because RenderMan has a very small number of parameters to control fundamental features. For example high quality antialiasing, smooth subdivs, motion blur, displacement and dof all boil down to tuning ShadingRate and PixelSamples. All of us here at Escape wish Red Vision the very best with this and future productions.

Please contact Escape Studios for more information on RenderMan.

Goal! Escape graduate stays on at The Mill

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-04-02T11:03:01Z

We see our graduates find work all over the place, for companies big and small, and The Mill is one of the latest to recognise the value of our training. The Mill, which has worked on huge projects such as 'Dr Who', 'Torchwood', '28 Weeks Later' and countless adverts, got in touch with Escape’s Jobs team about an ongoing freelance placement. They needed an animator/3D artist and one of our graduates, Sergio Xisto, sprang to mind. Sergio had already done some work in the Escape Pods, our outsourcing facility, so we knew he’d be able to handle whatever The Mill wanted and he was thrown in at the deep end with a massive architectural visualization project they'd been awarded. Well, he must have impressed them because The Mill decided to keep Sergio on and he's worked on serveral projects, currently applying his skills to a Nike commercial matching live football action with CG stadiums and 2D plates of real crowds. Whether you've studied at Escape or not, if you’d like any more information on Escape Jobs then please feel free to contact our Recruitment Team.

Escape Awards winners revealed at Tate Modern ceremony

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-03-26T09:37:56Z

Anyone near the Southbank on the evening of March 27 would have noticed something special going on at Tate Modern as Lord Puttnam hosted the Escape Awards 2008 in partnership with Autodesk and AMD. Key players from some of the biggest companies in Visual Effects, Games and Design Visualisation were on hand to rub shoulders, enjoy a few cocktails and admire the stunning view. However, there was also some serious business to be done as everybody was eager to hear who would take the top spots across the 8 award categories. Just a glimpse at the list of nominees would tell you that the judges had a rather tough time making their decisions and nobody could’ve predicted who’d be taking home the award circuit’s newest and arguably most stylish trophy. Congratulations go to all the winners and a big thank you to all those who entered, judged, sponsored and supported the event. We hope you'd agree that for a fledgling Awards last night's success bodes rather well for the future. We can’t wait to see how next year’s event takes shape.
CG in BroadcastFramestore CFC – Primeval CG in commercials
Glassworks – Ford Flexifuel CG in Film Framestore CFC – The Golden Compass CG in Music Framestore CFC – The Salmon Dance CG in Games Ninja Theory – Heavenly Sword Design Visualisation – Moving Image Uniform – The Crystal Design Visualisation – Still Image Burrows Nvisage - LRX in Piccadilly Circus Student in CG Ian Wharton and Edward Shires - Solar

Escape graduate part of BAFTA winning Framestore team

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-03-04T11:55:24Z

Escape graduate Adam Dewhirst has had a bright start to 2008 by seeing Framestore-CFC pick up two major awards for a project he worked on. The world-famous Special Effects house took both the BAFTA and Oscar for Best Visual Effects for its work on ‘The Golden Compass’. Adam had been called in as a modeller for the bears' armour in the film, creating iconic imagery which has become synonymous with ‘The Golden Compass’. Speaking about his experience Adam said, “I was initially told I would be working on some props and environments but boy am I glad I got the armour. It’s such an intricate part of the film!” “We had moments where we were looking at concepts and had to think if Iorek would be able to move. We had entire meetings over how his armour would link together. It was an incredible process. Seeing it up on the screen was just mind blowing, definitely a highlight of my career.” Adam went on to describe how he heard about the BAFTA and Oscar wins. “I turned over to watch the BAFTAs and suddenly saw my supervisor on screen thanking Framestore-CFC. It was very surreal and I was straight on the phone to my colleagues. It was a great feeling but the Oscar eclipsed even that.” “It’s an awesome feeling to know you were a part of something receiving those kinds of accolades. I'm really proud of the work Framestore-CFC did on Golden Compass, and my role in that.” [Image - Top: Adam with Framestore's BAFTA, Top Right: Lorek's armour/Framestore-CFC, Bottom Right: 'The Golden Compass'/New Line Cinema]

Escape Awards 2008 big name nominees are announced!

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-02-29T17:31:40Z

Entry to the Escape Awards 2008 is closed but even now, over a week before the big night, it looks like it’s been a huge success. The number and quality of the entries has been phenomenal – just take a look at the reel of some of the entrants! The submissions are from some of the industry’s biggest, boldest and most innovative names. Framestore CFC, MPC, Double Negative, The Mill, Ninja Theory and Saddington & Baynes are just a few of the many companies which have put forward their work for the Awards. However, only three from each category could be chosen from close to 200 entries. Below are listed the nominees who’ll be in the running to collect an award at the ceremony held at Tate Modern on 27 March and hosted by David Puttnam (pictured). CG in Broadcast Jellyfish Pictures Carbon Footprint Framestore CFC Primeval The Mill The Last of the Time Lords CG in commercials Glassworks Flexifuel The Mill Tipping point Framestore CFC Sea CG in Film MPC Sunshine MPC Harry Potter and the order of Phoenix Framestore CFC The Golden Compass CG in Music The Mill Ole Black 'n' Blue eyes Framestore CFC The Salmon Dance Flynn Productions The Macabees CG in Games Evolution Studios MotorStorm Rare Viva Piñata Ninja Theory Heavenly Sword Design Visualisation – Moving Image Uniform The Quarter Uniform The Crystal Seymour Powell The Virgin Galactic experience Design Visualisation – Still Image Burrows LRX in Piccadilly Circus Flaming CGI Burj Dubai Hero Shot Zaha Hadid Architects Zaragoza Interior Student in CG Harin Hirani Pedestrian Ian Wharton & Edward Shires Solar James Kearsley & Henry Scholfield The Initiation of Kim Sun Be sure to check back to see who won what on the big night and hear all the gossip from when the industry's movers and shakers got together. Images Right 3rd from Top: Carbon Footprint/Jellyfish Pictures Right 3rd from Bottom: Tipping Point/The Mill Right 2nd from Bottom: Sunshine/MPC Bottom Right: Virgin Galactic experience/Seymour Powell

Lord Puttnam to host 2008 Escape Awards

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-02-19T11:08:43Z

Lord Puttnam has chosen to support the Escape Awards 2008 even further by agreeing to host the ceremony at the Tate Modern on March 27th. Needless to say we are incredibly honoured.

With such an amazing number of exceptional entries the whole event is sure to exceed even our expectations.

The Awards will not only showcase the most provocative and contemporary work produced within the industry but also the brightest young artists at work in CG across the diciplines.

[Top: Lord Puttnam/Open University, Right: Escape Award/Supernatural]

Oscar winners Framestore recruit through Escape!

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-02-15T17:40:02Z

Framestore-CFC has joined the ranks of the big name companies that are looking to Escape for their recruitment needs, and as far as Visual Effects go in Europe they don't get much bigger than Framestore. It has over 20 years of experience in film, an Oscar for its work on 'The Golden Compass', and with projects like 'His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass', 'The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian' and 'Batman: The Dark Knight' in the pipeline it needs artists who are able to jump in on any type of work. That's where Escape helped with its superlative recruitment service. Framestore needed a Camera Tracker who'd be able to get straight to work on a new project. It was a tight deadline, giving us just two days to find the right person for the job but the recruitment team quickly came up with the goods in the guise of Mak Knighton. Mak had actually done some work for Escape a while back so he was known to us as a fantastic animator, compositer and general, all-round handy guy to have on side. Libby Watson at Framestore agreed saying, "We normally try and keep our work in-house but we had a load come in so we decided to bring Mak in and he's been great." For more information, contact our Recruitment Team. [Images - Top: The Golden Compass/New Line, Top Right: PDE4 Altans/Mak Knighton, BCI, Bottom Right: Roman Street/Mak Knighton, Escape Studios]

Skillset Visual Effects Course - apply now

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-02-12T14:13:09Z

We are thrilled to announce that once again, the Skillset Film Skills Fund will be investing in our visual effects training, by offering 100% funding for 12 lucky participants later this year. This fantastic opportunity has been made possible by the award of a new grant from Skillset's Structured New Entrants Training initiative, aimed at supporting the UK film industry with the provision of expertly trained, new talent.

The Skillset Visual Effects course will offer a rich mix of intensive practical training and industry work experience, providing participants with the skills and confidence for career success. Participants will receive comprehensive training in the use of Maya and Nuke and learn all of the camera tracking, lighting and compositing skills needed to create fully integrated visual effects shots to a professional standard.

The course will run for 18 weeks at our London studios, before concluding with a 4 week industry work placement at a film visual effects studio. For all information on how to apply, please see the application guidelines document below. Closing date for applications: August 21st 2009 Skillset Course Breakdown. Skillset Application Guidelines. Skillset Application Form. For further information on any of our courses or to book a place, please contact Jason our Training Manager. Details Location London, UK Format Full Time (Mon - Fri, 10am - 5pm) Duration 22 weeks Software Maya, Photoshop, PFTrack, boujou, HDR Shop, ZBrush, Shake, Nuke Start Dates September 28th 2009* *Please note that there will be a three week break for Christmas commencing December 21st 2009.

Last chance to enter Escape Awards!

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-02-12T10:53:01Z

Entrants beware! Wednesday 13th February, is the final day to submit work to the 2008 Escape Awards. We've already been deluged with entries but there's always room for more, and we wouldn't want anyone to miss out. The Awards are a chance for both professionals and students to show off their work, gain the admiration of their peers, and, for the students, win some spectacular prizes and opportunities. So, what are you waiting for? Time is short and what do you have to lose? Entry is quick and free so just get submitting! [Image - Top: Laser Sintered Escape Award Prototypes]

Design maestros behind More 4 identity re-brand Escape Studios

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-02-06T11:45:55Z

Eagle-eyed students, customers and devotees in general should have noticed the Escape Studios re-branding. Out went the old house logo and in came the new, sleek, stylish ‘ESC’ at the end of last year. Escape looked to Spin for the re-design, an excellent choice as everyone seems to agree that the new logo hits the spot -The initials encapsulate Escape’s energy and ethos perfectly, and Spin have since been asked to design a book for the Escape Awards and a prospectus.
Spin was founded by Tony Brook and Patricia Finegan in 1992 with the belief that graphic design is about content, functionality, expression and the physical nature of the medium. This has driven Spin to create work with originality, relevance, clarity and an element of risk. Tony explained Spin’s way of working, “We are excited by challenging thinking, imagery and typography. A fundamental part of our approach is collaboration, with our clients and with photographers, illustrators, programmers, typographers and animators. All we are ultimately interested in is the quality of the end result.” A quick look at Spin’s website should tell you all you need to know about the regard with which their work is held. Clients have included Channels 4, five and More 4, Richard Rogers, the ICA, and Deutsche Bank Art among many others, and the company has picked up many awards along the way. [Images- Top; More /Spin4, Top Right; Haunch of Venison/Spin, Bottom Right; EscapeLogo/Spin]

Escape shakes things up for Fluid Pictures!

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-02-05T12:39:17Z

True to form Fluid Pictures is working on yet another high-profile project, this time a TV series. Needing a Shake Operator to work on the compositing, Fluid naturally turned to us. With a huge number of highly talented artists on our books we were able to narrow down the field to freelancer Paul Vorsman who has gone to join Fluid for a month. With time spent at Cinesite, the BBC, Channel Four Films, and Ferrari F1, Paul is typical of the talent that Escape can provide. Candidates with experience like Paul’s mean that companies can be confident that anyone we put forward for a project will fit all of the requirements. Our dedicated recruitment team is on hand to help with any personnel requests companies may have. It has access to a select group of candidates so for any information you may need please contact our Recruitment Team.

BBC Comedy stands up and recruits with Escape

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-01-18T11:37:42Z

The BBC is a neighbour of Escape, literally just up the road. However, we suspect it was more than that which led the Beeb looking to us for their recruitment needs. BBC Comedy dropped us a line saying they needed a couple of good men, one roto artist and one lead compositor. It was to work on a new comedy sketch show and they offered freelance contracts which started in January and are pencilled to go into late March. Our recruitment team racked its collective brain and sent along Shayne Farrier for the roto artist position and Mike Outlaw for the lead compositor job. Both Shayne and Mike studied here at Escape so unsurprisingly they were snapped up. Escape’s dedicated recruitment team is on hand to help with any personnel requests companies may have. It has access to a select group of candidates so for any information you may need please contact our Recruitment Team.

Fugitive & Demon look to Escape Recruitment

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-01-18T10:36:15Z

One of our superstars of the month has to be Ed Brown who answered the call for two jobs, and one of them literally at the last moment’s notice. It started back in November when Fugitive Studios gave Escape recruitment a call looking for a talented AFX compositor. We have plenty of those and Fugitive loved all the artists we sent for interview. However, things changed and the project was cancelled, only to be reinstated in December! Freelancer Ed Brown filled the role. “Having sourced hardware and software from Escape whose vast knowledge helped design, build and equip our infrastructure we thought it appropriate that we should utilize their recruiting skills too.” said Tim Baxter, Director of Fugitive. “With Escape’s strong industry connections and learning environment we know they will always be able to supply us with whom we need to take on bigger and better projects.” It wasn’t the last project he was involved in that month as Demon Studio got in touch with us in a mild panic on the last Friday before Christmas. They needed an AFX compositor to work the entire weekend and it simply had to be that night with someone prepared to put it some crazy long hours. Well, Ed the man stepped up once again and he went straight from Fugitive to start at Demon. Mark Utterson at Demon commented, “Sourcing an artist mid-afternoon on the Friday before Christmas was like I was asking the impossible but Escape got back to me within 40 minutes. It was an unbelievable service.” Escape’s dedicated recruitment team is on hand to help with any personnel request companies may have. It has access to a select group of candidates so for any information you may need please contact our Recruitment Team.

Games developer Zoë Mode hires another Escape graduate

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-01-16T12:08:19Z

With Ross Colgan and Glyn Evans already on board, Zoë Mode obviously knows that it’s on to a good thing. Now another escapee is on his way down to the Brighton games studio. Alex Dawson started with us in January 2007, coming to study the Games Professional course. He then went on to do some work as an environment artist building and texturing levels and assets for Zoë Mode in the Escape Pods, and he obviously impressed someone.

Zoë Mode has offered Alex a contract as a Games Artist, for modelling among other aspects, something which he jumped at.

Alex said, “Being offered a job there is amazing, I've been into games and art for a long time so it's really like a dream come true. Plus it's by the seaside!” [Images - Top: Alex Dawson]

Foster + Partners reach out for Escape recruits

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-01-15T12:35:56Z

Foster + Partners’ Visualisation Group supremo Gamma Basra must have heard good things about Escape. Not only is he one of the judges for our Awards but he’s also been busy sourcing staff through our recruitment services. Needing an experienced 3D Visualisation Artist to work on their visualisation and architectural work, we got busy searching for the right candidate. We found them Martin Clemie who responded to one of our adverts. He went along and impressed them no end resulting in a 6 month fixed contract. A 10 day freelance job also came up for a Max Animator/Character Modeller. Cue Emma Errera, who fitted the bill for animating human characters in one of their visualisation campaigns. Whatever enquiries companies may have Escape’s dedicated Recruitment Team.

Supernatural lectures March back to Tate Modern

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2008-01-14T10:48:08Z

Seeing that their series of lectures were such a hit last year, the designmeisters at Supernatural have decided to follow up by announcing a second run at Tate Modern in March. Set to take place on March 25 & 26, this series will pick up from the last by examining the various forms of digital visual arts, but also break new ground by investigating the current crossover in Art, Design and Technology. The events will expand on the previous year’s impressive roster of speakers to include shining lights in the fields of Product Design and Games. Speakers include Vicky Osborn, VFX Supervisor at MPC, Mike Milne, Director of Computer Animation at Framestore CFC, Ben Shepard, VFX Supervisor at Cinesite, and Sanjay Mistry, Senior Manager of Electronics Arts University’s Graphics Training.
Tickets for the lectures go on sale soon, so for more details on the events please see the Supernatural website. [Images - Top: Supernatural, Top Right: Tate Modern, Bottom Right: Tate Modern]

Oscar-winning Lord Puttnam supports Escape Awards

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-12-21T16:47:16Z

Escape Studios is counting its blessings as the acclaimed, Oscar-winning film producer Lord Puttnam does us proud by confirming his involvement in our inaugural Escape Awards in 2008. The awards, which will be held at Tate Modern in London on 27 March 2008, are set to celebrate the cream of the UK computer graphics community with Lord Puttnam taking key position as chairman of judges presiding over a panel of more than 30 of the industries’ leading figures. Covering visual effects, games and design visualisation, the awards will be the first major event of its kind to bring together all the UK CG community to celebrate all of the various industry sectors that that depend on the amazing craftsmanship of digital artists to produce stunning imagery. Lord Puttnam said, “It’s such an exciting role to be acting as Chairman for the Escape Awards. The creative industries are very much a jewel in the crown of UK business and this country's excellence in the field of computer graphics deserves to be celebrated.” Also involved in the awards are the director Danny Boyle, Dick Baynes of Saddington & Baines, Robin Shenfield of The Mill, and Anthony Hunt of Cinesite, among many other industry leaders. Remarking on the new addition to the Award’s roster Escape Studios’ CEO Dominic Davenport said, "We're honoured that Lord Puttnam and all the judges are so keen to be involved. We've had nothing but support from everyone we've spoken to proving that a major annual event that brings together the UK CG community is long overdue.” Lord Puttnam, whose films include hits such as The Mission, Chariots of Fire and Midnight Express, is currently working on the Government’s environmental policy. [Image - Right: Chariots of Fire/Enigma Productions]

Escape Awards 2008 at Tate Modern - the countdown begins!

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-12-01T23:45:33Z

The 2008 Escape Awards at Tate Modern will soon be upon us and all indicators pointing towards it being a huge success!

The entries have been rolling in and each catagory is packed with amazing examples of the kind of work that the Awards, on March 27, were set up to showcase.

The categories represent the full cross section of Visual Effects, Games and Design disciplines catering to both companies and students.

We have a glittering panel of judges including Lord Puttnam, Danny Boyle and industry figures from companies such as Pixar, Sony, SeymourPowell and Foster + Partners. The evening will not only celebrate the wealth of student talent within the UK but also the industries that depend on CG.

The Awards has been years in the planning explains Escape Studios CEO Dominic Davenport, "In the last five years there hasn't been a single major event that brings together the full spectrum of the UK CG community. Not just advertising or games but all of the various industry sectors that employ similar technology to produce stunning imagery."

Escape & Pixar host Euro RenderMan user group meeting

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-30T22:43:17Z

In a self confessed 'Geek Fest', Pixar enthralled a 150 strong crowd with the kind of developer talent normally set aside only for Siggraph.

Host, Dana Batali, Director of Product Development, gave the User Group news that Pro Server V14.0 was just around the corner, and that we'll soon see the introduction of re-rendering technology. The enraptured multitude also heard about plans for a new generation of Alfred (white paper due Q1 next year). Another notable feature of the day was that on average people consumed £13.33 of alcohol and 5.6 canapés (to a total of 840). For our part, we have no idea who put away the most but it goes to prove that all involved enjoyed the evening.

Jez Tucker of Rushes commented, "It's fantastic to see Pixar bringing the UGM to London. There's no substitute for meeting the developers and hearing them talk in person about current and future development plans." Mark Cass, Escapes' Commercial Director added, "It was fantastic to see RenderMan customers from all over Europe flying in. Pixar again proves their commitment to our community and we look forward to next year!" For a full list of proposed new features please visit the RenderMan forums.

Calling all Pixel Farm trackers, matchers, clippers & cleaners

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-28T12:07:42Z

Calling all PFUsers. The Pixel Farm User Group is having its inaugural meeting at SIGGRAPH this year. If you Track, Match, Clip or Clean then it could be just the thing.

Cooke Optics will be on hand to discuss the on going collaboration with i/dataLink and The Pixel Farm and there will be a real, live Red Camera, the first commercial 4k film camera, tested by Peter Jackson himseld (plus, of course, beer and an exclusive PFUser 1.0 tee shirt).CompetitionYou will also see the launch of PFShorts – PFUser’s very own film competition. If you register and attend the user group you will be given a free copy of PFHoe to use in a short film of your own making. The title should be ‘Guest Services’, and the final running time should be no less than 1 minute and no more than 4.How to registerIt couldn't be easier. All you need to do is email pfug@thepixelfarm.co.uk or visit www.thepixelfarm.co.uk.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday 8 August,

The new RenderMan family arrives with a slew of new tools

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-28T12:04:41Z

Pixar Animation Studios have announced two major releases of its Academy Award® winning RenderMan software.

RenderMan Studio is a major expansion of Pixar's next generation render tool suite for the advanced professional, including a pro version of the RenderMan for Maya plug-in, major enhancements to the Slim graphical RenderMan shader editor, the Alfred dispatcher for managing network rendering, the 'it' image compositing tool, and unrestricted RIB generation.

RenderMan Studio 1.0 directly interfaces with Pixar's RenderMan Pro Server 13.0, and an optional floating internal RenderMan Embedded Renderer is also available for either render preview or final output.

In a major upgrade, RenderMan for Maya 2.0, Pixar's advanced rendering plug-in for Maya, introduces powerful multi-threading, substantial increases in ray-tracing performance, improved fur, new camera effects, caustics, point based global illumination and Maya 8.5 compatibility.

Additionally, both RenderMan Studio 1.0 and RenderMan for Maya 2.0 incorporate a new licensing policy permitting up to 4 threads or 4 parallel renders per host machine, potentially quadrupling performance or more on a per frame basis.

Mark Cass, Escape Studios' Business Development Director added, "RenderMan Studio will allow smaller studios and individuals to buy in to the best rendering technology available given it's new packaging and pricing"

For further information on RenderMan, or any other software, please contact Graeme our Software Manager. [Images - Top: The Incredibles/Pixar, Bottom Right: Monsters Inc./Pixar]

Escape nominated for an Excellence Award again!

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-28T12:01:05Z

For the third year in a row Escape Studios has been nominated for a Develop Industry Excellence Award. Once again Escape has been recognised in the 'Services & Outsourcing' category for it's unique and outstanding offering to the games development industry. The full range of Escape Studios' services are utilised by a huge number of studios including fellow nominees Sony, Rare and Zöe Mode (pictured).

Taking place on Wednesday July 25th 2007 at the Metropole Hotel in Brighton, the Develop Industry Excellence Awards recognise creative and technological excellence in games and interactive entertainment across the entire UK and European development community.

Covering four categories and 18 awards, this year's event has been shaped to recognise the influence and impact of games and the increasingly diverse and innovative market in which the business operates.

For more details including a full list of nominees check out the following website.

Framestore becomes the largest RenderMan shop in Europe

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-28T11:56:34Z

Framestore CFC have revealed that they have just become the largest RenderMan® ProServer ™ studio in Europe after having placed a multi-million dollar order with Escape Studios to increase the capacity of their renderfarm.

This fully endorses the unmatched power of Pixar’s RenderMan® software as the only solution for high end film production.

Escape Studios’ Commercial Director, Mark Cass said, “Framestore CFC has taken the lead to get up to a license count that is closing the gap on their peers in the US. We are, of course, delighted to be working with companies of the caliber of Framestore CFC and Pixar. We wish Framestore CFC every success with their current projects and their first feature film 'The Tale of Despereaux'.”

Christophe Meslin, Head of Systems at Framestore CFC said, “Framestore CFC is thrilled to be creating the biggest renderfarm facility in Europe. We have a very ambitious programme over the next 18 months – both in VFX and in our first full CG Feature Animation. RenderMan was the obvious choice to ensure the quality and stability we demand.”

For further RenderMan information email:
software@escapestudios.com

Pixel Farm choose Escape Studios as exclusive UK partner

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-28T11:46:39Z

Escape Studios and The Pixel Farm have decided they want to get cosy and spread some love around. The idea? A partnership to provide exclusive sales, training, and support services for The Pixel Farm’s PF Track software in the UK digital visual effects market of course.PFTrack is the most advanced camera tracking and visual effects assist application available. It’s unique approach to solving everyday post-production problems has seen its adoption in countless high-end facilities.Richard Spöhrer, Managing Director of The Pixel Farm said, “We're delighted that Escape have become our key visual effects reseller in the UK. Not only do they offer customers the opportunity to buy our applications but they can also provide training and expert advice."

Pixar and Escape join to create courseware for Renderman

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-28T11:42:11Z

Escape Studios is proud to announce that it's been commissioned by Pixar Animation Studios to develop a comprehensive set of courseware for Pixar’s Academy Award®-winning RenderMan® software.

The tool is currently under development by Escape Studios, and will be the first courseware to receive official certification from Pixar Animation Studios.

Intended for deployment in educational institutions and production environments, the RenderMan certified courseware will establish new standards of educational excellence for those wishing to learn the intricacies of RenderMan, Pixar’s core rendering technology.

Developed by Escape Studios’ Creative TD, Scott Eaton, these materials will include case studies of production rendering techniques from studios around the world.

"We are delighted to work with Escape Studios with their many years of experience in real-world training for the production industry" said Chris Ford, RenderMan Business Director. "Our new courseware will provide unprecedented insight into the actual production techniques used by TD's in visual effects and feature film rendering, which together with a new Certified Training Program will provide the highest level of education for the professional use of RenderMan."

Dominic Davenport, CEO of Escape Studios said, “We were really flattered to have been asked by Pixar to develop the official courseware for RenderMan. A shared desire to deliver high quality results without compromise makes our relationship an absolute joy. We look forward to supporting both new and existing RenderMan users with an effective learning resource.”

The RenderMan certified courseware is scheduled for release late summer 2007. [Images - Top: Ratatouille/Pixar, Bottom Right: Ratatouille/Pixar]

Escape's Lee Danskin tipped as Autodesk Maya Master 2007

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-28T11:34:19Z

Tuesday 22nd May 2007

Escape Studios Director Lee Danskin has been nominated as an Autodesk Maya Master for 2007.

Each year, Autodesk recognizes exceptional people through their Maya Masters program. The recipients of this coveted title hail from all walks of life – digital artists, visual story tellers, and scientists – those who use 3D computer graphics to explore or present the world in different ways.

Lee has been involved in the VFX industry for the past 16 years, joining Escape Studios in 2006 from MPC where he'd spent the last 4 years as Deputy Head of 3D of their award-winning commercials department.

The voting will only last until Sunday June 3rd at midnight (EST) so to read Lee's full nominee profile and to vote, click here.

Escape Studios celebrates five years

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-28T11:21:36Z

Thursday 3rd May 2007

Escape Studios turns five this week and we're celebrating by holding a party for all past students or 'Escapees' and friends from the industry.

The company was created in response to the lack of specific skills-led training facilities outside of the US and aimed to discover the next generation of TV, film and video games talent.

Since that launch we have seen students go on to work at companies such as Pixar, Sony, The Mill and The Moving Picture Company and working on high-profile projects such as 'X-Men', 'Cars' and 'Harry Potter'.

Attendees to the party will be treated to a show of student work from over the years as well as the chance to meet with old and new faces.

Escape Studios CEO Dominic Davenport said, "We are excited to be joined by all of our friends, Escapees, partners and colleagues from the past five years to help us celebrate the growth and success of Escape Studios."

A gallery of Success Stories can be found here.

Escape presents Pixar & Massive European tour

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-28T11:19:01Z

Tuesday 24th April 2007

Escape Studios is proud to present the upcoming Pixar®, RenderMan® and Massive® European Tour being held in London, Newcastle and at FMX in Germany.

This event will demystify the working processes between Massive and Pixar’s RenderMan and demonstrate their compatibility.

We will also be joined by a very special guest speaker from Pixar Animation Studios: Sanjay Bakshi, groom lead on upcoming Disney/Pixar film Ratatouille, who will discuss his participation in the film before its release in June 2007.

Heading up Massive’s technical talk will be Artaya Boonsoong – Massive’s Industry Manager - Visual Effects & Animation. A citizen of Thailand, Artaya is from the production universe, where his credits as an animator and Lead Technical Director include Crash, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, The Human Stain, Charlie's Angels II, Underworld:Evolution and Ray.

Escape Studio’s Creative Technical Director Scott Eaton will be discussing RenderMan. He has been working in computer graphics for ten years, dividing his time between research and development, visualization, and production. His client list includes the Mill, Sony Computer Entertainment, Microsoft Games Studios, and Pixar. He regularly gives lectures on the digital arts and has spoken at the Tate Modern Museum, Annecy Animation Festival, and Siggraph.

GERMANY

4th May
1pm, 3pm, 4pm
FMX, Haus der Wirtschaft, Stuttgart
Register for tickets here

LONDON

8th May
6.15pm
Prince Charles Cinema, London W1
To attend please email:
vicki@escapestudios.com

NEWCASTLE

9th May
Time: 3pm
University of Teesside, Middlesbrough

For further information visit: www.escapestudios.com

Escape & Media Skills taking Maya to Birmingham in April

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-28T11:14:48Z

Escape Studios is getting ready to take its show on the road this spring with 'Escape to Birmingham' in association with Media Skills, an industry-led training facility that runs professional courses on the latest media. The event will be held on Saturday 28th April as an open day designed to introduce our courses to those who are new to the world of visual effects.

Tutors from each key area of training at Escape, including Escape's Training Development Director Lee Danskin, and 3D specialists Dotti Colvin and Dean Wray, will guide attendees on the possibilities of using the Oscar-winning 3D animation package Maya in visual effects, characters and games. Visitors to the Open Day will then have the opportunity to be first to sign up for Escape's hugely successful 6-week Maya Core course being run in Birmingham this summer.

For further information on the 'Escape to Birmingham' Open Day and the subsequent 6-week Maya course visit the Media Skills website, or for further information on the full range of courses held at Escape Studios in London contact Jason our Training Manager.

Escape Studios expands recruitment services

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-28T11:11:38Z

Due to our rapid expansion, our recruitment service has opened up to those who have not done a course with us, leaving us here at Escape feeling rather pleased with ourselves. So, now everyone can benefit from our amazing industry contacts and advice as we look to become a more comprehensive provider of talent for the games, visualisation and visual effects sectors. Escape Studios' position as a world-class provider of computer graphics training has given us a unique access to a pool of highly trained production-ready artists who we have always worked hard to find employment for. In order to offer the best service, we provide professional clients with a boutique service, and Escape Studios’ recruitment service has already been taken advantage of by many companies including the BBC, Sumo Digital, the Mill and MPC (The Moving Picture Company). Paul Wilkes, Escape's Recruitment Manager said, "We are thrilled to finally extend our service to those who may not have been through Escape's doors. It reflects our commitment to providing a high standard to our clients and we look forward to welcoming new recruits to the Escape Studios community." For more information, contact our Recruitment Team.

Supernatural prize winner announced at The Tate Modern

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-28T11:08:40Z

This last September and October, Supernatural Studios presented a series of lectures at Tate Modern entitled ‘Digital Art – A New Renaissance’. Of course, with a name like that Escape Studios had to be a key sponsor. As part of Supernatural’s continuing drive to open the possibilites of digital art to a wider audience, and with the amazing support of it's sponsors, Autodesk, Escape Studios and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), they were able to offer an extrordinary prize draw. Open to all attendees of the lectures, the prize consisted of a full license of Autodesk’s latest and greatest 3D software package, Maya 8.5, a training course of their choice at Escape Studios, and then, having got to grips with the workflow and effects pipeline, the opportunity to work with Supernatural on a digital arts project using some of the latest computer hardware provided by AMD.Last week, winner Ryan Pilcher, a Southampton Art School graduate, was presented with the latest version of Autodesk’s award winning 3D animation package, Maya at Tate Modern. “Wow, what a great start to the year and still more to come!” explained Ryan “I am so exited to have won this competition. It really is an amazing prize. I’m nine weeks into my training at Escape Studios and can’t believe how much I have learnt in that short amount of time."Learning Maya seemed a bit daunting at first but I have quickly become confident with it. It’s so intuitive and I can see the amazing possibilities it opens up to the artist."Next on the agenda is my work placement at Supernatural, so can’t wait for that to start, so many Thanks to Supernatural, Autodesk, Escape and the Tate Modern for putting on a competition like this, it really is great.”If you’d like any more information on Maya, or any other course, then please feel free to contact Jason our Training Manager. [Images- Right: Burst Wallpaper/Supernatural]

Not To Scale's Dan O'Rourke joins Escape's advisory board

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-28T11:05:53Z

Tuesday, 6th March 2007

Not To Scale Managing Director Dan O'Rourke is the latest addition to Escape Studios' advisory board.

Not To Scale specialise in creating all types of animated, illustrated and designed content for use across all platforms and media. They strive to generate strong talked about work by concentrating on a craft approach to original animation design and precision communication of the orginal idea.

Escape Studios' CEO Dominic Davenport commented;

"We are delighted that Dan has joined our advisory board. The growth of Not To Scale and the calibre of the directors they represent proves how successful their highly creative approach is."

Skillset announce new funding for upcoming Maya Core course

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-28T10:45:04Z

Wednesday, 10th January 2007 We are very pleased to announce that Skillset will be providing funding for one of our Maya Core courses due to commence 26th March 2007. This is available to freelancers and employees with proven professional experience in any area of the film industry. The Maya Core is a 6 week programme that will give students a fundamental grounding in Maya and a vital platform for anyone serious about pursuing a career in 3D animation and visual effects. During the course students will work through core principles of 3D software under the guidance of our professional tutors. The course is normally priced at £4,499, but there will be a number of seats that are 60% funded by Skillset if you meet eligibility. Please get in touch if you are interested. Click here for further course details. For further information on eligibility contact: skillset@escapestudios.com

Escapees Ross & Glyn land dream jobs in games

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-23T16:56:20Z

Escape always does its best to spread the good news about its graduates, the Escapees. What good would it do training the brightest new talent if we kept quiet about it? Businesses cry out to get first refusal on the the best junior artists, and who are we to deny them? After studying here the word was put out on Ross Colgan and Glyn Evans. The duo, who both studied on the Escape Games course, then answered the challenge thrown down to them and they returned to Escape Studios to go to work for Zoë Mode in the Escape Pods. Zoë Mode, the Brighton based game developer, has been keeping busy in the Escape Pods here at Escape Studios, and keeping very quiet about what it’s now up to. When Ross first arrived he was put to work for Sony on their 'Home' E3 presentation characters, but when he was later joined by Glyn their attentions were shifted to a new, secret project. Given its background with titles such as the 'Singstar' series, and 'Crush' for the PSP, the latest project is bound to be another hit. What’s more, Zoë Mode has decided to continue its association with Escape by taking the Escapees into their fold. Ross and Glyn must have made quite an impression with what they did in the Pods, and the pair have now been offered contracts to work at the Zoë Mode studios down in Brighton. They’re raring to go too, and have already put down a deposit on a trendy, city centre bachelor pad. Watch out girls!

Acclaimed Director Danny Boyle champions Escape Awards

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-23T16:54:34Z

Renowned Director Danny Boyle has confirmed his involvement in this year's innaugural Escape Awards, which will be held at Tate Modern in London on 27 March 2008. The Awards will celebrate the cream of the UK computer graphics community, both working and students.
Returning to the UK in mid February Danny will join the rest of the judges to vote for the entries.The categories cover the full spectrum of CG industries with visual effects, games and design visualisation all included. In addition to the professional categories are three student categories. "It was really important to us that the awards celebrated not only the best the UK has to offer today but also the stars of tomorrow," said Escape Studios CEO Dominic Davenport. "We're honoured that Danny and all the judges were so keen to be involved. We've had nothing but support from everyone we've spoken to proving that an major annual event that brings together the UK CG community is long overdue."
[Images - Top Right: 28 Days Later/BFC, Bottom Right: Sunshine/DNA Films]

Escape Award designed by Supernatural's Zissou

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-23T16:12:33Z

With the Escape Awards gearing up for a spectacular showcase of the industry’s best and brightest, thoughts have been turning towards the awards themselves. Not content to palm off any old tat we sought out both style and content in the form of Zissou, one of our own graduates.

Zissou trained as a 3D artist at Escape back in 2004, and he so impressed everyone that he seemed like a natural choice to ask to design the awards. One look at them and we think you’ll agree. “We discussed how this award would relate to Escape and to what Escape is about - namely 3D. We were looking for a simplicity and elegance to the form, and for something as classical as the new Escape re-brand but with a contemporary twist." said the artist.
True to his Escape training, Zissou then turned to Maya to make the designs, citing the speed at which you can rotate around and through a form, and the ease at which a final design could be “spotted”. Zissou explained, “While rotating one of the forms I had built, a stylized version of the infinite loop symbol, I noticed that when I squinted at one of the shapes from a specific angle its silhouette had made the letter ‘e’.” “I then began use various deformers on the initial shape to mould it into a form where, from three distinct angles you could read the ‘e’, ‘s’, and ‘c’ of the new escape logo, albeit stylized. It was important to balance the aesthetics of the piece with its ergonomics. The loop of the ‘e’ happily serves as two handles for the actual presentation.” The design was then passed to Hypershot for accurate realtime reflections. And the process is far from finished apparently. The design’s been sent to Germany so a prototype can be made by stereo laser sintering, and from there adjustments can be made to details like the weighting if it doesn’t sit well. Well, it sounds as if the brief is in safe hands, and with styling like this, it makes an Escape Award even more desirable.

BEAM.TV gives Escape Awards online entry and judging

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-23T16:09:36Z

When the idea of the Escape Awards came about thoughts soon turned to the distribution of submissions to the judges. How could such a large quantity of material be sent to so many people in so many places?

It was a logistics nightmare that caused much ill-ease at Escape HQ until the idea of using BEAM.TV came up. Panic over.

Choosing BEAM.TV was an obvious decision. As well as Escape’s long standing relationship with The Mill, the parent company, BEAM.TV provided an easy way to allow the large judging panel to view and vote for the entries.

It operates by taking, storing, sharing, adapting and delivering almost any kind of advertising, promotional and marketing material, in any format. And not wanting to limit itself, it operates worldwide to provide a speedy and very competitive service.

For the Escape Awards, artists will be able to submit their entries via the Escape website, and from there BEAM.TV will pick up the baton to make sure that all the judges get all the material to make their decisions.

Well, lucky for us then, and with BEAM.TV onside the Escape Awards are sure to be the start of something beautiful.

UK students called to enter showpieces in Escape Awards

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-23T15:58:54Z

Central to the Escape Studios ethos is our desire to fuel creative potential. This is why we're so excited to be holding the Escape Awards, not only to honour computer graphics (CG) talent already working in the UK, but also the bright stars of tomorrow. On March 27, Escape Studios will hold the Escape Awards at the Tate Modern in London, and UK students can now submit their entries in three categories. It's an ideal way to showcase their projects to a high profile audience of industry professionals. This year the work will be judged by some of the most influential names in VFX, Games, and Design Visualisation, and winners will get stunning prizes - one-on-one tuition from an Escape expert, hardware, software, and a work placement at a top UK company. Work can be submitted between December 1 and February 13 via the awards website, and there’s a £20 fee per entry. [Images - Top: Stephan Wong, Right: Alex Cook]

New workstation and rendering products from BOXX

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-23T10:49:12Z

Those tough, Texan, technology specialists at BOXX have been hard at work developing and now delivering a raft of new machines and solutions to meet the needs of the most demanding studio.A BOXX on the rocksFirst up is the 3DBOXX 8400 and 8400 ‘Special Edition’, the perfect machines to give an extra boost when pre-rendering or modelling highly detailed work. By offering a 3.2GHz processing speed, the 8400 delivers higher performance thanks to the self-contained liquid cooling system, the SE with a Hybrid Cooling Pump.Might is rightAlso impressive is the APEXX 8, the latest addition to what will surely become an illustrious line. Its eight processors, for a total of 32 cores, double the maximum memory to 128GB. The APEXX 8 can also work on full 2k resolution, 10-bit digital intermediates with ease meaning colorists can get real-time feedback on color and timing choices.The mouse that roarsLastly, is the renderBOXX 10100. This amazing new rendering solution can pack up to a whopping 80 cores, designed to give you maximum power in a housing that’s suitable for studios where space is an issue. It’s scalable too, as just one module will deliver 16 cores – the renderBOXX 10100 can be built upon and expanded without re-racking. What better solution is there?

Mac fans rejoice! Escape Studios is now an Apple reseller

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-23T10:35:00Z

With the backing of the big boys at Apple, Escape Studios has found yet another new role, this time as an Apple Authorised Reseller.

The move means that Escape will now be able to offer even more hardware and software solutions by heading into Apple territory and giving clients exactly what they need.

The timing is perfect for Mac users too. With the universal binary code versions of Autodesk software comes Mac hardware that can be used for Maya and other high-end applications at professional performance levels.

And Apple won’t be leaving anybody behind either as all new applications offer full backward compatibility. Phew.

MPC takes advantage of all that Escape has to offer

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-23T10:20:30Z

Escape Studios is the first name in CG training in the UK so it’s unsurprising that it found a kindred spirit in The Moving Picture Company (MPC), a world-leading post production facility creating digital visual effects and animation for the film, advertising, music and television industries.

Since 2005 the two companies have been virtually joined at the hip, enjoying the kind of working relationship that’s led to Escape providing MPC with just about all it needs to maintain its position in the market.

“With regards to what we needed, choosing Escape was something of a no-brainer,” said Nick Cannon, Chief Technical Officer at MPC. “It wasn’t just software or hardware – Escape Studios understand what the industry needs. Everything from licensing to storage to recruitment. It is refreshing to deal with such like-minded people.”

A company like MPC needs software such as Maya, RenderMan, Massive, and 3D Equaliser, and hardware like Boxx workstations and Isilon storage systems for its mammoth production facilities in both film and commercials, and Escape is in a perfect position to cater to all its needs.

But hardware and software isn’t all that Escape provide. The brightest new talent is something that MPC wants to get on side before anyone else, and at Escape it can be found in bucket loads.

Training, recruitment and outsourcing are our specialities, and we know that we’re able to match the kind of skilled and keen young artists that MPC needs by direct placement and by way of the Escape Pods which MPC has recognised as an ideal way to get its projects done. It’s fast and matches MPC’s needs to the talent we can provide on a project by project basis.

The Pods are staffed by recent Escapees, and run from within Escape Studios taking care of essential tasks such as rotoscoping (currently using programmes such as Silhouette and Shake) and 3D camera tracking (PFTrack, 3D Equaliser and Maya Live), freeing up MPC’s in-house production facilities.

So, not only do MPC save on space (the Pods communicate via Sohonet, a connection so fast that they are effectively sitting on MPC’s network) but can also use the Pods as a direct recruitment line – a sort of ‘try before you buy’. [Images - Top: Harry PotterMPC, Right: Sony Bravia/MPC]

Rare reveals what's so great about Escape

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-23T10:10:32Z

Rare, one of the Microsoft Game Studios, is now in its third decade and still going from strength to strength. Why it chose to team up with Escape Studios is a testament to both what the former demand and what the latter provide.

The two studios first got together when Rare learnt how Escape could help with providing Maya.

“The best thing about dealing with Escape Studios is that they actually use the tools they sell us, so they know what they are talking about. They give our staff focused training on elements of the software that, as a developer, we would not otherwise have time to investigate,” said Lee Musgrave, Head of Art at Rare.

The giving has been both ways, however, with Rare providing Escape Studios with a large library of assets that is currently being used in its new games course. By working on actual in-game assets from real titles, students graduate and hit the ground running, going straight into Escape Pods and getting real, current industry experience.

“Without backing from industry stalwarts such as Rare, we wouldn’t be able to offer such comprehensive training,” added Dom Davenport, CEO of Escape Studios.

“Using real world examples makes a massive difference to our students, and the quality of work they produce. Plus, with over 100 seats at our headquarters, running Maya, Shake, RenderMan, PFTrack, 3D Equaliser, Silhouette, Turtle and many more, plus the Isilon storage system to complement such a set-up, Escape Studios is perfectly placed not just to provide services, but to advise production facilities of all sizes on the best solution for them.” [Images - Top: Viva Piñata/Rare, Top Right: Kameo/Rare, Bottom Right: Viva Piñata/Rare]

Escape help Saddington & Baynes stay on the cutting edge

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-23T09:32:04Z

Saddington & Baynes has been a long time Escape Studios customer, and if the services and hardware which it’s acquired though Escape are anything to go by then it’s been keeping very busy indeed.

Chris Christodoulou, Saddington & Baynes Director, has often stated the central role that Maya plays in their solutions, and 2007 saw the company get upgrades to its Maya software, as well as installation of PFTrack.

And software wasn’t the only new addition to S&B’s offices as Escape also provided RenderBOXX servers to manage its high-end rendering needs, as well as other BOXX goodies.

And to round it all off, S&B took advantage of Escape’s personal touch by bringing in Dean Wray, Escape’s Games Technical Director. Dean went along to S&B HQ to show them all the new features on Mental Ray. With Escape’s in-house experts, any business can call in a consultant who’ll bring its staff up to speed on any of our software or hardware packages. [Images - Top: Triumph/Saddington & Baynes, Right: BMW/Saddington & Baynes]

Foster + Partners recruit through Escape

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-22T17:38:16Z

Life is full of decisions, both good and bad, but we bet that Tomasz Laczney is mighty happy about the time he decided to give Escape a call. Just look where he is now!

Getting in touch with Escape first got Tomasz a 3 month contract at Sheppard Robson and ended giving him an amazing placement at Foster + Partners, the world-famous architecture firm. Tomasz first contacted us back in May 2007. He was responding to an ad for a 3D visualizer which he had found through Google, and in his own words he “didn't expect anything more than a standard recruitment company.” How wrong. Famous for buildings such as Hong Kong International Airport, the Millenium bridge (pictured top right), and the new Wembley Stadium, the firm wanted to bring Tomasz in on a fixed term 5 month contract to work as a designer on one of their architectural teams for concept visualisation (pictured above and bottom right).

Sir Norman Foster founded the firm in 1967, taking on more staff and becoming Foster + Partners in the ‘90s. Since then the company has established itself as one of the foremost architecture and product design companies in the world. As a result the company's requirement for the very best in high end visualisation hardware and software led to a close relationship with Escape. For more information, contact our Recruitment Team.

Rare looks to Escape Studios for new blood

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-22T17:32:24Z

Rare Studios has a long and illustrious history in the games industry, responsible for classics like Donkey Kong, Goldeneye, and recent hits Kameo (pictured bottom right) and Viva Piñata (pictured above and right).

So, Rare knows what's what and by insisting Escape handles their software, hardware and training requirements, the latest development comes as no surprise. The studio is looking into our recruitment services and wants to hire Escape graduates to supplement its development team. Rare is after 3 or 4 graduates, or Escapees as they are known. Trained primarily in Maya the candidates all recently completed the Escape Games course which was developed in collaboration with Rare funnily enough.

Working for a studio with a pedigree like Rare, part of Microsoft Game Studios since 2002, is a fantastic place to start for any aspiring artist. Being trained to a point where they’re able to start in a real production environment, more and more Escapees are enjoying success at the highest levels of the computer graphics industry. For more information, contact our Recruitment Team.

Visual Effects Professional Course - NEW

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-21T18:15:45Z

If you're looking to become the complete visual effects artist, then this course is for you. Visual Effects Professional is an extended version of our highly successful VFX course, offering additional tuition in FX, dynamics and simulation techniques.

To break into the VFX industry you need to be able to create CG elements and combine them with live-action to create a photo-realistic final sequence. We'll teach you how to do exactly that. You'll begin with a foundation in Maya and learn how to create realistic looking CG artwork. Then we'll teach you the camera tracking, lighting, shading and compositing skills essential for integrating your work seamlessly into live-action film or video, enabling you to produce a visual effects shot to industry standard.

Having accomplished this, you're ready to enter the exciting realm of FX and develop unlimited creative powers using Maya's most advanced features. An introduction to dynamics, particles and MEL (Maya Embedded Language) will teach you how to create the impressive effects seen in major motion pictures, and you'll explore the use of RenderMan for character hair and fur simulation. The course will complete with a major project demonstrating the full range of your skills. For more information, contact our Training Team. Details Location London, UK Format Full Time (Mon - Fri, 10am - 5pm) Duration 18 weeks Software Maya, Photoshop, PFTrack, boujou, Shake, ZBrush, HDR shop, RenderMan Studio Price £12,850 Start Dates May 24th 2010
August 16th 2010 Early Booking Discount Save £250 for every course that you book with full payment and paperwork more than three months in advance.

Escape Competition finds its Pixel Hero

info@escapestudios.com (Escape Content) — 2007-11-21T13:18:01Z

A few months back Escape Studios ran its Pixel Hero Competition as part of the London Game Career Fair, and now we've found our winner. Held at the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane, the Fair was a chance for the industry to check out up-and-coming talent, and for the talent to learn a bit more about the companies that produce the games.

Escape thought the best way to sniff out skills would be to hold a competition to design a hero. The rules were tough. You’d get just 30 minutes to design the ultimate games hero and present it as a 64x64 sprite. However, the reward was great.After battling his way through the hoards of entrants, Oyvind Hoel found himself as the proud owner of a spanking new Boxx thanks to his hero, McRed, a native red squirrel warrior who stands between the invading American grey and complete dominance. As Oyvind says, "It’s a Braveheart of the Squirrel kind". [Image - Top: McRed/Oyvind Hoel]