I had a picture sent to me from an old colleague this week (above). It was taken in the "fake" Getaway pub on the 4th floor of SCEE’s (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe) offices in Soho.
The Future of Games
I have just finished reading the "Videogames: state of the art" article in this month's issue of 3D World magazine and was reminded of just why I love being a CG artist, and how vain I am seeing my name in print.
Inception Zero Gravity
For me the best movie so far this year has to be Christopher Nolan's Inception. it will be interesting come Oscar time to see if the Academy and the world at large agree. It is a fantastic combination of amazing direction and cinematography, a gripping script and amazing VFX. The best VFX are the ones you don't see and only afterwards do you think "How did they do that?".
CVMP - Call for Short Papers
Those of you who see themselves as techno geeks and like to keep up with the latest research and developments in media production will want to check out this year’s CVMP conference.
Two showreel tips
Those of you who follow us on Twitter will know that we had our first ever realtime Twitter feedback session on Monday. I am told I should refer to them as Tweetups or Twitter parties, but if truth be told, it was a simple, honest, online showreel clinic! We asked our followers to send us links to their reels, and Lee Danskin, our Training Development Director, provided his usual professional feedback.
Job hunting: 5 tips for CG graduates
We all know that finding your first job in the CG industry can be tough, but we have good reasons to feel pretty confident about future job prospects. That's because the industry has seen growth for the ninth year in a row. There are jobs out there and I am particularly well placed to comment as I sit opposite our Recruitment Team and so I get to hear everything about the jobs they have available. Over the last few months, they have all been incredibly busy, and that's good news for all aspiring artists.
Robert Holmes takes time out to talk about his career to date
It’s always great to find out how escapees get on after their training and enter the world of work. Last week, we met up with ex-student Robert Holmes out at SIGGRAPH. Since his time at Escape, Rob’s gone on to work on some amazing projects at The Mill. He took time to tell us how he got his break and what’s needed to be successful in this industry.
Save the UK Film Council
For those that may not have heard, the UK Film council is under threat of closure after having its funding cut. The UK Film Council has done many great things for the industry since its inception in 2000. We now have the highest cinema attendance in 7 years, UK film exports are also the highest in 7 years, and inward investment in the industry has doubled from 2008 to now.
CG Graduate Design Awards competition entry date extended to 16th August
Firstly, a big thanks to everyone who has entered our CG Graduate Design Competition Award so far. Entries have been coming thick and fast and as always the standard has been exceptional.
Thanks also for keeping in touch via all our social networks - it really is great to hear from you all and it just reaffirms our belief that the UK and the US have a wealth of talent and will undoubtedly produce many future stars in the CG world.
Christian Roberton joins our Advisory Board
Everyone who studies with us knows how much emphasis we place on our close ties with the industry. The members of our advisory board include some of the biggest names in CG, and they advise on everything from course content to placing escapees in work after they graduate. We are therefore very pleased to announce that Christian Roberton, MD of Film at MPC, has joined the team.
Escape Studios at Siggraph 2010
Escape Studios is going to SIGGRAPH in Los Angeles next week. We’ll have a booth at the SIGGRAPH 2010 Job Fair (booth #26) and we’d love to see you there. Drop by and pick up some of the Escape Studios goodies!
Competition reminder
It's great to see entries coming through for our Graduate Design Awards. Just a quick reminder you need to upload your show reel to our YouTube channel and then complete your entry by sending your contact details to escapestudios@brands2life.com. We need your name, showreel title, email address, telephone number, year of graduation, university and course attended.
Graduated but still looking for a job?
The BBC recently reported on the struggle faced by graduates to find a job after leaving university. Unemployment amongst grads aged below 24, rose by 25% last year.
CG Graduate Design Awards go live
We’ve launched the CG Graduate Design Awards aimed at uncovering talented uni grads in the UK and US. This is the first international competition of its kind, where we’ll be giving fresh talent, a helping hand into the competitive computer graphics world with our partners The Mill. So, if you’re a student or recent graduate dreaming of breaking into the industry, this is the opportunity for you.
Do you have the right skills to land your dream job?
Thanks to everyone that responded to our graduate survey a few weeks ago. It uncovered some interesting thoughts on the industry and challenges you face getting into CG.
US VFX industry in strife?
I don’t know how many of you caught this, but there was an interesting article on the Time Magazine's website last week looking at the state of the VFX industry in the US.
Calling all Uni Grads
We are launching our new online competition to uncover the crème of the CG class of 2010 on both sides of the Atlantic. The CG Graduate Design Awards is the first international competition of its kind, where we’ll be giving the most talented graduates out there a helping hand into the competitive computer graphics world.
Satisfaction Survey: what it's really like working in the CG industry?
A couple of month's back we conducted a Satisfaction Survey which asked people what it's really like working in the CG industry. The top prize for three lucky people was having a CG Master Class with Maya master Lee Danskin. The guy's found it hugely helpful as Lee shared lots of top tips on how to make the most of Maya, dipelling some myths along the way!
Interview with our CG Whiz – Adam Droy
Back in December, Adam Droy became the first winner of our CG Whiz competition for his fantastic showreel. Part of his prize was a 12 week classroom course here, which Adam started last Monday. We caught up with him to see how his first week had gone.
Games industry salaries on the up
Good news for all those in the games industry. A new survey out this week showed that salaries are on the rise, going up 2%-3% over the last year, with those of you working on the technical development and programming side of things earning the most.
