Escape Studios

Escape Studios is a visual effects academy situated in High Holborn, London, offering short courses and degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level.[1] A subsidiary of Pearson College London since 2013, Escape Studios' primary offering includes study programmes in Visual Effects (VFX), Game Art and Animation, with short courses available in Motion Graphics. Pearson College London is part of Pearson plc, and is the only FTSE 100 company in the UK to design and deliver degrees.[2] Since the foundation of Escape Studios in 2002, more than 4,000 students have passed through its doors, moving into jobs in the animation and visual effects industries.[3]

Escape Studios
Founder(s)Dominic Davenport
Established2002
Location
London
,
England
Website

History

Escape Studios was founded in April 2002 by Dominic Davenport & Garrett Honn as an independent visual effects academy; initially based in Notting Hill,[4] and later in Shepherds Bush, London, offering short courses in Visual Effects (VFX), Game Art, Animation and later Motion Graphics.[5] The goal was to become "Europe's top VFX school".[6] In 2010 Davenport described Escape Studios as a "finishing school for the visual effects industry in this country",[7] often taking students with an existing undergraduate degree and helping them to break into the industry.[8]

In 2011 general manager Mark Cass explained in an interview with the BBC that demand for trained VFX talent was such that "we literally cannot train people quick enough to get out the door", and that the philosophy of Escape Studios is "recreate, as far as possible, the work environment that its graduates will hopefully enter".[9]

In 2012 Escape Studios spun off its software re-selling business, creating a new company, Escape Technology, "targeting the media industry", allowing Escape Studios to "concentrate fully on the continued growth of its classroom and online academies and recruitment services".[10][11]

In a 2013 interview with The Guardian, Dominic Davenport explained that "our mission is to help our students escape to an exciting career in VFX", adding that Escape Studios aims to "re-create the professional studio experience to train to the latest industry-standards".[5]

Acquisition by Pearson
Front Desk at Escape Studios, 190 High Holborn, London WC1

In October 2013 Escape Studios was acquired by Pearson plc, and from September 2015 it began offering degrees at graduate level (followed by undergraduate degrees from 2016) as a subsidiary of Pearson College London. Undergraduate and graduate degrees are validated and awarded by the University of Kent.[12]

Pearson announced that "Escape Studios will retain its name and Shepherd’s Bush location", and promised a “smooth transition” for "all existing students and staff".[13] Escape Studios' primary offerings are in three areas: Visual Effects (VFX), Animation and Game Art, although short courses are available in Motion Graphics.

Tutors include Head of Animation Alexander Williams.[14] Visiting tutors include animator and graphic novelist Sydney Padua.[15]

Industry Partnerships

Industry partners include Framestore, The Mill, MPC, Electric Theatre Collective, Jellyfish Pictures, Bluebolt, Cinesite, DNeg and Milk.[16] In 2012 Escape Studios launched the first VFX Festival in London, in partnership with MPC, Framestore and Cinesite.[17]

Escape Studios participates in the National Saturday Club, an outreach program that aims to help students from diverse backgrounds gain access to the creative industries.[18] It also co-operates with ScreenSkills to offer courses aimed at under-represented groups such as women and minorities.[19]

In January 2019 Escape Studios announced a Master's Degree in storyboarding and previsualisation, the first of its kind.[20]

Awards
Best Student Animation Winners at the British Animation Film Festival 2019

Students from Escape Studios have won a number of awards. The short film Home Sweet Home, directed by Maria Robertson, won Best Student Animation at the 2019 British Animation Film Festival.[21] The short film Jericho was short-listed for a student BAFTA in 2019.[22]

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References

Notes
  1. "Admissions | Escape Studios | Pearson College London". www.pearsoncollegelondon.ac.uk. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  2. Telegraph Education 11 August 2016 Retrieved 5 December 2018
  3. Animation World Network, 4 September 2015 Retrieved 6 December 2018
  4. MyLondon 12 October 2012 Retrieved 7 December 2018
  5. The Guardian 12 November 2013 Retrieved 5 December 2018
  6. broadcastnow.co.uk 12 June 2002 Retrieved 6 December 2018
  7. The British film and television industries: Decline or Opportunity? Published by The Stationery Office, 24 January 2010 Retrieved 5 December 2018
  8. Dusty Baxter-Wright, Cosmopolitan, June 29 2018 Retrieved 5 December 2018
  9. Iain Mackenzie, BBC News, 14 May 2011 Retrieved 6 December 2018
  10. Rene Millman, channelbiz.com, 21 December 2012 Retrieved 6 December 2018
  11. Broadcast Now, 2 January 2013 Retrieved 17 December 2018
  12. University of Kent Website Retrieved 18 December 2018
  13. Education Investor 7 October 2013 Retrieved 7 December 2018
  14. Evening Standard Thursday 29 June 2017 Retrieved 5 December 2018
  15. PCL News 12 March 2018 Retrieved 6 December 2018
  16. "Industry Partners | Escape Studios | Pearson College London". www.pearsoncollegelondon.ac.uk. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  17. creativebloq.com Retrieved 6 December 2018
  18. Escape Studios at saturday-club.org Retrieved 5 December 2018
  19. Evening standard 13 June 2019 Retrieved 14 June 2019
  20. Escape Studios at awn.com Retrieved 25 February 2019
  21. BAFF 2019 Winners: Official site Retrieved 16 September 2019
  22. Jericho at IMDB
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