Producing for VFX (6 weeks) | Short courses | Escape Studios

Online courses

Please note that our courses will be starting in September regardless of the COVID situation- whilst conforming to government guidelines. We will be delivering our courses online and we intend to resume face-to-face teaching as soon as we are able to do so without the need for social distancing measures, and in line with government guidance. For more information, please visit our online courses page or contact our Admissions team.

Producing for VFX (6 weeks)

Be part of something exciting! After 15 years of being the leaders in VFX education we’re launching a new producing course.

Producers and their teams lie at the heart of any VFX project - masters of efficiency, they keep the project on-time and in budget. We’ve packed the essentials of production into this new course, for 6 weeks of intensive hands-on training in our studios. We’ll take you on the journey from concept to delivery, to experience each stage of the production pipeline and see how they interlink. We’ll teach you about the industry - scrutinising different VFX pipelines and getting to grips with the roles, lingo and software used. You’ll learn through workshops, practical software sessions and online tutorials, and you'll also complete a final project to demonstrate your ability to manage a VFX project.

We’ve created this course in response to industry demand for trained production staff. We’ve developed this course with successful producers and industry professionals (from the likes of The Mill, Double Negative and Jellyfish Pictures) so it reflects the skills needed in the industry right now.

Like all of our daytime courses (full-time), you’ll also have industry experts delivering guest lectures to really bring the content to life. For our July 2018 intake, Adam McInnes, freelance VFX Supervisor known for his work on The Martian, Sheila Wickens, VFX Supervisor at DNEG TV known for her work on Churchill, Emma Larsson, Bidding Producer, and Jacqui Marchant-Adams, VFX Coordinator at Lipsync Post, joined us to share their experience working in the industry.

Download a free detailed course schedule

Location: London Campus
Start dates: TBC
Tuition fees: £5,645
Mode of study: Daytime (full-time) Monday - Friday, 10am - 4pm
Programme duration: 6 weeks
Entry requirements: Aged 18 or over, a good understanding of written and spoken English.

Make an enquiry

Why choose this course

Start your career in production. You’ll experience the different stages of VFX production and complete a practical project, ultimately giving you the skills needed for an entry level role.

Learn the essentials of production - including VFX and animation pipelines, production roles, scheduling, bidding, negotiating, previz and managing artists.

Developed with leading studios. We’ve developed this course with producers and industry professionals and you'll learn from pros throughout the course

Intensive training. The course is structured into 6 weeks of intensive study (Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm). We pack a lot into 6 weeks with the aim of getting you ready for entry-level production roles.

Module information

Week 1: Industry and software overview

Overview of pre-production, production, post-production and VFX

The VFX pipeline

VFX Facilities

2D, 3D and animation overviews and practical introduction to software

Managing a show in Excel

Week 2: Pre-production, production and post-production

Pre-production

Group project: breakdowns, shot lists, project ideas and concepts, bidding

Shoot preparation: schedule, equipment, call sheets, crew

Production

Theory and practical involving a group project shoot

Produce shots encompassing a 3D asset and composites

Practical shoot: taking on VFX roles and collecting data for post-production

Post-production

Technical
- Data ingest from camera online
- Understanding the technical side of all data from the shoot
- File structures
Editorial
- Group project: producing a rough cut of footage
- Group project: creating VFX shots
- Group project: revising VFX breakdown

Shotgun
- Introduction
- Tasks and processes with demonstrations
- Using shotgun on a project and how to communicate with artists

Introduction to Filemaker Pro

Setting up a show

Week 3: Bidding and scheduling

Bidding materials and processes

Scheduling

Group project: FileMaker Pro - setup and bidding

Week 4: Budgeting and recruitment

Recruiting for a project

Group project: budgeting for VFX - creating budgets

Filemaker Pro: using the app and budgeting/recruitment

Individual project set

Week 5: VFX facility, editorial and facility visits

Production and department relationships

The Dailies process

Editorial department within a VFX facility

Daily tasks in production, managing the flow of information

Week 6: Production client side and facility finance and reports

Working for a production

Production relationships with facilities

Dealing with clients, pitching and presenting - role play

Finance and reporting to clients

Assessments

Software

How to apply

Producing for VFX (6 weeks) | Short courses | Escape Studios

We welcome and encourage applications from students with a variety of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.

To study an Escape Studios short course you must be:

Over 18
Have a good understanding of written and spoken english
Feel comfortable using a computer. A working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop would be an advantage.

If you meet the above entry requirements you can

Make an enquiry: Complete our enquiry form and our admissions team will get in touch to check your eligibility for the course, send the registration form and advise you on payment options.
Contact us: Alternatively you can call our admissions team on 020 7348 1920 or email admissions@escapestudios.com,
Visit us: If you’d prefer to speak to someone face-to-face, you can book a 1-2-1 or attend an Open Evening

Following your application you will need to agree to our terms and conditions. Your place on the course will then be secured.

Where will this get me?

This course is designed to get students their first job in the industry and fast track your career progression. We want to give you the skills and knowledge needed to successfully complete a show on time and in budget.

It is a highly practical course which uses the principles of experiential learning to mirror how production professionals work in real studios. This practical experience will give you talking points to stand out in an interview and help you move through the ranks from Runner - Scheduler - Coordinator - Line Producer - Producer - Exec Producer.

After the classroom course is over we offer three months of online mentoring, so that our students can continue to refine and polish their skills. We take aftercare very seriously - since it can take time to put together a job-ready demo reel, we make sure our students get the time and practice that they need to refine their work to make them job-ready. Learn more about our Aftercare support.

Our students go on to work in many areas of the industry. See some of their success stories.

Fees and funding

Fees

£5,645

Funding for UK students

You may be able to get funding to help cover the cost of the course. For independent advice, and to find out more about your options, visit gov.uk or call the National Careers Service on 0800 100 900.

Funding for international students

We recommend you visit the UK Council for International Student Affairs website. The Council doesn’t provide funding directly, but it will give you all the information you need about studying and living in the UK, including visas and funding.

We do our best to find funding solutions for overseas students. For example:

If you’re from Sweden, you may be able to get help from the Swedish loan and grant course. Find out more at csn.se
Spanish students should visit the Spanish government website for useful information on studying, employment and emigration, plus details of grants available to Spanish students.
If you’re from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Burma, you may be able to get funding from the Charles Wallace Trust, to help towards your living costs and educational development in the UK. Find out more at wallace-trusts.org.uk.

Get in touch

We can help with any problems or questions you have with course fees and funding. Speak to one of our Applicant Advisors via phone or email today! Call us on 0207 348 1920 or email admissions@escapestudios.com.

It’s exciting to see a course like this being made available. The Production department includes some of our most valued and challenging roles and it’s encouraging to see this course being developed & delivered in collaboration with experienced practitioners including several from DNEG across the Film & TV divisions. We’re already looking forward to welcoming two of the very first escapees from this course into the team at DNEG.

**Vic Wade, DNEG Global Head of Training**

Producing for VFX (6 weeks) | Short courses | Escape Studios

Next steps

Open events

Meet our tutors for an informal chat and speak to other students.

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Taster courses

Try before you buy and get a hands-on feel for what it's like to study with us.

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Our campus

Study in our state-of-the-art studios and get a taste of what it's like to work in industry.

Take a look

Meet our tutors

Martin Gabriel

Martin Gabriel has worked in VFX for over twenty years (since before Space Jam), first as a VFX Coordinator and then as VFX Producer in London, Hollywood and on location abroad. He has experience of the whole process of VFX in film-making from pre-production to post, as well as in Television and Commercials. In addition, he has had a role in creating facility wide information systems to manage the flow of data. Although he has mostly worked on large budget Hollywood projects, these days he is often to be found working on smaller, independent, European films. Find out more about Martin.

Producing for VFX (6 weeks) | Short courses | Escape Studios

Industry partners

Industry partners and advisors influence everything we do, from the curriculum we teach and how it's delivered to our webinars and special events.

We work alongside an impressive list of VFX, Games and Animation studios including Framestore, Blue Zoo, MPC, Jellyfish Pictures, Creative Assembly and many more across all our courses at Escape Studios.

With exclusive professional feedback, intensive software training and much more, our industry-led courses give you up-to-the-minute, inspirational knowledge and experience, tailored to the work you’re passionate about. Our Escape Studios Alumni (Escapees) can be found in many of the studios including Pixar, MPC, Industrial Light & Magic, DNEG, Rockstar Games and Electric Theatre Collective.

Find out more about our industry partners

Why Escape Studios?

Our tutors have worked in the industry and have been hand-picked from successful studios; they teach real-world tips and tricks learnt from on-the-job experience
You'll work in an industry-style studio from day one, so you'll get a taste of what it's like to work in industry
Our industry partners include Framestore, The Mill, MPC, Double Negative, Cinesite, Electric Theatre and JellyFish Pictures (to name just a few!)
Our industry partners help to design, develop and deliver our courses and they influence everything we do, so you'll benefit from up-to-the-minute knowledge and experience
You'll study at the heart of London's creative scene, so our state of the art facilities are the perfect place to kick-start your career