Hi Dom, can you tell me a bit about Escape Studios and its mission?

Escape Studios is a specialist visual effects academy that provides the environment and skills for artists wanting to enter the VFX (visual effects) industry. Our mission is to help our students escape to an exciting career in VFX. Our approach is intensive and fiercely vocational – we want to recreate the professional studio experience to train to the latest industry-standards, in order to educate the next generation of pioneers for this dynamic and creative industry.

You studied fine art yourself – why did you set up Escape Studios?

I studied fine art with every intention of becoming a practising artist. When I left college and the reality of earning money appeared before me, I followed my passion for 3D, film and VFX and thought I would combine all three in a career in computer graphics.

Unfortunately, my degree and creative capacity didn't mean anything to potential employers. They were all looking for practical software skills, an understanding of the production process and as a strong aesthetic sensibility. From my own experience of entering the industry, I had the idea of creating a school to bridge the gap in this area and Escape Studios was born.

Do you think arts and higher education do enough at the moment to bridge that gap?

I think that the whole of the higher education sector is under tremendous pressure to give better value to their students. With the increase in fees and the changing shape of a global employment landscape, the graduate job market is becoming even more competitive.

The problem is that while all of this is going on, the world of higher education has been internationalising in the same way as the music, film and TV industries over the last few years. The accelerating digital world is changing access to information and skills forever and some universities are stuck with an ethos that came from a bygone era. I think fostering creativity and industry engagement are key to building the right skills for employers, but also the future leaders of our industry.

Do you think computer graphics and VFX gets the artistic respect it deserves? I get the feeling there's a stigma that if you're creative behind a computer screen, it's not worthy artistically…

I agree; there are a huge number of incredibly talented artists who have come from traditional backgrounds and reapplied their skills to a digital world. The fact that teams of artists collaborate to create new realities brings a level of anonymity that is not usual in the wider world of art.

I think if the public really understood what goes into every single frame of a movie – the high levels of artistry, technology and ingenuity – then VFX artists would get much more respect. This is one of the purposes of the VFX festival, which invites curious creatives to see behind the scenes of this industry and appreciate the skill that goes into it.

VFX has very much become a staple of modern film, but what's the relationship between a film's art department and the VFX team – is it a close one?

I think the lines between pre- and post-production have blurred. The involvement that VFX artists require at the start of the production process to keep projects on budget and on time has become very much the norm and will only continue to evolve.

As the VFX industry matures, supported by cutting edge technologies, it's becoming easier to bring ideas to life. In some ways, visual effects has become an extension of the art department, used to better tell a story and I don't see that diminishing any time soon.

What lessons from the VFX world do you think the wider creative industries could learn?

Collaboration while embracing both digital and traditional technologies to deliver truly awe-inspiring visual content. This has to be something that all creative industries can engage with. The dramatic advances in VFX over the last two decades were achieved while striving for greater realism. The technologies we use in the industry were developed and progressed so we could create a more real, more believable and more fantastical visual effect – essentially to better tell stories.

Visual adrenaline is the lifeblood of the VFX industry, which is what makes it one of the most exciting industries to work in.

What can you tell me about the VFX festival, closing this week?

By immersing our students in an environment that mimics the real world of production and demystifying the processes and techniques used in the VFX industry, we're able to teach much quicker than traditional universities. The festival is just an expansion on this core ethos, allowing the general public access behind the scenes and to see this amazing industry from a completely different angle.

The festival brings the industry's greatest talent to the fore along with its most impressive works, with exclusive behind-the-scenes screenings of the latest blockbusters, including Gravity, undoubtedly the VFX industry's biggest triumph of 2013. It's a really exciting project to work on and we look forward to seeing lots of new curious faces in the audience.

What next for VFX and storytelling? Will the UK continue to be seen as a world leader in this area?

The future of visual effects and motion graphics is a bright one. As a society we consume content that relies on 3D or 2D production in a variety of shapes and forms. This is great news for people working in this area and the UK has some great project opportunities on the horizon.

One opportunity we're particularly excited about is Star Wars Episode VII, due to film in the UK in 2014. This follows a tradition where all six previous Star Wars movies had production time in UK studios. Off the back of this, it's rumoured that Industrial Light & Magic, a division of Lucasfilm Ltd, will be opening a studio here in London – a company that every VFX artist dreams of working for at some stage in their career!

To have a studio here in Europe throws up some very exciting prospects for VFX artists, who until now had to travel to a different continent for this kind of opportunity. The UK are still world leaders in this sector and as long as we remain so, we'll continue to attract companies and projects like these.

Finally, what top tips would you give an arts student looking to break into the VFX industry?

Be humble, be kind and keep things simple – this is a recipe for success no matter what you do. For an aspiring VFX artist looking to break into the industry I recommend doing research on the area you want to work in. Check out the different roles available and think about your own natural strengths as well as what interests you.

Choosing the right role is important, because when the pressure is on you'll need the passion and drive to remain committed. The people who succeed in this industry aren't in it for the money (although I'm sure it helps), but for the love of the job.

Once you've found the route you want to go down, do all you can to gain the skills you need to get your foot in the door. To work in this industry you'll need to learn the craft, and that requires training. Some people learn on the job, starting as a runner and working their way up – others take a slightly quicker route through education, learning the techniques and tools that studios look for.

Dominic Davenport is founder of Escape Studios – follow it on Twitter @Escape_Studios

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