Andy McNamara is Head of CG at Cinesite, but back in 2015 he was part of the legendary Rushes, a small but vital post-production facility in the heart of Soho that punched way above its weight with broadcast, pop promos, commercials, motion graphics and film work.

One of Rushes’ last jobs was the ground breaking UI work on Spectre. Andy tells us what core skills he thinks are needed and why first principles of photography are still essential in a world of increasingly complex software.

Hear how a short course in Compositing at Escape took Kajsa away from a career at CERN's Large Hadron Collider and took her on a journey of cutting her teeth on Ridey Scott's "The Martian" and mixing with (acting) royalty for The Crown tv series. Kajsa tells us stories of her work on Wonder Woman and some nifty invisible paint and prep work, before hopping onto the challenges of Altered Carbon. Hear why she loves working on a mix of film and tv, and why she enjoyed working on the Witcher.

Framestore's VFX Supervisor Stuart Penn joins Anita in the Escape Pod to discuss the most amazing film of 2013, Gravity. So how do you make a movie look like it is shot in the endless void of space? Stuart discusses how the film could not have existed without previz, and how it takes the dedication and collaboration of all departments involved.

2012 was supposedly the end of time in the Mayan Calendar, but instead we had the Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Portuguese Escapee Ricardo Ferreira found himself staying on in London and at the centre of the explosion of Stereo 3D films - creating stereo 3D compositing for Dredd, Wrath of the Titans and even Tim Burton's Frankenweenie in the same year! What was it like being in the middle of the Stereo3D goldrush and how did that lead to later work on Oscar-laden classics like Gravity and Interstellar?

2011 was the year of the final entry in the Harry Potter series. We are joined by Michael Davies who worked on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Philip Meredith who worked on the video game version. We discuss the tools that were used to make both versions, how much has changed over the years and what is coming next in the industry!

2010 was the Year of  "Inception" and Paul Franklin was the VFX supervisor who brought Nolan's visions to the screen. Hear about how an Icelandic volcano nearly scuppered preparation for the genre-defying dream heist film, and how Paul coped with a mix of film and digital formats to create one of the best films of the decade, and went on to win his first Oscar!

Our 'Evening with' guest speaker Christopher Townsend joins our industry guru Anita in the Escape pod. The VFX Supervisor on most of Marvel's best known films, joins us to discuss his route into the industry, perseverance,  problem solving with global teams, and dedicating yourself to a project until it's a wrap.

Animation Director, Robert Valley, who was a previous guest of Escape's 'Evening with', spent many years working with our industry partner and mentor, Passion Pictures. He returns to chat with us about his move to London at a time when his animation style was most influenced.

It's 2007, and its the year of Transformers! Escape's super sleuth Anita tracks down David Prescott, Visual Effects Supervisor on the first film, and now Senior Vice President of Creative Production at DNEG Animation. So what was 'Bay-hem' really like, and what advice does David have for todays students? Transformers, more than meets the eye!

Escape's roving reporter and friend of the stars Anita Gribble meets VFX legend Steve Begg in a secret subterranean location in Soho to hear all about his role in 2006's Casino Royale film, with its unique mix of physical and digital effects, and how Steve's experience in both led to some amazing effects. Steve also talks about the skills needed to replicate reality in VFX, and why he's still not convinced about Virtual Production.