After university, she went on to study a two-year postgraduate course at the Royal College of Art in London, England. Here, in 1992, she graduated with MA (RCA) degree in visual communication. It would be the same year that Middleton would go on to direct and write the animated short film A Fairy Tale of Our Time. The short reached critical acclaim and was later nominated for best short film at the 46th annual Cannes Film Festival.