ASVP Camera Tracking Supervisor

Job Description

Amazon Virtual Production (AVP) is looking for an AVP Camera Tracking Supervisor for our Unreal-based system. Your office will be on the set of a massive stage in Culver City capturing gorgeous photo-real worlds in our new AVP LED Volume. You will supervise the on-set camera tracking system for our live action in-camera, real-time motion picture capture system. Unreal will be one of the tools that you will use to link the practical set to the virtual world. You will supervise motion capture, data collection, and real-time compositing on a live action set. You will interface directly with the Director of Photography of Production in the LED volume. You will establish workflows with Camera department and Virtual Production departments to ensure quality data capture and high fidelity data streaming during production.

As part of Amazon Studios, AVP is leading a creative plan to help filmmakers bring their projects to life in a safe, innovative, and inspired art facility. You must be a builder at heart and a collaborator in spirit. This position will work closely with key creatives, production, and the insanely talented technology crew of Amazon/AWS. Join us at the beginning of our global Virtual Production initiative. We will obsess over the filmmaker and the filmmaking process. Our goal is to enhance the traditional ways of filmmaking and invent new ways using technology to enhance the art of storytelling. This is ground zero for the building of our global filmmaking pipeline which includes the opening of our LED volume stage. On Day 1, it will connect to teams of collaborators around the world in the cloud. Our new filmmaker workflows will ensure safety, limit exposure, add flexibility to schedules, and bring creative talent together in innovative ways.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
• Assist the AVP Production Supervisor in building a robust departmental structure for managing the virtual production needs of the AVP LED Volume.
• Prepare stage and camera capture systems for real-time capture in a live action shooting volume.
• Responsible for position verification and alignment of tracked camera in the volume.
• Ensure quality real-time camera tracking data and the integrity of all captured data.
• Oversee motion capture system setup, calibration, and operation during shooting.
• Direct layout of motion capture cameras and make adjustments in response to changing conditions on set.
• Responsible for maintenance of markers (passive and active) and tracking objects for use on cameras, props, actors, and for set registration.
• Work with Camera department to ensure tracking objects and sensors are always attached/calibrated to ensure quality real-time tracking data.
• Coordinate camera offset and lens calibration during lens changes.
• Responsible for lens encoding calibration, recording, and streaming to Unreal.
• Ensure genlock between camera, motion capture, render, and display systems.
• Ensure synchronization of timecode and between camera, audio and motion capture systems.
• Test and verify that genlock and timecode are consistent between all systems at the start of each shoot day.
• Responsible for uptime of the real-time data stream.
• Responsible for alignment of Unreal world origin and volume origin each time the camera layout changes/set changes.
• Responsible for camera calibration alignment. The marker tree (sputnik) weighted around pivot needs to be aligned to nodal point of lens every time the lens is changed on the camera.
• Develop for each camera, on each camera support device, marker configuration/constellation.
• Oversee UE4 Composure setup, calibration, and operation for real-time compositing during shooting.
• Contribute to the development of custom pipelines for projects with specific creative and/or technological needs (including new technology) in collaboration with Amazon's engineering teams and existing, turn-key solutions.
• Manage department schedule, resourcing, and systems validation.
• Review and maintain a high level of visual quality as well as signal quality between departments.
• Assist in talent recruitment, VP education, and AVP technology publicity.
• Manage reporting of all work to AVP Production Supervisor.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
• Hands-on experience with OptiTrack or similar camera tracking system.
• Must be a builder, self-starter, curious, deep diver, big thinker, honest, resourceful, inventor, story-teller, have a tremendous bias for action, and work well in a small, multi-disciplinary, specialized team.
• Must have an understanding for setting up and maintaining the Unreal pipeline for motion capture data streams.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and diplomacy skills, especially under pressure in a production shooting environment.
• High ability to trouble shoot complex integrated systems of computers, video recording systems, software, and other sensor driven systems.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
• Good understanding of a variety of concepts, practices, and procedures used in VFX, live-action film production, and the game industry
• Advanced knowledge of both genlock and timecode sync systems.
• Familiarity with lens calibration and lens profiling.
• Working knowledge of UE4 Blueprinting and Virtual cameras
• Familiarity with version control systems, eg., Perforce, Git
• Detail oriented, highly organized and be able to handle a variety of tasks in an efficient manner.
• Highly computer literate with Windows and Linux/Mac Operating systems
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and have the ability to efficiently multi-task
• 3+ years of on-set experience, live television, and/or Post-production - preferably Camera Tracking or Camera Dept.
• Familiarity with VFX CG/Light/Comp workflows and software.

For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please visit https://www.amazon.jobs/en/disability/us

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-rbqk76-18-220-11-34-42 in your application.