Lead Animator

Job Description

Are you a Lead Animator interested in working with us on our next big feature animation? Then don't miss your chance to work on The Shrinking of the Treehorns, directed by none other than Ron Howard!

The Lead Animator is responsible for motivating and leading a team of animators, working closely with the Sydney based Animation Supervisor and Director to realize their vision, while ensuring the standard and quality of the animation produced is consistently high.

What you'll get to do:
• Provide leadership, direction and allocation of work to the animators within your team
• Work closely with your Animators, as well as the Rigging and Modelling departments to ensure characters remain on model and style
• Establish and maintain an appropriate level of communication with all crew members and ensure they are properly supported and mentored
• When required, produce high quality animation in line with the Directors creative vision
• Become proficient with the department's propriety tools
• Understand the processes of adjoining departments and communicate with these departments as needed
• Understand the overall brief and goals of a project and communicate this clearly to each member of the team
• Delegate work responsibly to ensure successful completion of shots across team members of all skill levels
• Drive team reviews and, when appropriate, offer creative feedback on reviewed shots
• Work with the Animation Supervisor and the production team to prepare bids and pitches as required
• Prioritize and break down a project into organized parts

What you bring:

Experience
• 10+ years' Animation experience in feature animation
• Proven leadership experience within feature animation
• Proven ability to produce feature film quality character animation in a range of styles, with a strong focus on naturalistic/realistic human movement and acting

Knowledge/Skills
• A deep knowledge of animation techniques and a proficiency in Maya, within a feature film animation pipeline preferred
• Deep understanding of traditional animation techniques and the principles of character performance such as posing, staging, timing, acting and storytelling techniques
• A deep understanding of anatomy, movement and basic real-world physics and their application for animation
• Have an ''eye'' for the nuances of a believable action
• Understand department pipelines including all assets and tools, and their purpose
• A knowledge of rigging and pipeline to help direct any technical changes
• Recognised post-secondary qualification in animation, film or related field preferable
• The ability to help define the brief and direction with draw overs that define the intent visually

Attributes
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills working with production and other departments as required
• Ability to effectively work, communicate and provide feedback with all personality types
• Ability to listen and be open to all feedback given and apply this to shots moving forward; anticipating the supervisors/directors preference in accordance to the style of the project
• Enthusiasm, positivity, initiative and talent coupled with an understanding for taking direction and performing tasks to the individual's best abilities
• Detail orientated, balanced with a strong technical understand to quality control each shot in a sequence
• Ability to multitask, prioritise and balance workloads to achieve deadlines within a team environment
• Open to new workflows and tool sets

What we offer you:
• The opportunity to join a growing, independently owned and operated, award-winning studio!
• A central location in sunny Sydney, minutes from the CBD and famous Bondi Beach
• A chance to contribute to the success of ground-breaking animated feature films
• Exposure to working within a USD pipeline
• A dedicated Learning and Development and Artist Management team focused on your personal career growth
• Flexible work arrangements, with a one day per week work from home option
• A generous leave policy including paid annual leave, sick days, as well as 'Volunteer' days to support those causes close to your heart!
• A world-renowned working environment packed with social clubs, activities and events
• A variety of employee benefits includin g superannuation, emplo yee discounts, breakfast, free use of barista coffee machines and snacks galore!

If this sounds like the opportunity you've been waiting for, then we want to hear from you. Submit your application below!

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-g3xq7x-3-149-255-162-42 in your application.