Lead Environment Generalist

Job Description

Framestore has an exciting and rare opportunity for a Lead Environment Generalist in our Melbourne studio.

This role will lead a team of Environment Generalists who are responsible for creating photo-real digital environments for high end visual effects shots through the use of 3D CGI techniques which include: modeling, procedural geometry and scene assemblies, texturing, shading and lookdev, lighting, rendering and matte painting.

This is a hybrid role and based out of our Melbourne studio.

Relocation assistance would be provided for those not based in Melbourne, Australia.

Responsibilities:
• Manage and mentor a team of Environment artists.
• Collaborate with the Environments Supervisor to achieve the creative vision of the client and the technical requirements of the Show.
• Participate actively in team and show reviews; fill in for the Environment Supervisor in internal and client creative reviews when needed. Ensure feedback from reviews is appropriately addressed.
• Assist the Environment Supervisor in assessing crew needs for the team.
• Assist the Environments Supervisor in bidding out asset creation and shot costs, assessing the cost implications of client requests, and working out solutions.
• Contribute to the ongoing development and testing of Environments tools, pipelines and workflows for both your show and the studio as a whole.
• Participate in show post-mortems, and help develop & integrate solutions to the problems identified in them.
• Help communicate the creative and technical expectations for the team, and support the Environment Supervisor in seeing them through via consistent constructive feedback, recognition, and accountability.
• Model and foster a culture of professional excellence based on trust, candor and respect.
• Help inspire and motivate the team.
• Actively support the professional growth of all members of the Environments department by supporting mentoring, training and other initiatives.
• Create an inclusive and safe work environment by carefully managing sensitive information, creating space for everyone to have a voice, and addressing bias when it occurs.
• Provide regular updates to the Environments Supervisor on the progress, health, and direction of the team.

Artistic requirements
• Create photo-realistic digital matte paintings, textures and models or collaborating with specialists in those disciplines as required
• Assembling models, digital matte paintings, textures, projections and lights into a CG scene for rendering
• Troubleshooting technical issues with the CG scene and optimising the renders to work within the resources available
• Working with a shot Compositor to assemble renders and projections in a compositing application
• Working to develop the look of a shot, assets or sequence with the Visual Effects and CG Supervisors
• Lighting and scene assembly for other shots or assets as required, including characters and animation
• Identifying the best approach for matching the quality of the plate photography
• Communicating with production on a regular basis in regards to schedules and deadlines
• Working in partnership with other departments to ensure that shots are delivered to the highest possible standard

Qualifications and Essential Skills:
• Previous experience as a Senior or Lead Artist
• At least 4 years previous experience working in a film VFX pipeline
• 3D Generalist skills
• A traditional arts background with an emphasis on photo-realistic work and environments
• Strong knowledge of Photoshop, Nuke
• Strong knowledge of Maya, Houdini, ZBrush, Mari or other comparable DCC packages
• Modeling, UV layout and texturing skills
• Look development and Lighting with emphasis on environment scenes
• A strong understanding of the entire VFX process
• Good communication and organisational skills
• Creative problem solving abilities
• Excellent attention to detail
• Able to take direction well and work as part of a team
• Able to work well under pressure and meet deadlines while maintaining high quality results

Desirable Skills:
• Experience with a wide range of generalist software used to create digital environments and matte paintings
• Previous experience with 2.5 D workflow
• Artistic skills in digital matte painting
• Experience with volumetric rendering for clouds and atmosphere
• A traditional arts background with an emphasis on photo-realism and environments
• Previous experience working on a computer with the Linux operating system
• An understanding of cutting edge technology in the field such as photogrammetry and photo based 3D reconstruction

If this sounds like a fit, we'd love to hear from you!

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-rzvzvq-3-145-108-9-42 in your application.