Head Of Department - Rigging

Job Description

Technicolor Production Services is the division with Technicolor, which contains Technicolor's world-leading Visual effects and Animation brands such as MPC, Mr. X, The Mill, and Mikros.

Technicolor's brands have worked on the spectacular scenes and tiny details that make movies, advertising campaigns and Animation movies genuinely mind-blowing. We're the people behind the effects in countless blockbuster films like The Lion King, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and advertising campaigns for clients such as Samsung, Audi, Nike and Apple. We are continually looking for the best talent globally, enthusiastic people who come in every day to be a part of some of the industry's best work. Technicolor's artists are wildly creative, uber-talented and passionate about the possibilities of VFX, Experiential, Animation and Technology. When you join the team, you'll be working with and learning from the most skilled people in the business.

Reporting to the Head of Assets, the Rigging HOD should be experienced and passionate about building photo-realistic assets, develop tools, and have experience in leading/mentoring teams in all aspects of work. You will oversee the development and maintenance of the studio's proprietary rigs and ripping pipeline.

Primary Responsibilities:

Managing the team:
• Manage the recruitment, training, and integration of new artists into the existing team in accordance with the global needs of the business
• Assign appropriate teams to the various projects, balancing the technical and creative considerations of the task
• Nurture creative vision and technical ability, while ensuring balanced personal and professional development
• Assess performance of the team through appraisals (formal as well as informal), and manage salaries and promotions within the wider considerations of the company
• Ensure that appropriate training is being provided to the department to hit the requirements of our shows
• Main point of contact for, and directly responsible for Asset Supervisors
• Identify suitable staff to develop leadership roles within the company and ensure feedback and development plans are carried out

Strategy and technical development:
• Work with technical and artistic supervisors to determine workflows, tool requirements and asset needs;
• Supervise/mentor rigging team, and focus on improving the overall quality and efficiency of creatures/characters/props workflow;
• Attend turnover meetings, asset breakdowns, and bidding/re-bidding over the course of the shows;
• Collaborates with multiple departments including the Assets, Look Development, Animation, and show specific VFX Supervisors to find the most appropriate solution to produce desired performances;
• Ensuring the creature team/show meets the shows requirements; determines the technical and aesthetic approaches to hit targets on time while monitoring show leads
• Create and rig the internal anatomy of a creature, in order to drive the final deformation of the skin;
• Create feature-quality, scripted rigs and refine them based on the needs of animators and downstream departments.
• Implement and refine work flow for character, body/face, cloth/deformer and hard-surface rigs
• Work closely with modeling and animation HODs to ensure an asset is efficiently rigged and capable of believable movements.
• Have a compelling strategy and vision for the future of the department
• Ensure the department remains relevant in an ever-changing global industry
• Propose and oversee the development of new tools, workflows or techniques as required for successful and efficient delivery of shows
• Ensure the department's working practices are in alignment with the studio's global strategies
• Monitor, measure and report on issues and opportunities within agreed formats and timescales

Show planning and delivery:
• Work with the lead artists, supervisors and show production to bid or plan Assets/pitches, and ensure the project methodologies, quality and schedule expectations are consistent and achievable
• Create good communication channels with other departments, show production and senior management to ensure complex information is disseminated appropriately
• Ensure that work is delivered to studio's global standards, on time and on budget
• Assist other artists, departments and supervisors solve issues as they arise during production, delegating work where necessary

Qualifications
• Proven leadership experience;
• Rigging knowledge ranging from simple props to complicated creatures;
• Thorough understanding of techniques and technologies relating to rigging;
• Deep knowledge in anatomy and muscle dynamics;
• Good eye for aesthetics of body/face deformations;
• Object oriented programming design skills;
• Proficient Python development skills and debugging techniques;
• Excellent working knowledge of Maya;
• Experience with Qt, PyQt, PySide;
• Excellent leadership skills;
• Technical support focused;
• Strong verbal and written communications skills;
• Able to work well in a fast-paced environment;
• Ability to work under pressure with strict deadlines;
• Ability to work within a team and with other departments.

Nice to Have:
• Highly proficient in cloth/hair/flesh/rigid body simulations. Setting up, running, and troubleshooting cloth, hair, flesh surfaces, and fur/feather simulations;
• C++ programming experience;
• Linux knowledge;

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-rb7k1y-3-138-102-178-42 in your application.