Key Artist - Crowd

Job Description

We are an award-winning visual effects company built on the belief that our strength lies in our team and our success relies on our people. By embracing our clients in our culture of mutual trust and commitment we set the stage for seamless partnerships and the perfect translation of creative vision to visual art. By partnering with our clients through every stage of their project we help shape and guide what makes it to the screen in some of the World's most exciting film and television content. By uniting with our friends to tell their stories, we become storytellers ourselves.

Our Crowd TDs are responsible for using Houdini to populate cities, choreograph battles, wrangle herds and inject life into our CG scenes.

If you have a passion for crowd work and can use Houdini then we want to hear from you, whether you've just graduated, are looking for new challenges or are used to leading teams of Crowd TDs - all levels are welcome!
• Produce realistic animation: ranging from several individuals to several thousand autonomous agents, using standard Maya techniques in conjunction with a sophisticated simulation framework.
• Have a solid understanding of the crowd pipeline from start to finish.
• Ability to help setup the basic pipeline needs for the show and address of other departments such as Lighting.
• Participate in dailies and desk rounds, and willingness to take direction as well as work independently to address feedback and problem solve.
• Deliver on schedule and meet deadlines, and work under pressure if required.
• Ability to communicate effectively with Leads, and work collaboratively as part of a team.

Qualifications
• Broad working knowledge of 3D and 2D generalist skills, including aspects of modelling, layout, animation, scripting, lighting, fx and compositing, and an ability to work closely with people in related disciplines.
• Previous CG production experience in feature films, broadcast or games.
• Intermediate-Advanced level user of Maya, or similar 3D package.
• Mel and/or Python scripting ability is invaluable, C++, Lua or similar programming experience advantageous.
• Good eye for realistic movement, behaviour and layout both in individuals and crowds.
• Familiarity with simulation techniques and technology, not just in crowds but also cloth, physics & fluids.
• Familiarity with at least one film compositing application (Shake and/or Nuke preferred), and a good understanding of the compositing process.
• Good computer skills, particularly with the UNIX/Linux command line.
• Familiarity with MASSIVE or other crowd simulation packages would be beneficial, but not essential.
• Experience with development of intelligent particle/crowd/flocking systems is an advantage.
• A general understanding of the whole visual effects pipeline and familiarity with standard 3D and 2D tools is also very beneficial.
• Work alongside the HOD & Leads to define the needs for the show and identify any additions or modifications to our existing tool-set or pipeline.
• Write tools & workflows to automate new processes or to facilitate other departments/ more junior artists.
• Assist more junior artists with any issues they are having, offer advice as to how best interpret feedback and solve more complex problems.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-d5bov0-3-149-252-37-42 in your application.