October 21 2011
Summary of Position
Pixar Canada is looking for a Visual Effects TD for its Vancouver studio for a contract position ending June 2012.
In Pixar’s production process, the term “TD” means “Technical Artist”. The Visual Effects TD works with other crew members to create visual effects in an animated film. Visual effects work often includes aspects of modeling, simulation and animation, shading, lighting, rendering, and compositing for the visual effects elements of a shot.
General Duties and Responsibilities
The Visual Effects TD is responsible for creation, revision, maintenance and support of the effects elements in a shot, responding to guidance and review notes from the director as well as creative and technical supervisors. Visual Effects TDs work closely with other departments, especially with Lighting and Rendering, to make sure that the effects integrate properly with other elements. TDs often use reference footage of real world phenomena or film-library reference to guide their development of a particular effect.
Visual effects work typically includes simulation of dynamics and natural phenomena, as well as direct animation of effects elements by hand or using procedural techniques. At Pixar, simulation is done using a variety of tools including proprietary in-house software, Houdini, Maya, etc. The Visual Effects artist must be flexible and adaptable, with a wide range of skills from scripting or programming to a good eye and a good sense of weight and timing.
Background and Qualifications
Must have 3 or more years experience in CG visual effects production for animation, live-action film, or television.
Must have a good working knowledge of Houdini and Shake.
Must be comfortable working in a Linux environment.
Must have a good “eye” and a good understanding of light, color, illumination and shading. Must have a good sense of weight and timing, to judge whether motion appears natural and convincing.
Must have strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail and quality.
Must have good written and verbal communication skills, and be able to communicate clearly and effectively with both technical and non-technical users of the software.
Must be able to work alone and collaboratively, often with multiple tasks and under deadline pressure.
Must be open to direction and able to embrace change.
Bachelor’s degree in computer science, mathematics, physics, or engineering is a plus.
Submission Process
If you are interested in and qualified for this position, please submit your cover letter, resume, and a link that points us directly to your demo reel and reel breakdown/shotlist. Enter your submission on our website www.pixarcanada.com. PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL DEMO REELS. If you don’t have a website to showcase your work, you may be able to use a free service like Dropbox.
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