Compositor - Lead (Expression Of Interest)

Position: Compositor - Lead

Hiring Range: $135,000 to $140,000/year for a 40 hour work week

Project Contract: End of March start

Company Benefits: Extended healthcare from day 1, premiums 100% covered by Image Engine, up to 8 paid Health and Wellness days per year.

*Candidates are required to be based in British Columbia*

ABOUT IMAGE ENGINE

Image Engine is a world-class VFX studio based in Vancouver, BC, that has built a reputation for excellence in the visual effects industry since 1995. We specialize in crafting stunning visual effects for feature films and television with an award-winning portfolio that includes The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian, Game Of Thrones, Lost in Space, Jurassic World, and District 9.

We offer a full range of visual effects services, from concept designs and pre-visualization to CG animation, compositing, and explosive volumetric digital effects. Our crew is passionate about storytelling and pushing the artistic and technical boundaries to deliver the highest quality work on every project. R&D is central to our philosophy of driving creativity through innovation and we're committed to continually evolving our robust production pipelines.

At Image Engine, we value diversity and teamwork, and we're proud to foster a workplace culture that is supportive, respectful, and empowering. We believe that our success is a reflection of our exceptionally talented team, and we're always looking for passionate and dedicated individuals to join us on our mission to create unforgettable visual experiences. Join our team and be part of something extraordinary.

POSITION PURPOSE

As a key member of the Compositing team, the Lead plays a vital role in the quality control and leadership of the Compositing team. They set a positive tone for the team by exhibiting constructive behaviour and are responsible for defining the Compositing methodologies for their team. This includes creating efficient templates and communicating feedback to artists in a clear and concise manner to ensure quality and consistency standards are met across sequences.

The Lead provides training, guidance, and support to the rest of the Compositing team to ensure they adhere to best practices and meet all deadlines. They may also assess tasks and delegate them to team members as necessary. During peak periods, they maintain clarity and focus to ensure timely delivery of the show, and are proactive about assisting the Compositing Supervisor with delivering shots & QCing the team’s work.

In addition, the Lead contributes to the overall operation and improvement of the Compositing department. They help to set and maintain department standards, proactively communicate with other departments to ensure efficient workflows, provide solutions to technical issues, and participate in the buddy system for new employees. The Lead will develop new processes and stay up to date on innovative technologies to keep the Compositing team on the cutting edge. 

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Take direction from the Compositing Supervisor & VFX Supervisor, and communicate the creative brief and technical standards to the Compositing team.
• Maintain communication with the Compositing Supervisor to assess, assign and monitor Compositing needs.
• Proactively share feedback with the team to give actionable insights, and advice on how to efficiently address client notes.
• Proactively review shots and give feedback to artists to ensure continuity is upheld across shots and sequences.
• Coach artists on Compositing techniques and best practices via 1:1 meetings, 2D Tips & Tricks training sessions, etc.
• Seek to uncover any bottlenecks or struggles artists might have, and proactively help the team to overcome them. This could be technical knowledge, help solving render errors, or seeking help from coordinators to overcome scheduling issues.
• Proactively communicate with other department leads (primarily Lighting, Lookdev & FX) to develop the look & methodology of keyshots.
• Promote interdepartmental collaboration within the team.
• Pick up key shots and deliver creatively excellent WIPs to clients for creative sign-off with minimal guidance.
• Create lightweight, modular and easy-to-understand templates in Nuke to help the team efficiently replicate the look of a keyshot over a sequence of shots.
• Design and develop procedural and innovative tool sets, pipelines and techniques for the Compositing team.
• Aid Compositors in finding real-world references to help develop their eye for detail.
• Offer guidance and mentoring for junior to mid-level compositors.
• Complete complex Compositing tasks including blue/greenscreen keys, CG character/object integration into plate photography, creating light & shadow elements, full-CG shots, etc. with minimal guidance.
• Manage time and resources to meet weekly targets.
• Communicate successes and challenges faced by the team to the Compositing Supervisor.
• Assist the Supervisor to fill any gaps a show might need. This could include Compositing shots, helping to QC work, etc.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• 5+ years’ experience in Compositing digital VFX for film & high-end streaming projects
• Experience leading teams (6+ people) on large projects of 300+ shots 
• Proven experience solving challenging Compositing shots
• Thorough understanding of photography, composition, lighting & physics.
• Excellent attention to detail when finalizing, approving or quality-controlling shots
• Ability to balance quick turnaround while achieving a high degree of aesthetic quality

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Technical skills

• Expert knowledge of Compositing workflows in Nuke, and how to make aesthetically pleasing and technically sound photorealistic imagery.
• Understanding of the Lead role & best practices
• Thorough understanding of photography, composition, lighting & physics.
• Ability to train and coach artists in optimal Compositing techniques and best practices
• Strong aptitude for technical workflow challenges between departments, industry-standard conventions, and automation tools.

Core skills

• Ability to help with bidding; determine the timeframe and scope required for each project
• Ability to troubleshoot and deal with competing priorities and projects
• Capable of managing a team of artists; setting expectations, and managing their time
• Ability to assess artist’s strengths and weaknesses to assign tasks and manage workflow
• Ability to adapt quickly to new technologies and applications
• Ability to teach new techniques and apply new approaches to push Compositing to the next level
• Proactive at finding and resolving bottlenecks
• Strong leadership skills
• Excellent time management and communication skills
• Ability to remain calm during peak production periods and maintain the morale of the Compositing team.