Animation Lead

You would report to a director within the Animation team and be responsible for reviewing outsourcing work, setting the quality benchmarks on motion capture retargets, and creating high-quality performances in all aspects of your work. You know how to reveal attitude, emotions, and mood through a character's movement and behavior, and create memorable characters which will appeal to players. It's essential to have knowledge of the timing and appearance of human and animal movement as well as facial expressions. In the end, the look of a game is one of the most significant factors contributing to the overall success of the game.

Role Requirements

• Degree in Fine Arts, Computer Animation, or a related field preferred.
• Minimum of 7 years of professional animation experience in a production environment.
• Expert proficiency in Maya and MotionBuilder.
• Expert proficiency in FACS based facial rigs.
• Experience supervising outsourcing teams
• Experience with motion-capture workflows, including retargeting, scene assembly, and shot creation for production.
• Advanced understanding of animation principles, body mechanics, character acting, and facial performance.
• Strong artistic judgment and the ability to create realistic, believable human performances.
• Passion for animation and a commitment to producing high-quality work.
• Ability to work on-site, with a hybrid option available.

Role Expectations

• Review outsourcing teams’ work by providing clear direction and concise, easy-to-follow animation notes
• Communicate with the franchise animation directors and leads on quality and delivery expectations.
• Create high-quality animation using motion-capture data.
• Animate convincing weight, personality, mood, and emotion through realistic or stylized character performances.
• Apply classical animation principles and strong knowledge of body mechanics, character acting, and facial animation.
• Collaborate with the Animation Director and Leads to ensure work meets creative, technical, narrative, and gameplay objectives.
• Record reference video based on direction and feedback from the Animation Director and Leads.
• Interpret feedback, complete revisions, and deliver work at the expected quality within assigned timelines.
• Learn and use proprietary animation runtime and integration tools.
• Support Animation Directors by reviewing animation team work and documenting clear, actionable animation notes in Shotgun for team members.
• Communicate and collaborate effectively with directors, animators, production staff, and technical teams.
• Organize files, work, and notes so they are clear and accessible to other team members.
• Actively participate in team meetings, reviews, and production discussions, with prompt and reliable attendance.
• Mentor junior team members and provide constructive feedback and guidance.
• Body retargeting experience would be an added bonus.