Nick van Diem

Work History

• Developer

  Immersive Study in VR

  March 2015 - Present

  London

  Studying the Immersive experience of Creature interactions in VR
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  Creature/Rigging TD

  Industrial Light & Magic

  November 2014 - Present

  [Simulations]
  • Set up and run proprietary cloth, hair, flesh surfaces and rigid body simulations
  • Hero-creature enveloping using a combination of commercial software packages and proprietary tools
  • Run flesh-volume simulations
  • Wrangle creature rigging issues for artists in other disciplines
  • Script utilities/tools/plug-ins in various software packages
  • Wrangle creature pipeline issues for artists in other disciplines
  • MOCAP data re-targeting
  
  [Rigging]
  • Provide Rigging, Enveloping and Tool Development
  • Use maya and proprietary modular plugin to

  

  

  

  

  

  
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  Rigging TD

  Double Negative

  March 2013 - November 2014

  Working across a variety of roles within the Creature/Character TD discipline depending on what is required on the show… primary role and specialty is Rigging and Pipeline Tools but also shot work, covering; Shot Sculpt, CFX, and Crowd.
  As a Rigger... work closely with the CG Supe(s) to ensure rigs are pipeline friendly for animation, texturing, lighting and rendering. This also involves working with the Animation Lead/Supervisors to develop intuitive and responsive rigs for each character/vehicle/prop required. In addition, close communication with the Modelling Department to ensure that models are suitable for rigging and performance is optimised.
  Also in a supportive role, communicate with the R&D Department where necessary to effectively help develop the tools and technology to aid in delivering high-quality rigs.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
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  Pipeline TD

  Double Negative

  January 2013 - June 2014

  A varied position covering many aspects of a show pipe during Production. Some key points...
  • Vet artist requests for new tools.
  • Technical support (hardware/software) - lasing between between Show crew and/or the Technology and RND departments
  • Supporting tickets for issues related to main pipe (db), 3D and 2D disciplines
  • Tool development for 3D/2D
  • Work with artists to improve tool usability
  • Post Mortem: facilitate hand-off of show tools and pipeline improvements during production for integration into SITE toolset.
  • Work with CG Supervisor and
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  ATD

  Double Negative

  March 2011 - January 2013

  Provide direct technical support to Animation and FX departments during shot work to ensure smooth
  transition of data between departments. This also included scene fixing and data wrangling to debug
  problem submissions to the publishing system along with render dispatcher and cache debugging.
  
  This was a supportive role to the PipelineTDs. Generally building and supporting elements to a shows pipeline.
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  Technology

  Double Negative

  January 2010 - July 2011

  Primary role was providing general 3D technical application support across all shows running through the facility. This involved debugging inhouse and third party code to minimise tool disruption to the pipeline. In addition, a large component of this was tracking and liaising application related bugs (Maya/Mudbox/Mari/ZBrush/Photoshop) and working with our vendor account managers and technical consultants to ensure a quick and hassle free resolution. Further more, I was responsible for benching any new custom cuts, dot releases, or version updates from
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  Technical Animation TD

  Double Negative

  June 2010 - December 2010

  Primary scope was to ensure all animation material was pipeline ready and cache sanitised for pickup by downstream departments.
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  TechRunner

  Double Negative

  January 2010 - February 2010

  Varied Role...
  
  Render Wrangling: supporting crew feed work through the distributed rendering system.
  
  Workstation Support: directly supporting crew in the facility to assist with any technical areas of their hardware and liaising between artist and the Technology department in general to help resolve any issues.
  
  Hardware Maintenance: monitor calibrations, projector calibrations, and maintaining viewing environments across multiple operating systems.
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  Technical Support

  Escape Studios

  November 2009 - January 2010

  • Assist head of Technology with the smooth running of the facility
  • Offsite hardware support with Escape clients
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  Studio Assistant

  Escape Studios

  June 2009 - November 2009

  - Tutors assistant in classroom training for the Generalist, Characters, and Visual Effects courses
  - One-on-one tuition for students requiring additional help with course work

• Graphic Designer

  Absolutely Training

  April 2006 - December 2008

  • Graphic Designer Generalist
  • Flash Designer
  • AS2 programmer

• Graphic Designer & Fusion Operator

  Media Odyssey - Animation

  February 2005 - December 2005

  Worked on a contract basis providing Graphic Design based DTP work along with on screen graphics for Video Production using Fusion.