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Recruiting Event, Starz Animation, Toronto

Received this today:




Looks like Starz is puttin' on the push. If you've got 3D chops, go sell yourself.

3D Artist, Ganz/Webkinz, Toronto

We have an exciting permanent opportunity for a 3D Artist to join our highly successful and growing Interactive Group. Our high end flash games and animated characters have made Webkinz.com the fastest growing children’s entertainment site on the internet. Be part of our dynamic Ganz Interactive Group and contribute to exciting future projects.

Your responsibilities will include:
Designing, modeling, lighting and rendering 3D content.
Work with a team of 2D artists and programmers.
Complete quality work on time, to specification.

Qualifications
Must have at least 3 years production experience.
Must have an art background.
Must have a thorough understanding of physical motion, weight, balance, texture, and form.
Must have solid conceptual and design skills.
Must be proficient in 3D Studio Max, Maya or Softimage and Photoshop.
Must have traditional illustration skills.
Character animation skills is a bonus

Candidates must have an exceptional, professional level DVD, CD or online demo reel to be considered for an interview.

Interested candidates must email their resume and online portfolios to careers@ganz.com. Applications submitted without an online portfolio will not be considered.

Please check out our website http://www.webkinz.com/.

APPLY FOR THIS JOB

Email Address: careers@ganz.com

Designer, Rainmaker Entertainment, Vancouver

Overall Accountability:

To work with the Art Director and Production Designer to design the productions sets and environments, taking into account any styles, directions, and guidance established by the Production Designer and Art Director.

Duties:

• Create strong designs, including architectural schematics, working drawings and details, consistent with the show’s look and feel
• Note feedback and revise designs as defined by the show’s Art Director as necessary
• Research visual reference material to inform designs
• Liaise with the film’s Modeling department and Modeling Supervisor to realize designs for 3D creation
• Communicate regularly and proactively with the design team, modeling team, and FX team to ensure that designs are production-friendly
• Raise potential design issues with the Modeling, FX and Animation departments
• Meet or beat design deadlines
• Proactively update the Art Director as the to status of tasks
• Work with the production’s matte painters to create, troubleshoot, and integrate matte paintings into the sets / environments being conceived, when required.
• Review one's own schedule and the schedule of peers as required, and notify production of any tasks that may be missing or improperly specified.

Qualifications:

• 2+ years in graphic design / set design
• BA/BFA Degree in Fine Arts or Commercial Arts Field an asset
• Excellent knowledge of Photoshop & Illustrator
• Must have strong 2-D set/location/background design experience
• Must have worked on at least 2 productions
• A strong understanding of design and the issues inherent in creating compelling set designs for a 3D production
• Experience in multimedia content, film and television work an asset.
• 3-D design and modeling experience an asset.
• Must possess excellent communication, interpersonal, and multi-tasking skills.
• Proven abilities in managing projects from concept to completion.

About Rainmaker Entertainment Inc.

Rainmaker Entertainment is one of the world's most successful and prolific producers of CG animation and currently has over 350 employees based in Vancouver, Canada. Originally established in 1993 as Mainframe Entertainment, Rainmaker has produced close to 40 feature-length films based on top international brands such as Barbie, Hot Wheels, Spider-Man, Casper, Popeye, Tony Hawk, Stuart Little and Inspector Gadget and more than 250 half-hours of CG animated television including ReBoot, Transformers: Beast Wars, Action Man and Heavy Gear. Rainmaker has produced films for Sony, Mattel, Lionsgate Home Entertainment, Electronic Arts and MTV. In addition to garnering many prestigious awards for their work, Rainmaker productions have generated more than $400 million in video sales. Currently in production at Rainmaker: Escape From Planet Earth, a theatrical feature with The Weinstein Company; and new installments in Mattel's Barbie and Max Steel franchises. For more information please visit www.rainmaker.com

To Apply:

Thank you in advance for your application! Due to the high volume of applications, we only contact those applicants who are short-listed for interviews.
If you are interested in this position, please apply via our corporate website: http://www.rainmaker.com
Or, by post to:
Rainmaker Entertainment Inc. Suite 500-2025 West Broadway Vancouver BC V6J 1Z6 Attn: Recruiting Or, fax to: 604-714-2641

Multiple Positions, Starz Animation, Toronto

Here we go:

Position Description: Lighter/Compositor
For: “Gnomeo and Juliet” and other productions
Reports to: Lighting Supervisor and Head of Lighting/Compositing
Position Description and Requirements:
Light production shots based on creative direction from Lighting Leads, Lighting Supervisor and VFX Supervisor
Ensure that shots meet the highest quality
Ensure to meet production shot quotas as required by Supervisor and production schedule
Troubleshoot and debug shot problems as required and communicate
Identify to the Supervisor problems that lighting could potentially present with respect to timelines and delivery schedules
Ensure shots meet rendering criteria
File management - organize work/files efficiently
Remain current and up-to-date in lighting techniques
Work collaboratively with other departments including technology, surfacing, fx and character finaling.
Experience Required
Thorough knowledge of Maya, and Compositing (Digital Fusion preferred), Mental Ray experience preferred
Degree/diploma in fine arts or equivalent experience
3+ years experience as a Lighting Artist
CG Feature film experience preferred
Demonstrable ability to communicate creative and technical thoughts and ideas and work well within a team
Demonstrable ability to multi-task and prioritize as well as handle the pressures of production and deadlines well.

Position Description: Technical Surfacing Artist
For: “Gnomeo and Juliet”
Reports to: Surfacing Supervisor and Head of Surfacing

Position Description and Requirements:
Helps establish and/or guide the look and qualities of characters, props and environments for an animated film with direction from the VFX Supervisor, Art Director and Surfacing Supervisor.
Ensures that Surfacing files are complete and ready for lighting
Spot and flag creative and technical issues as they arise – fix them where possible or work closely with TDs to adjust. Assist other surfacing artists with technical demands as required
Communicate with other departments to convey Surfacing needs (primarily Modeling) and provide for other departments needs (primarily Lighting).
Maintains awareness of the broader show needs as they relate to the Surfacing Department (schedule, complexity of setups, shader issues, technical aspects etc.)

Experience Required:
Minimum 7 years of high-end production experience on feature films
Strong painting skills and artistic eye for detail combined with a strong understanding of the technical side
Detail oriented and the ability to understand the complexity of a 3D pipeline and work closely with TDs
Familiarity with mental ray as a renderer
Familiarity with Polygonal texturing using image maps
Strong uv-ing skills is a must
Familiarity with construction of shaders and utilities
Experience with hair, fur, cloth systems
Ability to debug complex shader networks
Strong photoshop knowledge
Experience with mudbox or zbrush
Some experience with mel scripting or python scripting would be an asset – minimum requirement is to be able to read scripts and debug with TDs assistance
Openness to existing workflows
Ability to solve problems independently
Takes initiative and enjoys learning from and teaching others
Ability to work well in a team setting, guide/mentor others as needed


Position Description: Layout Finaler
For: “Gnomeo and Juliet”
Reports to: Scene Prep/Layout and Finaling Supervisor

Position Description and Requirements:
Layout Finaling prepares final files for lighting/rendering and compositing. This includes all set dressing elements, final animation and camera tweaking.

Experience Required:
Strong skills in layout (planning and asset management), animation & cinematography are required.
Excellent communication skills, written and oral
Basic understanding of modeling and lighting
Ability to keep detailed notes and track information in data base
Excellent ability to manage assets within the files
Solid Maya Software experience:
Able to use the Maya tools fluidly
Proprietary tools will be taught
Solid understanding of production priorities
Ability to problem solve and share solutions
Willingness to accept direction and changes from Supervising Animators


Position Description: Character Finaling Artist
For: All Projects
Reports to: Head of Animation

Position Description and Requirements:
Support the creative performance in a shot with the appropriate technical requirements as follows:
Remove undesirable geometric penetrations, folds and creases from rigged assets.
Ensure that rigged assets are in contact with one another and their environment appropriately.
Ensure that rigged assets are prepared for FX simulations when required.
Ensure proper continuity of motion for the calculation of motion blur.

Experience Required:
Good artistic eye.
Detail oriented.
Good communication skills.
Good organization skills.
Technical aptitude.
Previous production experience or exceptional abilities in CGI.
Familiarity with skeletons.
Experience in Modeling
An understanding of the principles of animation.
Experience with Maya Deformers, Constraints, and Blend Shapes.
Thorough knowledge of Maya’s Graph Editor and connection editors (Hypergraph, Hypershade..)
Must be able to work in a collaborative environment, taking direction from the Sequence lead(s), Supervisor and feedback from Directors(s) as necessary.
Bonus: Ability to script in Mel and/or Python to fix recurring issues.
Bonus: Rendering experience with stand-alone packages (Mental Ray, Renderman etc…)

Position Description: Scene Prep Artist
For: All Projects
Reports to: Scene Prep/Layout Finaling Supervisor

Position Description and Requirements:
Scene Prep Artists provide production ready files for the flow through the pipeline to animation, lighting and FX.

Experience Required:
Solid foundation in Maya
Mel scripting/batch scripting experience an asset but not required
Experience working in other areas of production especially lighting, & comp an asset
Ability to identify and resolve technical problems/issues as it pertains to continuity
Able to rapidly learn and assimilate new technologies
Must be able to respect schedules and artistic guidelines.
Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
Willingness to accept direction and be open to changes from animation supervisors
Ability to work cooperatively within a creative team environment
Must be detail oriented


Position Description: Jr. Lighter/Compositor
For: “Gnomeo and Juliet”
Reports to: Lighting Supervisor and Head of Lighting/Compositing

Position Description and Requirements:
Light production shots based on key shots from Lighting Leads
Ensure that shots meet the highest quality = matches key shot
Ensure to meet production shot quota as required by Supervisor and production schedule
Troubleshoot and debug shot problems as required and communicate per our protocol
Identify to the Supervisor problems that lighting could potentially present with respect to timelines and delivery schedules
Ensure shots meet rendering criteria
Remain current and up-to-date in lighting techniques

Experience Required:
Degree/diploma in 3D computer animation (digital animation) or equivalent experience
Thorough knowledge of Maya, and Compositing (Digital Fusion preferred), Mental Ray experience preferred
Demonstrable ability to communicate creative and technical thoughts and ideas
Works well within a team
Demonstrable ability to multi-task and prioritize
Ability to handle the pressures of production and deadlines well

Position Description: Technical Director
For: All Projects
Reports to: Supervisor, Pipeline Architecture

The Technical Director is responsible for designing, developing and improving production focused pipeline workflow processes. Technical Directors may also be called on to do shot work when necessary during production.

Position Description and Requirements:
Design, prototype and implement artist-focused production tools, using Maya, Mentalray, Fusion, Python, MEL, and C++.
Collaborate with Production Management on utilization of production tools and workflow processes.
Troubleshoot production problems, and proactively work to minimize their impact.
Design and execute project work plans to produce known deliverables on a pre-determined timetable.
Be aware of new technologies, techniques, and processes that will benefit studio’s production processes for current and future projects.
Share and present new research, ideas and technology with others in the studio.
Perform shot work/fixes as required during production.

Experience Required:
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent job experience
3+ Years of (CG) Experience, Feature Film experience preferred
Experience working with Maya, Mentalray, MTMR, Fusion, or equivalents.
Experience with WxPython
Experience using various scripting languages - primarily Python, Mel, CShell
Experience in C/C++ or some other object-oriented programming language
Experience with subversion, cvs or another revision control system
Experience designing user interfaces
Excellent troubleshooting/debugging skills
Strong communication skills
Superior time management and prioritization skills
Self-motivated and able to work with minimal supervision
Flexible and adaptable to change
Coach and mentor junior coworkers as required

If you are interested in applying for this position, please submit a resume indicating which position you are applying for to:
sat.jobs@starz.com

Various Positions, Starz Animation, Toronto

STARZ ANIMATION LOOKING FOR LOCAL TALENT FOR MAJOR US NETWORK CHRISTMAS SHOW

Many of you have heard but for the benefit of those who haven't heard, Starz Animation recently landed a special that will air on U.S. networks.

We are ramping up teams to produce this and we are looking for riggers, modelers, animators, TDs and a number of other positions to help produce this quickly. The team will be built with a mix of senior, intermediate and junior talent.

please check out the link below for positions available and how to apply.

www.starzanimation.ca

Looking for Local Talent only - No phone calls, please.

Intermediate and Senior Animators, Guru Studios, Toronto

Guru Studio is looking for exceptional Intermediate and Senior Animators for an Emmy award winning children’s series, to start immediately. A background in art, showing a solid understanding of physical motion, dance, weight and balance would be an asset.
Job Summary
Under the direct supervision of the unit’s animation supervisor and lead animator, you will be responsible for animating assigned scenes based on available live action references, storyboards and director’s notes, while maintaining weekly animation quota in addition to retakes.
Requirements/Skills
Artistic:
• Strong abilities in traditional animation skills and principles
• Natural sense of human and non-human movement, timing, weight and balance and the ability to use this to bring characters to life
• Understand musical timing and how it applies to animated characters
• Fanatical attention to detail
Production:
• Able to work cooperatively within a creative team environment
• Dependable, able to anticipate the needs of the project and team
• Able to problem solve and share solutions
• Willing to accept direction and be open to changes from Animation Supervisors
• Minimum 6 months to 1 year professional industry experience as an Animator (junior positions); minimum two years industry experience (intermediate to senior positions), preferably with series production
Technical:
• Professionally conversant with Maya
• Be active in remaining current and up to date with software
Planning:
• Able to work independently to manage own workflow and deadlines
• Track own shot assignments; report shot starts and completions to producer and animation supervisor
• Organize work files efficiently
• Must be able to handle pressure and juggle multiple projects
• Need to be efficient, reliable and self motivated with minimal supervision

Various positions available, including full time contract positions with benefits until early 2010. You must be legally entitled to work in Canada and/or an Ontario Resident. No relocation will be provided.