jobby: Lighting TDs, Pixar Canada, Vancouver

May 11, 2011

About Pixar Canada

Pixar Canada is looking for a Lighting TD for its studio in Vancouver. Pixar Canada is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pixar Animation Studios, the world leader in animated films. The Vancouver studio produces short-form animation focusing on legacy Pixar characters from films such as Toy Story and Cars. This is a great opportunity to join a small and talented team.

Summary of Position

In Pixar’s production process, the term “TD” means “Technical Artist”. The Lighting TD works with other crew members to create the lighting of the sets & characters in each shot of an animated film. Lighting makes the images look attractive, rich, and interesting, while conveying the mood, directing the viewer’s attention to key story points, and making sure that the important action is visible and easy to understand.

Responsibilities

The Lighting TD is responsible for creation, revision, maintenance and support of master lighting, which sets the overall lighting for a particular environment or scene, and shot lighting, which is specific to the action and characters in each particular shot. Lighting involves both the placement and adjustment of lights in Pixar’s proprietary lighting system, and the use of compositing tools to further modify and enhance the appearance of the rendered image. The Lighting TD responds to guidance and review notes from the director as well as other creative and technical supervisors. Lighting TDs work closely with other departments, especially with shading TDs, visual effects TDs, and rendering TDs, to make sure that the lighting integrates properly with other elements and renders properly.

Qualifications

Must have 3 or more years experience in CG lighting for animation, live-action film, or television.

Must have a good “eye”, the ability to notice subtle differences in lighting and rendering, and a good understanding of light, color, contrast, shading, and lighting design
Must have a good working knowledge of lighting in a 3D package such as Maya or Houdini, and a good knowledge of a compositing program such as Shake or Nuke.
Must have a good knowledge of how to use a high-quality 3D rendering program, preferably RenderMan.
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.
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.

In addition to these required qualifications, any of the following attributes will be considered a plus:

Bachelor’s degree in visual arts or computer science (or a related technical discipline).
Skill in painting, photography, drawing, and sketching.

Submission Process

If you are interested in and qualified for this position, please apply on our website www.pixarcanada.com, submitting your cover letter, resume, and a link that points us directly to your demo reel and reel breakdown/shotlist.