Prep Artist (Mid Level)

Picstol Studios; Rankin; Hybrid; CAD 55,000 - 73,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Remote / On-site options

Professional development

Regular training sessions

High-profile projects

Job summary

Picstol Studios is seeking a Prep Artist for our VFX team. This mid-level role focuses on preparing footage for the VFX pipeline with a keen eye for detail and technical understanding of various formats.

You will solve complex prep challenges while maintaining high quality standards. You will perform plate cleanup, camera tracking, lens distortion correction, color space conversions, and basic compositing, with documentation of your process.

Qualifications

• 2–4 years of professional prep experience in film/TV.
• Strong understanding of VFX pipeline workflows.
• Excellent eye for detail and consistency.

Responsibilities

• Perform plate cleanup, wire/rig removal, and marker removal.
• Execute digital paint work and patch reconstruction.
• Create clean plates for complex shots.
• Handle camera tracking and match moving.
• Stabilize footage when required.
• Analyze and correct lens distortion.
• Convert color spaces and prep for pipeline.
• Create camera data from on-set information.
• Perform basic compositing tasks for prep.
• Maintain detailed documentation of work performed.
• Quality check deliverables before handoff.

Skills

Attention to detail

Problem-solving

Multi-shot handling

Tracking and match-moving

Photography and cinematography

ACES workflow understanding

Color pipelines knowledge

Tools

Nuke

3D Equalizer or PFTrack

Mocha Pro

Syntheyes

Adobe Photoshop

Python scripting

Linux

Shot management systems

Job description

Prep Artist (Mid Level)

Location: Remote / On-site

Full-Time

About The Role

We are seeking a skilled Prep Artist to join our VFX team. This role focuses on ensuring footage is properly prepared for VFX production pipeline. The ideal candidate will have a strong eye for detail, technical understanding of various footage formats, and ability to solve complex preparation challenges while maintaining high quality standards.

Responsibilities

• Perform plate cleanup, wire/rig removal, and marker removal.
• Execute high-quality digital paint work and patch reconstruction.
• Create clean plates for complex shots.
• Handle camera tracking and match moving.
• Stabilize footage when required.
• Manage lens distortion analysis and correction.
• Perform color space conversion and pipeline preparation.
• Create accurate camera data from on-set information.
• Handle basic compositing tasks related to prep work.
• Maintain detailed documentation of work performed.
• Quality check deliverables before passing to next department.

Requirements

• 2-4 years of professional prep experience in film/TV.
• Strong understanding of VFX pipeline workflows.
• Excellent eye for detail and consistency.
• Experience with tracking difficult shots.
• Knowledge of color pipelines and ACES workflow.
• Understanding of lens distortion and camera properties.
• Ability to handle multiple shots simultaneously.
• Strong problem-solving skills.

Technical Skills

• Nuke (required).
• 3D Equalizer or PFTrack (required).
• Mocha Pro (required).
• Syntheyes (plus).
• Adobe Photoshop (required).
• Understanding of Python scripting (plus).
• Familiarity with Linux operating system.
• Experience with shot management systems.

Core Competencies

• Advanced digital paint techniques.
• Strong tracking and match-moving skills.
• Understanding of photography and cinematography.
• Knowledge of various footage formats and codecs.
• Experience with stereo footage (plus).
• Ability to reconstruct missing areas in plates.
• Understanding of camera and lens properties.
• Knowledge of grain management and restoration.

What We Offer

• Work on high-profile film and TV projects.
• State-of-the-art hardware and software.
• Professional development opportunities.
• Regular training sessions.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Collaborative work environment.

Daily Tasks You’ll Handle

• Plate cleanup and preparation.
• Camera solving and tracking.
• Lens grid analysis.
• Clean plate generation.
• Marker removal and cleanup.
• Frame reconstruction.
• Pipeline integration.
• Quality control checks.
• Technical documentation.

Note: Please include detailed breakdowns of your work process. We're particularly interested in seeing how you approach challenging technical problems and maintain quality under production constraints.