Senior Motion Editor

Industrial Light & Magic; Vancouver; Hybrid; CAD 89,000 - 114,000; Full time

Job summary

ILM Vancouver is seeking a Senior Motion Editor (Senior Motion Capture Animator) to join our Coal Harbour studio. The role focuses on retargeting and editing motion capture performances to a high standard.

Candidates should have film/VFX or game industry experience; responsibilities include mentoring juniors and ensuring fluid, believable motion through blending and timing. This hybrid position requires 2-3 days onsite, with occasional remote work, and a competitive compensation package in

Qualifications

• Computer Science, Visualisation or Computer Animation degree or equivalent.
• Experience with MotionBuilder, Blender, Nuance or Maya for mocap.
• Strong retargeting, animation timing and blending skills.

Responsibilities

• Transfer motion between hierarchies (retargeting) independently.
• Improve actor performances non-destructively to high quality.
• Adjust interactions among characters, props, environment.
• Enhance posture, gesture and weight with finger/toe/tail animation.
• Mentor junior team members and share techniques.
• Blend motions for fluid, believable transitions.

Skills

Retargeting techniques

Animation quality

Motion blending

Attention to detail

Problem solving

Mentoring

Education

Degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science/Visualization/Animation

Tools

MotionBuilder

Blender

Nuance

Maya

Vicon Shogun

Job description

Job Summary

Job Requirements This role is considered Hybrid, which means the employee will work 2-3 days onsite at a Company designated location and occasionally from home.

Position Summary

ILM Vancouver is looking for a Senior Motion Editor (Senior Motion Capture Animator) to join our team based in our Coal Harbour studio.

This candidate will have proven experience in high end film/VFX or video game industry.

The main responsibility will be to retarget and edit body motion of realistic motion-captured based performances in a non-destructive way and deliver animations to a high quality standards. We are also expecting the candidate to show solid knowledge about motion blending.

The Senior Motion Editor will focus predominantly on human, props and bipedal characters, extending to quadrupeds when required.

We are expecting the candidate to teach and mentor more junior team members.

Primary Responsibilities

• Responsible for transferring motion from a Hierarchy to another (Retargeting) independently and proficiently
• Adhering to the performance of the actors/actresses and improving/adjusting it in a non-destructive way, leading to the highest quality of work
• Adjusting interaction and contacts between characters/props/environment/terrain
• Improving the performance by adding fingers/toe/tail animation and body adjustments that includes enhancing posture, gesture and weight
• Blending of motions. Having a good eye and a good understanding of this workflow to create fluid, believable transitions between distinct animation clips
• Support and mentor more junior members of the team, troubleshooting, teaching techniques and pushing the quality and standard Job Requirements Education / Experience:
• Computer Science, Computer Visualisation or Computer Animation degree or equivalent experience
• Previous experience using MotionBuilder,Blender, Nuance and/or Maya with motion-captured performances
• Proven experience in high end film VFX and an up to date showreel Required Skills / Competencies:
• Great understanding of retargeting techniques
• Great understanding of the principles of animation
• Great attention to detail and communication skills
• Proactive in problem solving, with a keen eye to catch, analyze and identify technical issues
• Sharp eyes for motion, timing and posture
• Background in using Maya, Blender, Nuance and/or Motion Builder
• Background in using Linux and Vicon Shogun Post is a plus.
• Excellent collaborative skills
• Eagerness to learn and develop
• Capable of mentoring more junior team members Preferred Skills / Competencies:
• Experience with Mocap animation
• Maya Experience

Technical Skills

Strong knowledge about Retargeting and Blending techniques As part of your application please submit a demo reel, shot breakdown, or equivalent showcasing your work. A current resume is required.

Pay transparency

The hiring range for this position in Vancouver is C$89,400 to C$114,400 per year based on a 40-hour work week. The amount of hours scheduled per week may vary based on business needs. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other variable pay or benefits, may be offered dependent on the level and position offered.

This position is with ILM (Vancouver) Inc., which is part of a business we call Industrial Light & Magic.

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