Crowd TD

Framestore; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Framestore, the Oscar-winning creative Film & Episodic Studio in London, is seeking a Crowd Technical Director to bring large-scale scenes to life with tens of thousands of characters. You will work with Supervisors and Leads across Modelling, Rigging, Animation, and Lighting to craft realistic crowd motion.

Proficiency in Houdini Crowds, strong problem-solving, and collaboration are essential, as is experience with Unix/Linux and scripting in Python or VEX.

Qualifications

• Experience creating crowd simulations and dynamic motion in high-end VFX projects.
• Strong problem-solving abilities balancing realism and artistic requirements.
• Excellent collaboration across modelling, rigging, animation, motion capture and lighting teams.

Responsibilities

• Create and run crowd simulations as briefed by the CG or VFX Supervisor.
• Develop locomotion and motion behaviours for varied, believable performances.
• Support development of new crowd tools and workflows.

Skills

Houdini Crowds

Agent Definitions (Houdini)

Unix/Linux

Scripting: Python/VEX/C++

Tools

Maya

Job description

The multi-Oscar-winning creative Film & Episodic Studio at Framestore has worked with some of the greatest storytellers in film today. Collaborating with directors and producers across the complete filmmaking process to help design, plan and create beautiful images, we focus on finding innovative creative solutions to support their vision and set new standards for visual effects in cinema.

Framestore combines talent and technology to bring life to everything we create. Driven by creativity and inspired by the future, we set out every day to reframe the possible.

The Role

At Framestore, our Crowd Technical Directors bring large-scale scenes to life - simulating and animating tens of thousands of characters for high-end visual effects films. Working closely with our Supervisors and department Leads, you’ll help craft the dynamic motion and behaviour of digital crowds that fill the worlds of our most ambitious projects.

You’ll use both proprietary and off-the-shelf software to create visually rich simulations, ensuring a balance between realism and artistry. Collaboration is at the heart of the role - you’ll work hand-in-hand with teams across Modelling, Rigging, Animation, Motion Capture, and Lighting to deliver seamless crowd work that integrates perfectly into the final image.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who thrives on both creative problem-solving and technical innovation, with the chance to contribute to the development of new tools and techniques that push the boundaries of what’s possible in visual effects.

You’ll also:

• Create and run crowd simulations as briefed by the CG or VFX Supervisor.
• Develop locomotion and motion behaviours to achieve varied and believable performances.
• Support the development of new crowd tools and workflows.
• Maintain strong communication with Production and Leads to meet deadlines and quality standards.

• Strong working knowledge of Houdini, particularly Houdini Crowds and Agent Definitions (Maya experience a plus).
• Creative problem-solving and an understanding of both aesthetic and technical requirements.
• Solid grasp of animation principles and an eye for motion.
• Excellent communication, collaboration and organisational skills.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Familiarity with VFX pipelines and workflows across multiple software packages.
• Experience working in Unix/Linux environments.
• Adaptability and a willingness to learn new tools and processes.

Desirable Experience

• Previous experience in a similar crowd or simulation role.
• Programming or scripting experience (e.g. VEX, Python, C++).
• Understanding of particle systems and procedural animation.
• Experience developing tools, scripts, or plug-ins to streamline workflows.
• Familiarity with motion capture data integration.

Our Commitment

Framestore is proud to employ extraordinary talent across all genders, races, nationalities, religions, ages, abilities, and sexual preferences. We aim to encourage and support all of our current and future employees to achieve their potential. No job applicant will receive less favourable treatment on any basis when applying for a career with us.

Framestore is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.