BC - Lead Houdini Crowd Artist

Lead Houdini Crowd Artist

This position is onsite, based in Vancouver, BC. All applicants must reside in the lower Mainland of BC, Canada.

About Zoic 

Zoic Studios is a Visual Effects company that specializes in high end visual effects for television, film, and advertising. Our mantra is Visual Evolution - we focus on every part of the process, from the final picture to the pipeline used to create them.   

Are you looking for your next creative and technical challenge? Come join our team! 

Why Join Zoic?
•    We are an Artist owned and operated VFX studio.
•    We love what we do and always stay curious about new technology and techniques.
•    We respect work/life balance in a hectic industry.
•    We work with a team from all walks of life and backgrounds.

There’s an exciting new project that we’ll be working on at Zoic.  It's a stop-motion animated feature that will be starting up in June 2024 and will continue on into the Fall of 2025. 

For this particular show Zoic employees assigned to the project will be working within our Zoic Vancouver Studios, in the Gastown Area (close to Waterfront Station Downtown).  Coming together as a team within our studio will help create the excitement and positive work environment we want for this special project.

General Summary

The Lead Crowd Artist is responsible for the team that is creating crowds of characters and creatures to the visual style and narrative of the film. This position will also be instrumental in developing creative and technical tools and establishing pipeline related workflows.

Job Functions

• Create layouts and performances of crowds in scenes and shots on style of the animation performances of the film, and follow the narrative look of the film.
• Publish crowds using Houdini to specifications needed by layout for downstream consumption.
• Receiver of the crowd launches in sequences, scenes and shots. Take crowd specific creative input and translate to crowd behavior through performances and overall movement and timing through rules and simulations.

• Work with animation to get supporting animation performances that can be used effectively in crowd simulations.

• In conjunction with technical directors enhance capabilities and workflow.
• Perform technical work in support of shot production using various production tools and help troubleshoot and develop creative solutions to complex tasks. 
• Troubleshoot creative and technical issues; find elegant solutions to complex tasks. 
• Partner with other disciplines to support each departments’ integration requirements.

• Assist with mentoring, training and development of talent.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of high-end production experience in television or feature films as a Lead Crowd Artists, Crowd Artist and/or TD.
• Experience in producing crowd simulations.
• Proficiency with particle simulations in controlling the motion and look of crowds.
• Knowledge of applicable software and platforms; Houdini 18.0 (or higher) experience, required.
• Experience in Houdini Crowd setup and simulation.
• Working knowledge of Mantra rendering, Nuke compositing and Maya.
• Working knowledge of Renderman and Katana for lighting effects, a plus.
• Understanding rigging approaches, a plus.
• Strong communication skills to perform in a collaborative work environment. 

Additional information

• British Columbia Employees Pay Range: $55 - $65   (The actual base salary offered will depend on a variety of factors, including without limitation, the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and if applicable, the location of the position)
• Candidates MUST be located in the Lower Mainland, British Columbia.  This Role requires the candidate to work onsite, within our Vancouver Studio in Gastown.
• Zoic does not cover relocation costs.
• Any and all remote positions require the candidate to have a reliable internet connection via ethernet and work on Pacific Standard Time.
• This job description contains the basic requirements for the position and is NOT intended to be a complete list of responsibilities; other duties may be assigned.
• Due to the sheer volume of applications we receive, we regret that only those selected to interview will be contacted.

This position is based in Vancouver. All applicants must reside in British Columbia.

Permanent Residents and Canadians only, please.,