Position: Lighting Supervisor
Hiring Range: $149,000 to $156,000/year for a 40 hour work week
Project Contract: TBC
Company Benefits: Extended healthcare from day 1, premiums 100% covered by Image Engine, up to 8 paid Health and Wellness days per year.
*Candidates are required to be based in British Columbia and eligible to work in Canada*
ABOUT IMAGE ENGINE
Image Engine is a world-class VFX studio based in Vancouver, BC, that has built a reputation for
excellence in the visual effects industry since 1995. We specialize in crafting stunning visual effects for feature films and television with an award-winning portfolio that includes The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian, Game Of Thrones, Lost in Space, Jurassic World, and District 9.
We offer a full range of visual effects services, from concept designs and pre-visualization to CG animation, compositing, and explosive volumetric digital effects. Our crew is passionate about storytelling and pushing the artistic and technical boundaries to deliver the highest quality work on every project. R&D is central to our philosophy of driving creativity through innovation and we're committed to continually evolving our robust production pipelines.
At Image Engine, we value diversity and teamwork, and we're proud to foster a workplace culture that is supportive, respectful, and empowering. We believe that our success is a reflection of our exceptionally talented team, and we're always looking for passionate and dedicated individuals to join us on our mission to create unforgettable visual experiences. Join our team and be part of something extraordinary.
POSITION PURPOSE
The Lighting Supervisor role is primarily focused on supporting the assigned shows. As such, they report to the assigned CG Supervisor.
For all facility related aspects of the role (artist mentoring and feedback, facility wide tool building, etc.) the Lighting Supervisor reports to the Head of CG.
As the Lighting Supervisor, you will report to the CG Supervisor and be leading and managing the Lighting team and Lighting Leads on a given show.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
- Working closely with the project's VFX Supervisor, CG Supervisors and Comp Supervisors to design, propose, implement and critique lighting, composition, references, continuity and innovative solutions with the aim of delivering the project's look and targets at the highest quality.
- Attending all relevant supervisor and client meetings to support effective communication and lighting implementations throughout the project.
- Interfacing with developers and/or other departments’ supervisors to prioritize best practices, promote interdepartmental collaboration, clear lines of communication with the lighting team, inventory quality as well as related optimization and efficiencies.
- Run bidding and key shot dependencies cycles with the lead.
- Guide the project's lighting leads to ensure the implementation, efficiency and stability of lighting tools and technical workflows as well as accurate time logging for better project management.
- Run regular daily creative rounds with the lighting team to achieve the expected vision and quality for the project.
- Responsible for communicating internal and client notes/feedback to artists.
- Review lighting dailies and finals to ensure quality control and aesthetic consistency
- Partnering with Production Management to coordinate and assess crew size, lighting tasks as well as delegating those tasks to the lighting team.
- Be responsible for show wide lighting workflow documentation and information dissemination.
- Provide leadership, guidance and mentoring for lighting leads, both creatively and technically whilst ensuring they partner effectively with Production Management as they deliver on their goals.
- Work with the Department Manager to provide performance feedback to artists within the team.
- Work with other lighting supervisors to identify, outline, promote and resolve Lighting and Compositing development, tickets, bottlenecks and deficiencies, technical or otherwise with the aim of supporting facility level tooling and efficient working methods.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
- A minimum of 8 years’ experience in VFX for film and television
- A minimum of 3 years of experience as a Lead
- Supervisory experience is an asset
- Ability to balance quick turnaround while achieving a high degree of aesthetic quality
- Demonstrated experience teaching/mentoring co-workers
SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Technical skills
- Excellent eye for detail and quality control when finalizing, approving or quality controlling shots
- Experience with Linux based OS
- Expert knowledge of a physically plausible renderer like Arnold
- Strong knowledge of relevant DCC software (Gaffer/Maya/Houdini/Nuke/etc)
- Good understanding of colour management in VFX, including linear and ACEScg.
- Senior level experience in Python scripting
- Experience building and providing tools for the department
- Ability to train and coach artists in techniques and approaches
- Experience on-set as a cinematographer or photographer is an asset
- Assess and optimize render performance to make optimal use of available renderfarm allocation
- Possess Look Development and/or Shading/Surfacing a bonus
- Have relevant understanding of color theory, composition, lighting, aesthetics, photography and film and how these apply to lighting and rendering in 3D
Core skills
- Passion, enthusiasm, curiosity
- Excellent collaborator with shows and the facility
- A thorough understanding of what it takes to make the studio successful and desire to contribute to its financial and creative success
- Ability to troubleshoot and deal with competing priorities
- Capable of managing a team of artists; setting expectations, and managing their time
- Ability to assess an artist's strengths and weaknesses to assign tasks and manage workflow
- Strong desire and ability to help artists grow technically, creatively and as individuals
- Excellent time management and communication skills
- Excellent problem solver who can focus on detail, while maintaining the whole picture
- Ability to complete bids; determine the timeframe and scope required for each project
- Strong vision for the team and desire to improve the quality of the work at Image Engine
