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Cinematic Animator

Ascendant Studios is looking for a cinematic animator to help bring our first title to life. Our ideal applicant has a solid animation background paired with strong technical ability and pipeline knowledge. Prior work in games is preferred, and experience with Unreal Engine would be a big plus.

This is a full time position. We are all currently working remotely due to Covid-19, but once we return the position may either be based in our office in San Rafael, CA, or remain fully remote.

Please include a link to a reel of your work when applying for this position. Please note application to this position requires animation test.

What you'll do:

• Create previs 3d animatics to inform cinematic sequences and mocap shoots.
• Assemble motion capture for body and face along with cameras for external cleanup.
• Creating hero shots that may involve more complexity, helping to final cinematic shots.
• Developing technical gameplay focused cinematic sequences.
• Coordinating with outsourcers for animation cleanup.
• Helping develop cinematic pipeline and tools.

Who you are:

• Experience bringing cinematics from script to previs/layout to final animation.
• Experience with human and creature keyframe animation and camera animation.
• Able to collaborate and take direction from creative leads and the narrative team.
• Proficiency with Maya.
• Solid foundational animation skills, such as timing, weight, and human anatomy.
• Ability to work independently, problem solve on the fly, and collaborate efficiently across disciplines in a small, fast moving team.

Bonus points:

• Experience working with Unreal Engine sequencer.
• Experience with motion capture.
• Experience with rigging and rig creation, motion capture recording and processing, or Python/MEL scripting
• Previous experience working on an AAA, 1st person, console title