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Lead Cinematic Animator

About Splash Damage

We believe that games play better with friends. For more than 20 years, we’ve been creating team-based multiplayer experiences that have entertained tens of millions of players all over the world and forged countless new friendships along the way.

Our studio culture is rooted in our open, friendly, and collaborative environment. Our games are made by people from all over the world, from our entry-level Fresh Talent hires to industry veterans, and we believe that fostering that diverse culture is the best way to build both our games and our studio. We have won numerous awards, including a ‘World-Class’ accreditation by Best Companies and being named one of the UK’s 100 Best Large Companies to work for.

While our offices are based in Bromley, UK, our people have access to progressive working patterns that give them the flexibility to decide how to do their best work.

Benefits:

We offer a comprehensive benefits package for you and your family, including:

• Work your way with access to progressive working patterns including hybrid and fully remote
• Substantial performance-related pay system on top of your basic compensation, along with enhanced pension contributions and our life assurance scheme
• Bespoke VISA and relocation packages for you and your family, with support from our team throughout the whole process
• 25 days of holiday and 8 Bank Holidays a year, plus our annual studio closure between Christmas and New Year’s
• Private Medical and Dental Cover for you and your family, along with a 24/7 digital GP service
• Extensive Mental Health support, with Line Manager Mental Health training, a group of Mental Health First-Aiders, and on-site or remote counselling
• Our bespoke Learning and Development course framework to help you grow as an employee, manager, and leader
• Industry-leading fully paid 30 weeks maternity leave & 10 weeks paternity leave

The Role

This position entails a great deal of responsibility and opportunity to drive further the development of a strong team and for which your artistic, technical and managerial expertise are with great importance to the studio.

The candidate will have to:

• Develop, direct, and carry the standard for cinematic animation at every phase, from concept, previs, to final animations implemented in the cinematics
• Excellent understanding of cinematic storytelling, pacing, and character development in an interactive medium
• Well versed in a variety of animation styles and up to date with the latest animation techniques and innovations
• Help establish and drive the pipelines, processes and methods necessary to take a cinematic from script through to final pixel
• Maintaining consistent quality, style and continuity, both visually and technically throughout the project emphasising on weight, timing and silhouette
• Plan, prepare and supervise motion capture and performance capture sessions using internal capture and working with external partners
• Ensuring a productive internal workflow and beneficial relationships with external partners
• Prioritizing and managing tasks to ensure that deliverables are completed on time and to specifications through stand-ups and synchronization meetings to communicate vision and needs with other teams
• Creation and maintenance of a prospering work culture within the team along with performance feedback and regular 1:1 conversation with the cinematic animation team
• Liaise with other disciplines to resolve any technical difficulties and push project quality

Essential Skills and Experience

• Minimum of 3 published games with at least one AAA title in said role or equivalent
• Experience in leading a team and the development of high-quality AAA cinematic animation
• Previous game or film experience working on story and action-oriented sequences and cut scenes
• Previous experience of working with performance capture data and applying it to cinematic sequences
• Self-motivated, good communication skills, and a great team-player attitude
• Ability to give and receive feedback and adapt to visual direction
• Advanced knowledge of Motion Builder, Maya or other equivalent 3D animation program

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Great working knowledge of UE4 cinematic tools or equivalent tech
• Cinematography experience, focusing on scene composition, pacing and editing
• Technical problem solving
• Create high quality animations for characters, facial, props and vehicles for cinematics.
• You understand how gameplay and cinematic content interact with each other (transition in and out)
• Previous work with external partners and vendors