Lead Lighter will be responsible for lighting digital assets and seamlessly integrating them with background plates, 3D environments and other characters.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Design and create lighting and the look of CG objects, scene images, effects and programs for digitally composited sequences to reach the vision of the Director, Production Designer, Art director and VFX Supervisor.
- Set up, light, rig and establish key shots for a given sequence.
- Work closely with Directors, Production Designer, Art Directors, Visual FX Supervisor and Cg Supervisor, to set a reference for the sequence. Address all lighting comments, clarifying artistic direction when unclear.
- Define standards and techniques for lighting a sequence that maximizes efficiency and ensures quality. Optimize setups for rendering.
- Creative responsibility to keep the continuity of the sequence consistent with the key shot.
- Provide leadership for production lighting team both creatively and technically. Foster good working atmosphere and ethics. Lead by example and promote good morale.
- Ensure that lighting setups are clean, well documented, modular and easily applicable to other shots.
- Troubleshoot creative and technical issues as they arise.
- Initiate, set up, organize and document any lighting - tools, adbs, scripts or processes on a global or sequence level.
- Lead meetings to hand off the sequence to production lighters before they start. Using the key shots, clearly explain and give direction as to the technical and aesthetic challenges of the sequence. Similarly, hands-off the set ups to other teams that need to deal with common elements, such as environments or FX.
- Create and maintain sequence feedback devices such as mov lists and contact sheets.
- Mentor production lighters and ensure that they technically and aesthetically achieve look of the sequence.
- Collaborate with Cg Supervisor and Head of FX timely FX integration for a sequence.
- Collaborate with CG Supervisor timely matte painting integration for a sequence.
- Manage personal shot load, meeting all deadlines of milestones to final film delivery, based on the schedule for a given sequence.
- Help facilitate CG character visual development. This can include working with surfacing, setting materials or shader parameters.
- Attend creative reviews such as Dailies or Art Director rounds.
- Assist Cg Supervisor when needed. This can include helping with shot assignments, prioritizing renders, reviewing surfacing.
- Work closely with Art Directors for direction and clarity on props/sets and lighting withing sequence.
- Responsible for informing Production Supervisor and CG Sup of any scheduling and quota issues.
- Help bid sequences.
- Assist with interviews and recruiting.
- Attend sequence breakdowns and kick off meetings.
- Be able to run DDR and playback devices in CG Supervisor’s absence.