Careers in Animation and Live Action

1.   
Artistic Careers

2.   
Technical Careers

3.   
Talent Development

4.   
Application
Information

5.   
Open Positions

Artistic

Storyboard Artists
Storyboard artists have the ability to visualize a film script in a series of
panels somewhat like a comic strip. They are able to convey the essence of
story line, scene structure, character emotion and create action and humor in
alignment with the overall direction of the film. Ability to quick sketch, a
mastery of human and animal anatomy, a filmic sense and design-caricature
ability are all necessary requirements.

Visual Development Artists / Concept Artists
Visual Development or concept artists visually explore a concept, which may
include Character Design and/or Environment Design for animated films, shorts
and special projects. Visual Development Artists will experiment with the
diverse elements of film presentation to manipulate dramatic story moments,
plot thrusts, moods, character conflict and place-time motifs to capture the
emotional connection to the story’s theme. A rich imagination, a sense of
caricature and design, strong color sense, a mastery of human and animal
anatomy, architecture, the ability to work in different mediums and the
versatility to conceptualize visually in a variety of techniques are required.
Children’s book illustration, fine art and/or illustration skills are a plus.

Modelers
Responsible for creating complex organic models needed for character animation;
prop elements for effects; and environmental sets and structures. A mastery of
human and animal anatomy, perspective, weight, volume, proportion and/or
architecture, industrial design or automotive design are required. Previous
experience with traditional sculpting is a plus.

Layout Artists
Responsible for the staging and set up of each shot. Layout Artists should
demonstrate a strong sense of place and environment and be well-versed in
principles of cinematography. Attention to perspective and composition is
critical in developing a variety of environments for characters to live in.

Character Technical Directors
Responsible for constructing 3D character rigs, animation interfaces and
establishing muscle, skin and clothing behaviors (i.e. range from broad squash
and stretch to realistic physical simulations). Traditional drawing, design and
sculpture abilities are applicable, as is knowledge of anatomy, kinematics and
physical behaviors.

Character Animators
Responsible for bringing characters to life. To be a successful candidate,
Character Animators may have a background in any of traditional and or CGI
disciplines. Prior training should cover anatomy, perspective and composition,
including solving problems in weight, balance, movement, space, construction
and proportion. Animators must be able to demonstrate their understanding of
animation principles such as timing, clear staging, squash and stretch,
anticipation and follow-through, and secondary action.

Background/Matte Painters
Create the final environment for the characters to live in. A strong sense of
design and compositing, color and proportion is essential in developing final
colored backgrounds.

Look Development Painters
Work with other Look Development staff to achieve the look of complex 3D
elements (i.e. characters, props and environments) in the show. This could
include painting texture maps (e.g. color maps, specular maps, displacement
maps, etc.), working with TDs to enhance the look and creating lighting setups.
Look Development Painters typically have previous production experience and
have demonstrated exceptional skills/abilities in 3D artwork.

Look Development Technical Directors
Work as part of a Look Development team that defines all the technical aspects
needed to create the look of a 3D element. This may include the development and
writing of custom shaders, applying texture maps, or developing other custom
software to accomplish the art-direction goals of an element or environment.

Hair/Cloth Technical Directors
Work with the Model Department, Look Development, Animation and Software teams
to create art-directable dynamic simulations for character hair/fur and
clothing in 3D feature animation production. Production experience with
procedurally generated objects and dynamic simulations, a thorough
understanding of 3D computer programs and exceptional artistic skills/abilities
in 3D/traditional artwork are required.

Effects Animators
Add natural, and sometimes supernatural phenomena, to an animated film. An
understanding of physical dynamics and natural forces is key, as it aids in
producing a believable world and setting the mood for the story. An Effects
Animator must take direction easily, work well with an artistic team and
deliver scenes in a timely fashion.

Lighting Artists
Responsible for assembling the elements of a shot into a final composite and
composing the digital lighting of the scene. Final shot-makers must have an
understanding of color, contrast, and lighting design, along with a solid
familiarity with 3D lighting in a production environment. Final Shot Makers
also possess a strong visual sense and the ability to distinguish subtle
differences that affect the matching of elements created in multiple mediums.

Assistant Technical Directors and Trainee
Technical Directors
Found in each artistic department on a production, they support digital artists
and/or TDs. They must possess a working knowledge of Linux, the ability to work
in a collaborative environment, as well as a basic understanding of modeling,
lighting, compositing and animation. Taking direction from TDs and/or artistic
supervisors, they may be expected to support and execute various production
tasks including muscle and skin dynamics simulations, particle simulations, cloth
simulations, Shell or MEL scripting, shader writing/support and rendering
pipeline support.

Technical

Graphics Tools Software Engineers
Responsible for analyzing the procedures and problems of animated film
production, evaluating the effectiveness of existing systems and making
recommendations to improve output, efficiency and workflow. Areas of specialty
for a Graphics Software Engineer may include rigging and animation, dynamics,
paint, effects, look development and/or rendering tools. They partner with
production personnel to determine user needs and review system capabilities to
decide what changes can be made within the existing systems and when new
systems must be added. They will often work with developers and/or end-users on
multiple films. Design responsibilities include the creation of new C, C++,
MEL, Perl or Python code or the modification of existing code, whichever meets
productions needs in the timeliest manner. Regression testing and analyzing of
software, code check-in/integration and distribution are also part of the
software engineer’s implementation responsibilities.

Infrastructure Software Engineers
Responsible for the development and support of productivity tools for the
production of animated films. They are responsible for analyzing production
software procedures and problems, evaluating the effectiveness of existing
systems and making recommendations to improve output, efficiency and workflow.
Their areas of specialty include databases, schedule and shot tracking tools,
pipeline asset management tools and quality assurance testing.

Systems Administrators
Responsible for the configuration, tuning and troubleshooting of various
systems in our production infrastructure. The Systems Administrators have a
particular focus on UNIX/Linux, but also support Windows and Macintosh systems.
They perform hardware and software maintenance on workstations and servers as
well as data protection. Systems Administrators interact with a variety of
production, systems and software teams.

Technical Support Engineers (TSE)
Provide software, hardware and systems support to our crew. The TSE team
requires technical problem solving abilities; an understanding of animation or
visual effects production; strong skills in commercial graphics packages such
as Maya, Shake or Photoshop; and developed Linux, Macintosh and Windows skills
for navigating a heterogeneous computing environment.

Render I/O (RIO) Administrators
Responsible for understanding production’s render pipeline and supporting
proprietary production techniques. They monitor and troubleshoot the render
queuing system and rendering workload. Tasks include troubleshooting and
correcting failed tasks, image quality control, technical advice/support and
interfacing with artists, systems administrators and production management to
ensure production deadlines are met.

Talent Development and Student Programs in association with CACS

 

The Talent Development and Student Programs are presented in
association with our academy known as The Center for Advanced Cinematic Studies
(CACS). Our goal is to recruit talented artists and/or recent film and art
academic graduates and train them based on our production needs and turn them
into professional artists who could help not only us but the world of motion
pictures to move on towards greater paths.

Opportunities are available for talented artists as well as students
of art and animation, fine art and design, computer graphics, production and
general film studies. (Based on Portfolio Evaluations)

Talent Development Program: Talented Artists and Graduating Students
The Talent Development Program is available for anyone whose portfolio is
accepted at the studio’s evaluation department. 
The Talent Development Program offers participants a chance to
understand the depth of their new skills, refine and strengthen key areas,
apply them in our real world environment and work under the guidance of a studio’s
professional supervisor and/or mentor. 
The following areas are available:

·        
Character Animation

·        
Effects Animation

·        
Production Design

·        
Layout, lighting and
texturing

·        
Background Painting

Character Animation Associate Program:	Anyone who loves animation and knows the 100th Secret (Talent)	The Associate Program brings a group of multi-disciplined students together for a once-in-a-lifetime-before-graduation experience into the art of animation.	Under the guidance of a BFS Mentor, Associates will work closely with The Center of Advanced Cinematic Studies (CACS) to immerse them in our art of storytelling and moviemaking.

 

Application Information

 

How to Apply:
Thank you for your interest in opportunities with BorsuFilmStudios.

In order to apply, please fill out our online form to create a
profile. Once your account has been activated you will be able to submit your
resume, portfolio/reel (if applicable) and apply for open positions.

You should submit a portfolio/reel that demonstrates your artistic
ability. Your samples will be evaluated by members of our artistic staff. From
their conclusions, we are able to determine if your knowledge, skills and
experience apply to BorsuFilmStudios.

You should include the following, if applicable:
Resume
Portfolio/Reel
Breakdown List

Reel and Portfolio Formats

Your demo reel should be between 3 and 5 minutes. The following
formats are accepted:

Upload
Files will only be accepted as .jpg, .pdf., .doc, .mov and .mp4 format, .jpg
and .pdf files must be RGB color format – minimum size 11″ X 8.5″
(1553 X1200 pixels) at 150 dpi and follow the naming format:
Firstname_Lastname_#.jpg (john_smith_01.jpg). Do not use spaces or any special
characters (&%}$#@(!*=+:>?~\|,;) in the file names. A single PDF file
can be presented as a booklet form containing multiple files.  Each file
is limited to a maximum size of 100MB.

Website
Indicate your URL on the Website page in your profile. Please note, if we call
you in the future, we may need a physical portfolio and/or DVD/CD media for
playback and further review.

Portfolio and/or DVD/CD
If you are submitting a portfolio, please send copies of your work only (do not
send originals). We are unable to return any material. We recommend that you
present your best work and limit your items accordingly.

All DVDs must be NTSC with a Region Code 1 (USA, Canada) or Region
Code 0 (Region Free).  Digital files will only be accepted as a .pdf,
.jpg, .tiff, .eps, .mov and .mp4 format QuickTime movies will be accepted on CD
or DVD provided they adhere to the following desired format: DVD/video, Apple
Sorenson codec with a “.mov” extension. This format may require
QuickTime Pro or other video editing software for execution. For more information
on QuickTime and QuickTime Pro please see http://www.apple.com/quicktime/

Reel and Portfolio Content

Your submission should represent your skill set and representative
process samples such as sketches, gray scale models and/or works in progress.
– Modelers should include wire frames and turnarounds;
– Riggers should display tool sets;
– Animators should include a variety of physical movements and actions, but
must include facial animation;
– Look Development should include texture paints, maps and the final look, if
applicable;
– Story and Visual Development Artists should present sketchbook samples as
well as finished compositions.

Life drawings are not required, but preferred for all submissions.
We ask that you not show work currently in production and/or under confidential
guidelines at other studios or companies. We understand that this may limit the
showcase of your capabilities. If this is your situation, we recommend that
your submission display only the work available to the public with an
indication that a later submission will be provided once approved or released.

Reel Breakdown List

All media submitted should include a Breakdown List (see sample).
This list explains what work you were responsible for and, if applicable, what
technique/software was used. Example: Shot 1, The City, Maya 6.0, I animated
the people walking down the street. Buildings and trees modeled by John Johnson;
Shot 2, Ocean, Maya 6.0, I modeled, rigged and animated the fish; Shot 3, Woodland,
Acrylic Paint, I painted all of the backgrounds. Some artists list their
responsibilities directly onto their reels as each segment is playing or list
it in their portfolio. It is helpful to describe your role in the
media/portfolio you are sharing with us.

Open Positions

There are no open positions at the moment at the company until further notices. Our HR office announces upcoming positions based on the annual report of the strategy and programming department.  Therefore you are more than welcome to email us your personal information and portfolio as explained in the “Application Information” section of this website.