Matte Paint Supervisor

Sony Pictures Imageworks is located on the unceded traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. We are committed to respecting traditional lands, and working with communities towards reconciliation.

Sony Pictures Imageworks Canada Inc.
1285 W Pender St Vancouver, BC V6E 4B1

Language in work environment - English

Benefits per company policy: include healthcare, tuition reimbursement, RRSP's, Sick and Vacation leave, standard increases as applicable

Sony Pictures Imageworks is searching for a highly experienced and creative Matte Painting Supervisor to join our Environments team. 

What you'll be doing

Production

• Collaborate with Show leadership to achieve the creative vision of the client and the technical requirements of the Show.
• Supervise a team of matte painters to create complete, 2.5D matte painted environments for downstream consumption by compositing teams.
• Participate directly in the creation of matte paintings, establishing and modeling best practices as you do so.
• Run team creative reviews, and represent your team in internal and client creative reviews. Ensure feedback from reviews is appropriately addressed.
• Work with show leadership to assess crew needs for your team, and collaborate with department leadership, Artist Management and Recruiting to help find staffing solutions.
• Bid out asset creation and shot costs, assess the cost implications of client requests, and work out solutions in collaboration with Show leadership.
• Collaborate closely with Show leadership and your peer supervisors in other departments to ensure that DMP deliverables are efficient, technically sound for consumption downstream, and delivered on time.

Studio

• Collaborate closely with the Head of Environments, the departmental Workflow TD, and the Dev group in the ongoing development of DMP tools, pipelines and workflows for both your show and the studio as a whole.
• Participate in post-show reviews, develop & integrate solutions to the problems identified in them, and communicate their findings to all show, department and studio stakeholders.

Leadership

• Set the creative and technical expectations for the DMP team, and see them through via consistent constructive feedback, recognition, and accountability. 
• Model and foster a culture of professional excellence based on trust, candor and respect. 
• In partnership with show creative leadership and management, department leadership and artist management, inspire and motivate the team and take responsibility for its tone and morale.
• Proactively engage in ongoing mentoring, training and other initiatives to support the professional growth of all members of the Environments department.
• Create an inclusive and safe work environment by carefully managing sensitive information, creating space for everyone to have a voice, and addressing bias when it occurs.

Collaboration & Communication

• Collaborating with your 3D Generalist counterparts in the Environments team to establish best practices on where to use matte paintings vs. 3D environments.
• Develop collegial partnerships with peer supervisors in other departments to find solutions and compromises for technical and creative challenges.
• Provide regular updates to Show, Department and Studio leadership on the progress, health, and direction of the team.
• Model transparency to your team by keeping them well-informed of all news and updates from the Show, Department and Studio.

What we need to see

• Bachelor’s degree in fine art, or a diploma or certificate from a recognized school of art, design, animation or visual effects, AND minimum 7 years of relevant experience in vfx or animated feature films.
• Prior experience as a Matte Painting Supervisor or similar role.
• An impeccable understanding of fundamental visual principles, including perspective, composition, form, value, and color. 
• Excellent matte painting techniques in Photoshop, including digital painting and photo collage.
• In-depth understanding of color management.
• Excellent working knowledge of advanced 2.5D projection techniques in Nuke.
• Proficiency in modeling detailed custom geometry to a projection in Maya or similar DCC.
• Ability to create complex, large-scale matte painted environments and manage them across large sequences of shots.
• Ability to set and enforce technical standards and best practices for your team.
• A high degree of technical proficiency in photography.
• Demonstrated ability in concept design or visual development.
• Please note that you must be able to provide a demo reel that illustrates your relevant artistic and technical experience.

Ways to stand out from the crowd

• Professional experience in both animated and live action projects.
• Good generalist knowledge with tools such as Maya, Houdini, Mari, Speedtree etc.
• Experience with the use of matte painting imagery in virtual production workflows.
• Experience with Unreal Engine.

Personal qualities we’re looking for

• Highly organized, able to efficiently manage the workload of yourself and your team.
• A highly proactive problem-solver, anticipating potential roadblocks and addressing them before they occur.
• An excellent communicator, able to interpret creative notes and convey them to artists with sensitivity and clarity.
• A natural teacher, always looking to help and mentor others.
• A willingness to document processes and practices, and contribute to the creation and delivery of training materials.
• Unwilling to rest on your laurels, always learning new skills and techniques.
• A natural collaborator, proactively reaching out to other departments to find solutions.
• Very calm under pressure, always maintaining the morale and momentum of your team.