Technical Director - Animation

Ubisoft Inc Montreal, Quebec, Canada Posted on: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 Contact info: Phone: 514-490-2000 Fax: 514-667-5510 Email: amelie.fourcaudot@ubisoft.com URL: ubisoft.com

Job type: Full-time
 
Description:

Responsabilities:

Read the game design documents to determine the best engine choice for the animation needs within the game.
Evaluate the engines already existing at Ubi, research the experiences and recommendations of the previous users to get informed on the strengths and weaknesses of the product and see if it will meet the expectations.
Participate in the design of a new engine if the existing one is not used, specifying the needs to the programming team.
Test the chosen or developed engine, ask for improvements and verify the associated documentation and correct and/or produce new documents as necessary.
Develop or find the best tools (ex : 3DS Max, motion builder, etc) and methods to improve and facilitate the animator’s work
Test the tools before their deployment and assure they work throughout the production process.
Create, organise and lead training sessions for the animation team so they can use the methods and tools properly.
Produce the documentation for tools, methods, training, processes and engine constraints for reference.
Establish the naming convention for all files created by the animators to structure the placement of the data and facilitate their retrieval.
Provide constant technical support on the tools and engine for all members of the animation team.
Supervise the design, integration; validate the animations in the engine and the in-game cinematics and the facial animation pipeline.
Be the point of contact with the Mocap studio
Be the point of contact within the animation group for knowledge sharing

Qualifications and Technical Competencies:

AEC in game animation or equivalent
5 years of experience in animation of which 2 years experience with animation integration systems or other equivalent experience.
Excellent knowledge of animation software (Digital Content Creation Softwares, ex. 3DS Max, Motion builder, rigging)
Knowledge of photoshop and Maxscript is an asset
Expert with asset management software (ex : Perforce, VSS, Alienbrain)

Working language: English, French is an asset.

Personal Qualities:
Good ability to teach
Able to write technical documentation
Be customer service oriented
Good capacity to communicate verbally as well as written

Ubisoft Montreal

Ubisoft’s Montreal studio, which employs more than 1500 creative individuals, is responsible for the development and launch of such well-known franchises as Prince of Persia® The Sands of Time, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® 3, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell®, Myst® IV Revelation, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory™, Prince of Persia Warrior Within™, Far Cry Instincts Predator™, Prince of Persia The Two Thrones™, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Vegas and many other successful games. The studio, presently the company’s largest development facility, and second largest in the world, is currently working on more AAA titles and future projects to be launched on next-generation consoles. Amongst others, Assassin’s Creed™ is set to be released in the fall of 2007.

For a detailed description of this position, please visit our website at www.ubisoft.com