Cinematic Animator (F/M/NB)

Company description:

Ubisoft’s 17,000 team members, working across more than 30 countries around the world, are bound by a common mission to enrich players’ lives with original and memorable gaming experiences. Their commitment and talent have brought to life many acclaimed franchises such as Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Watch Dogs, Just Dance, Rainbow Six, and many more to come. Ubisoft is an equal opportunity employer that believes diverse backgrounds and perspectives are key to creating worlds where both players and teams can thrive and express themselves. If you are excited about solving game-changing challenges, cutting edge technologies and pushing the boundaries of entertainment, we invite you to join our journey and help us create the unknown.

Ubisoft Bordeaux

Founded in 2017, Ubisoft Bordeaux works with passion on the biggest AAA titles to deliver the best gaming experiences. Today, the studio is composed of 350 talents from 20 different nationalities, working on licenses such as Assassin's Creed, Beyond Good & Evil 2 and a free to play game, BattleCore Arena. At the same time, the studio has set up a Tech branch which works on all Ubisoft's online services (named Online Services) as well as on the Anvil game engine. Ubisoft Bordeaux is also home to a R&D team, La Forge, which brings together engineers and researchers to work together on prototypes for game production, particularly around AI topics.

Within Ubisoft Bordeaux, you will join the team working on a yet unannounced project, and participate in team and project developments of the studio.   

As a Cinematic Animator, you will be responsible for providing animations of characters (body and facial), cameras and objects, in line with the Realization Director's guidelines. These animations may be created using Motion Capture or Keyframe.   

RESPONSIBILITIES:  

• Apply animation principles to create high-quality animations while optimizing them to meet technical constraints and making any changes that are requested based on the artistic and realization direction. 
• Work closely with the Realization Director, Narration and Cinematic Designers to understand the expected quality, intentions and capabilities of the engine in order to anticipate the appearance of animations in the game.  
• Accurately render actors' performances under the direction of the animation supervisor and the Realization Director.  
• Maintain regular contact with Cinematic Designers, Character Artists, Scripters, FX Artist, Props Artist, Lighther and Sound designer to deliver quality scenes.    
• Provide visibility on work progress through production tracking or communication tools.  
• Master dialogue animation systems and participate in their improvement. 
• Design and produce high-quality gesture animation banks (dialogue systems).    
• Help prepare motion capture shoots (ref, storyboard, animation listing, requirements, constraints, etc.).     
• Check the results of your work in the game engine.   
• Identify and report potential issues (technical, artistic, delivery deadlines) encountered.

• You have experience as a Cinematic Animator on a AAA game, and ideally participated in the entire production phase right up to the ship.  
• You have experience with motion capture, as an animation referent or in directing actors.  
• You have a good sense of composition (camera movement, framing, etc.).    
• You are familiar with Autodesk animation software (Motion Builder/Maya).  
• Your communication skills enable you to communicate easily within your team, as well as with other departments.    
• You are pro-active and enjoy researching and improving what already exists.  
• You have an interest in the language of film.    
• Your level of English enables you to work in an international environment.

• Contract: 6 months
• Location: role based in Bordeaux – France
• Remote: on-site based position

Hiring Process:

• Phone interview with one of our recruiters
• One or more technical and/or project interviews with the manager and his/her team and producers

If your application is not retained, you will receive a negative answer.

To find out more about our studio and Ubisoft's advantages, go to: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/studio/bordeaux

We are working to enrich players’ lives through unique and memorable gaming experiences and by improving the positive impacts of our games. To get there, we are creating a safer, more inclusive work environment, we are giving back to the communities where Ubisoft operates by working with local non-profit partners and by working to reduce the environmental impact of our business. Learn more on our Social Impact here.

Check out this guide to help you with your application, and learn about our actions to encourage more diversity and inclusion.