Principal Cinematics Designer

Elsewhere Entertainment is looking for a Principal Cinematics Designer to join the development of our next AAA title—an exciting new Narrative Driven IP. 
 
Feed your creativity while driving the development of our game’s world and story! Collaborate with our highly skilled team to build something innovative, exhilarating, and expansively entertaining. 
 
As a member of the cinematics department, you’ll guide the creation of memorable moments in telling an epic player driven story. You’ll also oversee the project’s cinematic pipelines, tools, and best practices, and you’ll manage your team by tasking and reviewing work, providing growth opportunities in skill and career progression, and tending to the emotional health of the team. You’ll work closely with Narrative, Content, Gameplay, and Art leads to coordinate, design, implement, and polish the cinematic work of the game. 

As a leader on the project, you’ll help take the studio and our game from great to even better—with a focus on inclusivity, mutual respect (for ourselves and our players), thoughtfulness, empathy, professionalism, and collaboration.  
 
If you’re a passionate cinematics creator and a positive, respectful collaborator who enjoys cross-department communication and creative problem-solving as a part of your workflow, we’d love to talk to you! 
 
You’ll help us by… 

• Ensuring consistency of tone and style is depicted across the entire cinematic experience that matches the vision set by the Creative Director. 

• Taking narrative ownership of the cinematic and dialogue presentations and pipelines, helping bring the characters, world, and story to life. 

• Assist in the development and direction of storyboarding and animatics to develop the cinematic pipeline. 

• Developing and directing the presentation of the games dialogue and cinematic sequences. 

• Becoming proficient in using the game's proprietary cinematics and dialogue tools. 

• Partnering with Narrative Leadership to audition, cast, and direct VO and mocap performances for cinematics and dialogues in the game. 

• Providing constructive feedback on others’ work. 

• Acting as a liaison to other departments, conveying the consistent cinematic vision of the project. 

• Working with narrative designers, cinematics designers, and campaign designers to develop the best cinematic storytelling practices for the game. 

• Working with 3rd party vendors/clients to help facilitate asset creation, pre-rendered assets both for the game and media support. 

• Mentoring the staff of cinematic animators and designers. 

• Ensuring all tasks are completed according to given specifications and deadlines. 

• Performing any additional cinematic responsibilities as assigned by Studio Leadership. 

You’re awesome because you have… 

• 13+ years of credited CG directorial experience working in either videogame cinematics or TV/film – with mocap and keyframed animation direction. 

• A strong understanding of composition and camera language and how it helps tell our stories. 

• One or more shipped titles as a cinematics director. 

• Subject matter expertise specific to videogame narrative presentations such as handling both various dialogue presentations and in game cutscenes. 

• Experience with technical cinematics design (animation, camera presentation, facial animations, and conveying mood and emotions). 

• The ability to collaborate and thrive as part of a creative team. 

• An eagerness to work independently; are self-driven in taking ownership of tasks in a highly confidential environment. 

• Creativity in problem solving and a positive, respectful team-first attitude. 

• Organization methods and the capability to meet deadlines. 

• Comfort with self-critique and accepting outside feedback. 

• A habit of regularly playing and understanding modern video games and popular media. 

Bonus points for… 

• Experience with directing cinematics and dialogue for AAA Open World Games. 

• Credited CG Work in other media (Film, television, shorts, etc...) 

• Experience developing both bespoke cinematic content as well as dialogue in systematic systems 

• Experience working with Hollywood talent and/or reputable VO recording studios and directors 

• Major recognition in your field of work 

• Familiarity with many of the major games released in the last decade 

• Enjoyment of playing a variety of video game genres and titles 

• Experience in adjacent disciplines such as quest design, narrative design, environment art, programming, etc... 

Not sure you meet all the qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! At Activision, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.