Location
Chancery Lane, London, United Kingdom (Hybrid)

Hours
Full Time

Salary
Negotiable

About the Role
The multi-Oscar-winning creative Film & Episodic Studio at Framestore collaborates with some of the greatest storytellers in film today. We work closely with directors and producers across the complete filmmaking process to design, plan, and create stunning visual effects, combining talent and technology to bring life to everything we create. Driven by creativity and inspired by the future, we set out every day to reframe the possible.

As a Crowd Technical Director at Framestore, you will bring large-scale scenes to life by simulating and animating tens of thousands of characters for high-end visual effects films. Working closely with Supervisors and department Leads, you will craft the dynamic motion and behaviour of digital crowds that populate our most ambitious projects. Using both proprietary and off-the-shelf software, you will create visually rich simulations that balance realism and artistry.

Collaboration is key in this role, as you will work hand-in-hand with teams across Modelling, Rigging, Animation, Motion Capture, and Lighting to deliver seamless crowd work that integrates perfectly into the final image. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who thrives on creative problem-solving and technical innovation, with the chance to contribute to the development of new tools and techniques that push the boundaries of visual effects.

Your responsibilities will include creating and running crowd simulations as briefed by the CG or VFX Supervisor, developing locomotion and motion behaviours for varied and believable performances, supporting the development of new crowd tools and workflows, and maintaining strong communication with Production and Leads to meet deadlines and quality standards.

Experience
- Strong working knowledge of Houdini, particularly Houdini Crowds and Agent Definitions (Maya experience a plus)
- Familiarity with VFX pipelines and workflows across multiple software packages
- Experience working in Unix/Linux environments
- Previous experience in a similar crowd or simulation role is desirable
- Programming or scripting experience (e.g. VEX, Python, C++) is desirable
- Understanding of particle systems and procedural animation is desirable
- Experience developing tools, scripts, or plug-ins to streamline workflows is desirable
- Familiarity with motion capture data integration is desirable

About you
- Creative problem-solving skills with an understanding of both aesthetic and technical requirements
- Solid grasp of animation principles and an eye for motion
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and organisational skills
- Ability to work effectively under pressure in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
- Adaptability and a willingness to learn new tools and processes

Qualifications
No specific qualifications are required; however, relevant experience and skills as outlined above are essential for success in this role.