Contract Animator — Portland

Posted August 18, 2011

XPLANE | Dachis Group is seeking contract animators to help audiences understand concepts and ideas through moving imagery. This isn’t a low-level production job and you’re not expected to just make things move—you’ll work within a creative team of writers, designers and illustrators and your role as animator is to advise in style and method, then create motion design deliverables. You’ll be challenged to explain sometimes hard-to-grasp concepts with your work. XPLANE animators produce visual solutions to the communication needs of clients, using a mix of creative skills and commercial awareness. Our animators create innovative communications for presentation, and they understand and illustrate complex challenges with visual solutions. This role requires imaginative flair, awareness of current trends in the visual arts, working knowledge of the latest software, and an understanding of material costs and time limits, all of which can impact the design.

Essential Duties:

• Work with senior project leads to discuss and interpret client needs; think creatively and contribute ideas to produce new concepts.
• Use innovation to meet the constraints of cost, time and client; produce accurate and high-quality work.
• Create interpretive illustrations with both hand- and computer-based tools. Have an eye for design to be able to offer ideas and solutions, but be willing to take direction. Organize files for flexibility.
• Professional-grade understanding and experience with story structure, timeline editing.
• Adobe CS5 Skills: Design directly in After Effects, Flash, Illustrator and Photoshop. Faithfully breathe life into illustration and graphics animation and interactivity.

Skill requirements:
Adobe After Effects Skills:

• Solid experience with the Photoshop/Illustrator to After Effects workflow.
• Understanding of standard video formats, aspect ratios and resolutions.
• Strong motion design principles including timing and movement.
• Proven ability to work within AE’s 3D space
• Understanding of Expressions.
• Strong file and workflow organization skills.
• Understanding how to use mattes, keys and live-action compositing
• Experience working with OSX in a team environment.

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Adobe Flash Skills:

• Design directly in the Flash authoring environment or in Illustrator and Photoshop.
• Faithfully translate designs and layouts in Illustrator into Flash and then bring them to life with animation and interactivity.
• Use naming conventions that make sense in both code and symbol libraries. Keep symbol libraries well organized.
• Thoughtful file management and file versioning for a team environment.
• Character library creation and management
• Keyframe animation and tweens
• Character animation skills such as lip-sync and walk cycles

Skills in the following are a plus:

• AS3
• 3D animation tools such as Maya, 3DS or C4D
• Color Correction
• Video Editing
• Sound Design
• Agency Experience
• Match Moving
• Motion Tracking

Requirements & Responsibilities:

• College degree in visual communication, information design, or visual journalism is preferred. Experience working in design fields.
• At least 4 years of professional studio work is required.
• Demonstrate skills in visual reporting and information design. Advanced business acumen. Experience in quickly discerning a client’s needs and core values. Ability to comprehend complex business and technology issues.
• Excellent intrapersonal, organizational, presentation, and teamwork skills. Excellent written and oral communication skills are required to communicate with people at various levels of education and experience. Ability to work well under pressure.
• Proven record of taking initiative and ownership in projects and being proactive toward communicating solutions, ideas, and cautions. Detail oriented. Able to monitor own work. Hold self-accountable for project quality.

Supervisory Responsibility – Low
Individuals in this role will not typically oversee the work of others.

Client Interaction – Medium
Individuals in this role occasionally have contact with XPLANE clients, and are held responsible for client satisfaction.

Decision-Making Authority – High
The decisions a person in this role makes can have direct impact on client satisfaction, XPLANE financials, and project metrics.

To Apply:
Create a profile at http://xplane.catchthebest.com/apply/7bed/7dae
- Submit resume
- Provide cover letter
- Include links to recent work samples