Animator - Mid Level Artist

Company Description

The Mill is a global creative partner for agencies, production companies and brands, working across all media channels and platforms.

We are trusted specialists in visual effects, creative technologies and content production Our projects include the creation of digital products and virtual experiences, as well as world class visual effects and video production.

We are a vibrant network of talented artists, producers, directors and creative technologists from multinational backgrounds. We nurture innovation, flexibility and diverse ideas across our studios in London, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Berlin and Bangalore. We are all united by one single ambition: To create extraordinary and memorable work that captivates and excites audiences.

We are The Mill. We create the extraordinary.

**Job Description**:
Our global Visual Effects team combines talent with technology, artistry with rigor, the familiar with the fantastic. Our work can be inspiring or invisible, but always unforgettable. From the language of colour to the hand drawn and photo-real, we bring ideas to life through the use of movement, storytelling and timing.

We are currently looking for a creative Animator to work with our team in Berlin. Our Animators are responsible for producing high-quality realistic and stylised animation for our clients advertising projects.

The Animator brings the skills of storytelling through passion for character animation. Working with directors and clients to achieve their vision and managing a team of artists to execute the work is the main overview of the role. You will inspire teams and produce fantastic animation through a highly collaborative work environment. You'll be eager to try out new production techniques and provide ideas, feedback, and efficiencies to various workflows and pipeline.

You'll have excellent communication skills and the ability to work autonomously, both giving and receiving direction. On large-scale projects, you'll need to be able to collaborate with remote artists, provide notes and feedback, and perform hero-level animation duties. You should be able to work in a vast amount of animation styles, ranging from photoreal to heavily stylized, with creatures, humans, vehicles and more.

**Responsibilities**
- Working closely with CG Leads/Directors/Clients to achieve the desired animation styles, timing and overall storytelling on projects
- Lead animation teams on Live Action and full CG projects, often working with remote artists
- Help create or suggest tools that should be implemented to speed up workflows
- Provide feedback to the Asset & Rigging teams when there are issues with what you are provided
- Processing Motion capture data, lip sync execution with advanced facial rigs
- Produce high calibre keyframe animation from scratch
- Animating realistic and stylised Characters and Creatures for VFX and full CG projects
- Mentoring and leading other Animators (if senior level).

**Qualifications**:

- Previous experience Animating in advertising, feature film or animation production - **ideally realistic creatures or characters**:

- Experience using Maya
- Solid understanding of animation production pipelines
- Good communication skills to enable you to work well in a team and take direction from clients, directors etc.
- Ability to troubleshoot and solve problems independently
- Previous experience in CG Animation for advertising, feature film or animation production.
- Vast knowledge of Maya and it’s animation toolset.
- Strong understanding of a VFX/CG animation production pipeline
- Excellent communication skills to enable you to lead others and work well with the full pipeline of Artists, Leads and direct communication with Directors.
- Ability to troubleshoot and solve problems independently
- Python and tool creation is a plus
- Understanding of rigging with the ability to provide feedback to that department