Lighting Technical Director job at ILM Mumbai, India

In this role as Lighting Technical Director, you will be an integral part of our world-class visual effects pipeline, crafting stunning digital imagery, effects, and programs for complex digitally composited sequences. You will work closely with sequence supervisors, leads, and fellow digital artists to breathe life into feature films and immersive entertainment projects.

The ideal candidate possesses a solid foundation in CGI, strong technical troubleshooting skills, and an artistic eye for lighting, mood, and composition. Whether you are stepping up as a junior artist eager to learn from industry veterans or a mid-level artist ready to tackle complex shot setups and mentor peers, ILM offers an environment of continuous innovation and creative excellence.

Job Overview : Lighting Technical Director

Primary Responsibilities ::

• Shot Execution & Compositing: Create compelling images, visual effects, and customized programs for digitally composited sequences, compiling various multi-pass elements to see shots through to final delivery.

• Lighting & Design: Design and implement precise direct lighting, bounced/reflected illumination, and realistic shadow passes that strictly adhere to established art and tone direction.

• Technical Problem Solving: Develop robust solutions and efficient technical techniques that successfully balance artistic vision with technical pipe constraints.

• Setup Navigation & Asset Management: Seamlessly navigate, adapt, and scale previous technical setups across at least a dozen shots. Handle complex shot specializations, manage heavy multi-asset scenes, and structure organized lighting templates.

• Advanced Lighting FX: Oversee intricate volumetric lighting setups, including advanced shadowing mechanics and custom cucoloris development.

• Character & Creature Lighting: Execute expert-level lighting, material tweaking, and rendering for complex character assets, including digital actors featuring CG hair styling and subsurface scattering skin materials.

• Team Collaboration: Actively engage with high competency, energy, and enthusiasm within a dynamic team environment, operating successfully under daily supervision to hit key production milestones.

• Communication & Feedback Integration: Demonstrate professional listening and communication skills by openly receiving direction and critical feedback. Ask targeted questions to ensure absolute clarity on instructions, and implement requested adjustments immediately. Raise operational flags proactively if roadblocks or delays arise.

• Dailies & Shot Reviews: Present work clearly and concisely during daily reviews, accurately summarizing accomplishments and outlining clear action items for subsequent iterations.

• Proactive Quality Assurance: Cultivate a sharp eye for anticipating technical issues, spotting optimization opportunities, and elevating overall shot aesthetics.

• Time Management: Prioritize tasks efficiently, manage time effectively, and provide production teams with accurate time estimates for task completion.

• Mentorship: Mentor junior digital artists in both creative lighting workflows and underlying technical disciplines (particularly relevant for mid-level candidates)

About Industrial Light & Magic & The Walt Disney Company

• Industrial Light & Magic (ILM): Founded in 1975 by George Lucas, ILM is globally recognized as the premier visual effects facility in the entertainment industry. Serving motion picture, commercial, and themed attraction sectors, ILM has contributed visual effects to over 325 feature films, playing a foundational role in seven of the top 10 worldwide box-office hits of all time and 25 of the top 50. From pioneering the digital revolution to breaking new ground in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and immersive cinema, ILM continues to define the absolute gold standard of cinematic visual effects.

• The Walt Disney Company: The Walt Disney Company and its affiliated enterprises constitute a leading international family entertainment and media corporation spanning three core segments: Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Experiences. From humble origins as a cartoon studio in the 1920s, Disney remains preeminent in storytelling, creating timeless experiences cherished across more than 40 countries globally.

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