Are you a cinematic visual storyteller with a passion for shaping mood, color, and atmosphere? Reel FX Animation is seeking a talented, technically proficient Lighting Artist and Compositing Artist to join our elite creative team in Montreal for an immersive 3-month contract. This role bridges the gap between raw 3D assets and final, breathtaking cinematic imagery.
Working under the general supervision of our Lighting Supervisor, you will be responsible for creating, defining, and fine-tuning lighting setups and shadows for assigned production shots. Beyond illuminating scenes, you will actively render out passes and handle the final compositing phases to seamlessly blend elements together into cohesive, high-end animated sequences.
Reel FX Animation operates as a highly collaborative, cutting-edge studio environment. We are excited to welcome our team back to our physical Montreal space with a balanced hybrid schedule. This setup requires artists to be in the studio Tuesday through Thursday each week, allowing for high-bandwidth creative collaboration, direct mentorship, and tight feedback loops with industry veterans, while offering flexibility around the remaining workdays.
If you have at least one year of professional experience in an animation or VFX pipeline, a strong eye for compositional physics, and mastery over industry-standard node-based software, this is your chance to make a tangible impact on world-class animated content.
Job Overview : Lighting and Compositing Artist
| Category | Details |
| Studio / Company | Reel FX Animation |
| Location | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Work Schedule | Hybrid Structure (In-Studio Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday) |
| Employment Type / Duration | 3-Month Temporary Contract |
| Core Software Pipeline | Katana (3D Lighting), Nuke (Compositing), Arnold (Renderer) |
| Hierarchy / Reporting | Reports to the Lighting Supervisor; collaborates with Director & Lead Lighters |
| Hiring Priority | Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents will be given priority consideration |
Detailed Responsibilities as Compositing Artist
As a dual-threat Lighting Artist and Compositing Artist, your daily workflow at Reel FX Animation will involve balancing technical rendering parameters with high-level artistic sensibilities. Your core duties will include:
1. Shot Illumination & Technical Execution
- Production Quotas: Take full ownership of assigned production shots, lighting them efficiently to hit established weekly shot quotas and quality benchmarks set by production management and the Lighting Supervisor.
- Shadow & Highlight Sculpting: Define form, depth, and focus within a scene by meticulously placing digital lights, shaping shadows, and ensuring consistency across sequential shots.
- Tool Utilization: Perform advanced technical troubleshooting and utilize a wide array of studio pipeline tools to optimize render times and ensure smooth data management between departments.
2. Creative Collaboration & Directorial Alignment
- Aesthetic Synergy: Partner actively with the Project Director, Lead Lighter/Compositor, and layout teams to interpret and realize the artistic intent. You will work hard to understand the specific mood, time of day, narrative context, and overarching color palette of the composition.
- Direction Adherence: Follow the creative direction of the production from a dedicated lighting standpoint, implementing visual notes communicated by the Supervisor swiftly and accurately.
- Proactive Problem Solving: Monitor your shot pipeline continuously. You must identify and flag potential technical or artistic lighting obstacles to the Supervisor before they impact production timelines or delivery schedules.
3. Final Compositing Operations
- Layer Re-integration: Perform complex compositing operations on rendered layers to assemble the final pixel-perfect images.
- Look & Feel Enhancements: Adjust color correction, black levels, and grading to ensure seamless continuity between cut shots.
- Advanced Comp Techniques: Execute precise extractions, manual rotoscoping when necessary, and apply optical compositing effects (such as depth of field, motion blur, and lens flares) to elevate the cinematic polish of the final frame.
Required Qualifications & Technical Skills
To thrive in this fast-paced production environment, applicants must demonstrate a blend of artistic training, software expertise, and professional adaptability.
Education & Experience
- Academic Background: A degree or diploma in Fine Arts, Digital Animation, Visual Effects, or a closely related discipline (equivalent professional industry experience will also be fully considered).
- Industry Footprint: A minimum of one year of professional studio experience working specifically as a Lighting and Compositing Artist (or an equivalent technical role) within a feature film, high-end episodic, or commercial animation pipeline.
Software & Pipeline Mastery
- High-End 3D Software & Katana: Thorough, production-proven knowledge of high-end 3D packages, with specific, confident navigation of Katana for look development and lighting setups.
- Node-Based Compositing & Nuke: Thorough knowledge of node-based compositing architectures, boasting expert-level proficiency in Nuke to handle multi-channel EXR workflows and complex layer management.
- Arnold Renderer: Thorough operational knowledge of the Arnold rendering engine, including a deep understanding of its sampling settings, ray depth, light path expressions (LPEs), and shader behaviors.
Artistic & Interpersonal Competencies
- Artistic Vision: A strong portfolio or demo reel demonstrating a refined understanding of traditional art fundamentals, including real-world composition, photographic lighting principles, color theory, and atmospheric perspective.
- Communication Skills: Demonstrable ability to articulate complex creative ideas and technical workflows clearly to both artistic leadership and technical pipeline TDs.
Additional Information & Studio Policies
Role Scope: This job description highlights the primary areas of responsibility but is not meant to be all-inclusive. Selected employees may be asked to perform alternative production-related duties or expand their scope to meet the evolving needs of the organization and the specific film project.
Hiring Priority: Reel FX Animation proudly supports the local Montreal digital media ecosystem. Please note that Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada will be treated with priority during the evaluation process.
Reference Verification: Only those candidates selected for an initial interview will be contacted by our recruiting team. Due to the fast-paced nature of contract hiring, please note that you may be asked to provide verified professional references during the screening phase.
How to Apply
If you are ready to jump into a dynamic, hybrid team in the heart of Montreal’s vibrant animation scene, we want to hear from you! Please submit your updated resume, a link to your breakdown sheet, and your current demo reel showcasing your best Katana, Arnold, and Nuke work.
Portfolio Reminder: Ensure your demo reel highlights before-and-after breakdowns of your lighting layers and final composites, detailing exactly what elements you were responsible for in each shot.
