FX TD (Effects technical director)
FX TD mainly create physics-based effects such as fire, smoke, water and various kinds of destruction, make it easier for VFX artists to use these effects. Sometimes an FX TD will be called upon to create non-physically realistic effects such as magical spells or physically impossible objects.
FX TD may work closely with VFX Supervisors to creatively solve effects challenges and develop final shot look. In addition, they have to work with other TD’s and artists to create photo-real effects and physically accurate simulations. They have to anticipate, communicate and troubleshoot any creative or technical problems.
To become a FX TD, proven experience in producing effects such as smoke, fire, clouds, water, steam and explosions is a must, and also experience with particle and voxel based rendering. The most important thing is to have extensive knowledge of Houdini. Maya, Python, Hscript VEX skills are also nice to have.
These are two showreels of FX TD, which show the steps of visual effects made.
Houdini FX TD Reel 2021 #2 – YouTube
Houdini FX TD Showreel 2019 – YouTube
TD (Assistant technical director)
As an Assistant Technical Director, you will perform a variety of tasks to assist the Pipeline Technical Directors (Pipeline TDs) to ensure the smooth running of the tools, software and workflows used by VFX. You are responsible for supporting and troubleshooting the pipeline and workflow tools, providing technical assistance to people in creative departments and managing data and resources.
Assistant Technical Directors utilize a variety of industry standard graphical applications, scripting languages and operating systems. They may support projects by gathering artist requirements, designing solutions and coding small-scale tools using established employer workflow requirements. They are expected to work well within a team and to be good communicators and problem solvers.
Here is an example of a company finding the Assistant Technical Director:
The following videos show what do TDs do in their works.
Working in Theatre: Assistant Technical Director – YouTube
Software Developer
As a Software Developer you’ll manage the whole lifecycle of the company’s pipelines and tools. The Production Technology department supports multiple film projects in parallel, from initial design and on-set supervision to production and post-production. You will have influence in all aspects of the software development life-cycle; architecting, developing and maintaining software. You’ll partner closely with department leaders and the production team; assist in the design, implementation and scheduling of software tasks and provide day-to-day pipeline support for clients. You’ll ensure your work is well documented and help mentor more junior team members in a collaborative Agile environment where code quality is paramount.
As a Software Developer, you will regularly be required to:
Other skills and qualities a Software Developer need to have:
“As a software engineer, for your most of your life, you’re going to be inside, sitting at a computer,” a comment under the following video.
What Professional Software Engineers ACTUALLY Do – YouTube
There are also many other comments which people can take as references before becoming a Software Engineer.
Pipeline TD (Pipeline technical director)
Pipeline Technical Directors make sure a VFX project runs smoothly by identifying and fixing problems as they arise. This is done by making sure each department has the software tools that they need to complete their part of the project to the best standard possible. As such, pipeline TDs work closely with staff from all departments to understand what their technical needs are today and what they might be in the future. They also work closely with the research and development teams designing and testing new software to ensure such technology fits neatly into the production pipeline.
A Pipeline TD will work with a range of people, including 3D Animators, Riggers, Modelers, Lighters, and Compositors. They communicate with VFX Artists across the team to understand their needs. If the project that they are working on isn’t running smoothly, then it is the Pipeline TD’s responsibility to identify what kind of tools need to be developed to fix the issues.
Here is an article talking about what does a Pipeline TD do and how can people become pipeline TD.
What is a Pipeline TD and how can I become one? – ftrack
Key skills needed for becoming a Pipeline TD