At Brown Bag Films, our motto is simple: “We love animation.” In fact, we love it so much we trademarked it! 'We Love Animation™.’ We are one of the world’s most exciting, original and successful creative-lead animation studios with studios in Toronto, Dublin and Bali.

Our Toronto team is looking for an experienced Background Supervisor to be responsible for leading the Background Paint department following the style of the existing series and maintaining the integrity of the production.

Reporting to: Art Director

Purpose: Why you’re here at Brown Bag Films

• To manage, mentor and develop a BG Paint Team in the creation of Background paintings for an animated production

• To interpret and create key background paintings and master backgrounds with direction from the Art Director and Director/Client

Delivery: What you produce

• Background paintings that maintain quality and stay on style and on schedule for the duration of the animated production.

• A well-functioning and developed team of Background Painter/Artist

Measurements: How we measure it

• Background Paintings meeting creative and managerial requirements, within stylistic guidelines and schedule

• Art Director and Director/Client approvals

• Team development and sustainability.

Key Responsibilities

What you are regularly responsible for doing:

• Managing and developing the BG paint team, making sure that the Backgrounds stay on style of the production. Includes:

• Working one on one with the background painters to mentor and provide regular feedback

• Communicating with the team the needs of the production and resolve any technical or artistic questions that the team may have

• Providing clear and concise upfront direction, offering adjustments and clarifications to the team as needed

• Creating an encouraging and engaging work environment within the team and advocating for them in respect of animation quality, morale and schedule

• Being an exemplar to the team by producing an inspiring quota

• Reviewing and/or approving storyboards/animatic and using the layout list, cast backgrounds to the BG paint team.

• Providing Master BG’s and if needed, providing color keys for the BG team to use as reference.

• Working closely with Art Director and Director to find the best solutions for technical and artistic challenges.

• Reviewing background paintings to ensure they painted in the correct style, that the BG is layered correctly and ready for Scene planning and animation

• Keeping the background paint production on schedule and anticipating problems both technical and scheduling, offering solutions to these problems.

• Tracking progress of goals and milestones, identifying and acting on issues (such as vacations, sick days, missing assets, etc.) and collaborating with the Art Director or Production for larger consideration.

Key Requirements

Things that help you do your job (what is essential & what is desirable)

Knowledge:

• Strong knowledge in art and design with a focus on Animation.

• Strong knowledge of colour and colour styling.

Experience:

• Background Paint or environmental color visual development for an animated TV Series or Feature.

• Some leadership experience in managing and mentoring Teams in an animation environment and forecasting project solutions and requirements.

• Well-founded experience with asset tracking systems & workflow management software (e.g. Shotgrid).

Technical skills:

• Painting Backgrounds for an animation environment.

• Expert in Photoshop.

Behaviours (Competencies) – To be developed separately

Why work with us?

Perks! Perks! Perks! Not only is 9 Story Media Group / Brown Bag Films an amazing place full of artists, animators and creators from all corners of the industry, but we focus on helping staff grow and develop in their careers and make them long time team members. Along with a great work environment we offer first-rate health + dental benefits, summer hours, paid Health and Wellness Days, vacation periods that multiply with tenure, and more! We may love animation, but we love our employees even more!

Our Toronto office can be found in the cool and trendy Liberty Village with over 200 artists working on award winning animated children’s content. You will benefit from a competitive compensation package, interesting work and a fun/supportive work environment.

Applicants need to be legally eligible to work in Canada. Interested applicants are requested to share application with link to their portfolios.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Interviews will happen over a period of time once the applications date close.

9 Story Media takes diversity and inclusion seriously and we are committed to ensuring equity in the recruitment process. Candidates from diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to, Indigenous peoples, Racialized and LGBT2SQ+ communities, candidates from a range of ages and religious beliefs and people with disabilities, are encouraged to apply. Should you require accommodation throughout the recruitment process, please let us know your requirements when contacted.

As a company, we deliver high-quality kids' content, and we seek to have diverse characters so that all our audience feels represented. We also want the same for our own workforce, and 9 Story Media is committed to looking for all kinds of talent to build a diverse workforce in which all identities are represented and respected.

Salary

Open to EU Candidates Only?

Expected Start Date