Creative Director - Territory Studio

Territory Studio is a creative specialist with a unique approach to motion design, visual effects and digital experiences. Drawing on deep expertise of narrative design for film, games and brands, we blend creative with technology to create compelling content.

Working across diverse briefs, what ties our work together is a love of craft and creative, a passion for story and a designer’s eye for problem-solving. What sets us apart is a uniquely refined design intelligence, near future expertise and a team of ambitious, focused and proactive cross discipline creatives.

Attracting talent from around the world, we have growing studios in London and San Francisco. Some of our most recent work includes No Time To Die, The Batman, Dune, Swan Song and Invasion.

Other specialist projects have been Ready Player One, Bladerunner, Mank, Ghost in the Shell, Marvel's Spider-man (Miles Morales) and so much more! Please take a look at our website for a much more in-depth view of the creative projects we have worked on.

Come and join an incredible team of collaborative, creative innovators and work with some of the best people from around the world, on possibly some of the most exciting projects that span across UI, Film, TV, Technology, Commercial, Games, VR, Experimental and Broadcast.

The Role:

The Creative Director leads creative teams as devotees of their craft to deliver outstanding creative work in motion graphics, visual effects and digital experiences to create iconic masterpieces in motion design and VFX across Film, TV, Games and UI productions. The Creative Director is primarily accountable for maintaining, developing and elevating the creative work that leaves the studio.

ROLE: Creative Director

REPORTS TO: Co-Founder

LOCATION: San Francisco (Hybrid - onsite & remote)

CONTRACT: Full-time (40 hours / week)

Responsiblities:

Creative

• Oversight of the creative output.
• To drive the Territory USP – Our unbeatable reputation for captivating global audiences with iconic masterpieces.
• To constantly strive to elevate the creative calibre of the studio. To push the boundaries both internally and externally and surpass our clients’ expectations.
• To utilize design, technology and innovation to enrich the creative process.
• To provide creative direction across multiple projects as and when required. To step in and guide Art Directors if a project looks to be going off track or to strategically provide creative advice as projects progress.
• To structure a pragmatic project workflow based upon best working practices and Territory processes.
• To oversee initial creative responses to client briefs.
• To assign a creative lead to a new project and liaise with the Production and Bookings team to help and advise on assigning appropriate artists and skillsets to deliver the project.
• To brief an Art Director, artist or team in as efficient a manner as possible. To ensure the team or individual has all the information they need to complete their task.
• Remain up to date with current creative trends and innovations in design, motion graphics and visual effects and apply these to Territory’s work.
• Develop a culture of excellence around the creative use of techniques, software and technology.
• Communicate with client to gather feedback and organize internal creative team to respond accordingly.

Commercial Accountability

• To understand the commercial implications of a projects resources, budget and timeline across the wider studio.
• To be accountable for the commercial viability of the creative approach and delivery of projects.
• To craft a creative approach that is appropriate to a projects scope/budget/timeline.
• To champion and develop the Territory Studio proposition across the film, games and UI focused work.
• Work alongside the Executive Producers across new business opportunities within the creative sector.
• Attend new client meetings alongside the Sales team and/or Production.

People / Talent / Team

• To develop the talent within the creative team, feeding in and guiding individuals development plans wherever necessary.
• To support, guide and mentor the Art / Design Directors throughout the creative process and lifecycle of projects.
• To manage Art / Design Directors as direct reports, including annual reviews, KPI’s and salary reviews.
• To be mindful and responsible for the mental well-being of artists and teams based upon project management.
• To support recruitment, work with the Talent Manager to ensure the best new talent continues to flow into the studio.
• To collaborate with and work closely alongside the rest of the creative leadership team.

The Studio

• To champion the culture and values of the studio - to uphold the guiding principles of the Territory Studio brand and business.
• To help develop and enforce Territory processes and workflow across individual projects and the studio as a whole.
• Work with the Production and Bookings team to ensure creative resources are assigned optimally.
• To be a figurehead of Territory Studio, taking part in industry talks, presentations and festivals.
• To work with the Marketing Director to maintain and develop external communications with our audience.
• As an ambassador for Territory Studio, forge relationships with relevant technical communities, professional networks and educational institutions.
• Participate in departmental and company-wide meetings and events, as required.

Daily Tasks

• Managing creative workflow and pipeline.
• Participating in bids for current and future projects.
• Work with Executive Producers, Producers, project leads and VFX Supervisors to plan creative approaches to upcoming projects.
• Setting up process documentation for the team in order to ensure a consistent and efficient pipeline.
• Guiding and giving feedback to the creative team throughout the creative and technical process to deliver a high standard of work on time and within budget.
• Presenting to clients.
• Receiving and interpreting client feedback.
• Developing and training junior artists and building the creative team.

Key Skills and Experience

• Must be local to the San Francisco Bay Area with the ability to be onsite in the San Francisco studio (Tuesday-Thursday) on a weekly basis.
• 3-5 years of experience managing creative teams in a similar industry.
• Client facing experience (presentation skills, communication skills, etc.)
• Exceptional written skills and the ability to expertly articulate creative concepts and ideas as a treatment in response to a brief.
• Confident presenting to, and managing, clients. Understanding the needs of the client and interpreting them into a working brief. Receiving and discussing feedback with a client in a way that is always positive and aimed at creative problem-solving.
• Excellent people and team-working skills. Able to collaborate with the rest of the creative leadership. To delegate tasks effectively, utilizing artists in a manner designed to play to their individual strengths resulting in the optimal outcome for the project and studio as a whole.
• High-level time management skills. Able to efficiently and effectively manage not only your time but that of your artists and teams.
• The ability to be decisive and act accordingly to overcome creative problems.
• Good knowledge of design and film production pipelines, techniques and execution.
• Working knowledge of current creative trends and innovations in motion graphics.
• Proven experience in the field as a 2D or 3D artist - High level proficient user of After Effects and/or Adobe Creative Suite, and Cinema 4D. Understanding of Houdini, Arnold, Redshift, Nuke workflows as appropriate.

YOU MUST HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIVE AND WORK IN THE U.S.

Territory Studio Inc. believes that a diverse workforce makes us a more creative and innovative business. We are committed to providing a workplace that welcomes and respects all people regardless of gender identity, sex, sexuality, disability, race, religion, background or belief. We welcome applications from people who are under-represented in our sector.

The Company requires that all individuals working onsite in the US, subject to certain limited exceptions, be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The Company will consider requests for reasonable accommodations regarding this requirement.