Layout Artist
Company Description
Repeatedly voted one of Montreal’s Top Employers and Employer of the Year for the 2022 Mercuriades Awards, Rodeo FX is a high-end creative company offering services in visual effects, advertising, animation, and experiential.
Nominated for multiple Emmy® Awards for its work on the series Stranger Things season 4, The Witcher season 2 and The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power season 1, the independent, Oscar®-winning company boasts close to 900 artists crafting from studios in Montreal, Québec City, Toronto, Los Angeles and Paris.
Rodeo FX is a creative partner to the world’s best storytellers including Netflix, HBO, Disney, Marvel, Amazon Studios, Warner Bros. and Sony, and has collaborated on ads for YouTube, NBC and Apple. Current projects include Blue Beetle, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon. Recently released projects include John Wick: Chapter 4, Black Adam, Disney's The Little Mermaid and Love, Death and Robots Volume 3, for which the company won a 2023 VES award.
Work arrangements:
As an artist-founded and artist-led company, creativity is at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is to give our talent the freedom, resources, and environment they need to produce high-quality work and thrive in a stimulating, collaborative, and supportive setting.
With this in mind, employees are expected to work from the studio at least three days per week. The remaining days may be worked under flexible arrangements, when the nature of the role, production needs, and work organization allow. This balance helps us support collaboration, preserve our studio culture, and encourage the in-person exchanges that are essential to the way we create.
Job Description
The Layout Artist designs and assembles the 3D layout of shots and sequences based on previs or supervisor guidelines. They structure scenes in Maya, define cameras, and prepare solid, consistent setups for the next steps of the pipeline. Working closely with the layout, environment, animation, and supervision teams, they help establish a reliable technical and visually relevant foundation for each shot while meeting deadlines and the project’s creative goals.
Key Responsibilities:
Master your craft
Interpret previs or supervisor directives to create scene structure and layout in Maya.
Set up cameras in a realistic and coherent way, aligned with directing intentions and shot constraints.
Build solid, well-organized setups suited for the following stages of the 3D pipeline.
Identify and resolve blocking issues or technical inconsistencies during the layout stage.
Creative Quality
- Propose efficient, clear, and visually engaging layouts that respect the rhythm, emotion, and readability of the sequence.
- Refine shot compositions and camera movements to enhance visual storytelling.
- Participate in adapting or optimizing layout when new creative intentions arise.
Technical Quality
- Ensure cleanliness, organization, and optimization of delivered scenes.
- Follow studio naming conventions and technical standards.
- Collaborate with other departments to ensure smooth integration of elements (matchmove, animation, environment, etc.).
- Take into account real-world capture data (LiDAR, photogrammetry, etc.) when preparing scenes.
Communication
- Actively participate in dailies and interdepartmental reviews to present work and receive feedback.
- Communicate clearly with production and leads in case of potential blockages or delays.
- Share relevant information with involved departments to ensure overall shot consistency.
Teach, learn and grow
- Contribute to the continuous improvement of layout workflows and the documentation of best practices.
- Stay open to new approaches (virtual production, internal tools, AI) and expand both technical and artistic skills.
- Take part in training or onboarding new team members when relevant.
- Receive feedback with openness and a mindset of continuous improvement.
Qualifications
- Experience in layout within the VFX industry (minimum of 2 years recommended).
- Strong proficiency in Maya.
- Understanding of camera principles, photography, and cinematic language.
- Basic knowledge of Nuke and 3DEqualizer.
- Comfortable working with on-set data (LiDAR, HDRI, photogrammetry).
- Rigor, autonomy, attention to detail, and strong teamwork skills.
- Plus: Experience with ShotGrid or other production-management tools.
- Plus: Experience in virtual production or working with real-time scenes (Unreal Engine).
Additional Information
Diversity : At Rodeo FX, diversity is a core value. We’re committed to creating an inclusive, equitable workplace where different perspectives are embraced. Every team member brings unique insight that strengthens our creativity, challenges our thinking, and helps us deliver better work.
Rodeo FX may use AI-based tools to support certain steps of the recruitment process, such as interview transcription or preliminary application analysis. These tools may be operated by third-party providers, and data may be processed outside Quebec. These tools never replace human decision-making: all final hiring decisions are made by our recruitment team and hiring managers. To learn more about how we protect your personal information and your rights, please consult our Privacy Policy.