TD @ Dreamworks Unit, Technicolor India.

Hurray! A New job with the “Dream Team” 🙂

So after three good years at Prana, I moved to Dreamworks Animation that recently opened its new unit in Bangalore as an FX TD. Many of my friends and ex-colleagues were surprised about my switch from Character TD to an FX TD because I was never ever involved in FX work as long as anyone could remember. But things work little differently at DW from what one would normally think an FX TD would do. As an FX TD I “support” the FX dept and don’t really do shot work. So there is no immediate requirement to know about particles, fluids etc. although knowing it certainly helps solve issues related to those elements quickly. However the general idea of a Dept TD in Dreamworks is a person who has the ability to investigate issues and find the solutions using his general aptitude and logical reasoning. Scripting skills do come in handy in this process and the more experience one has the better.

As far as I’m concerned, it is a huge challenge and there will be many new things to learn and a totally new domain to explore. Also bring a TD gives maximum exposure to the Dreamworks pipeline that has evolved over years and known to be one of the best in the industry. On the flip side, it would make me drift away from my profile as a Character TD but I believe it is the best opportunity for me to get into the pipeline design aspect of the production and aspire to bring both experiences together and build a stronger skillset.