What is a Technical Director?

A Technical Director is a common job title in animation and visual FX companies. It depends on the individual company & what they would class a Technical Director. They can be involved with numerous things such as the modeling work in the early stages of production, the compositing and effects animation, lighting and shader.

The most common role for a Technical Director is usally within Lighting. Their responsiblity is to bring light and render 3D scenes.

Another type is the a Pipeline Technical Director, their role is to create a flowing architecture in which all of the animation departments can link together.

Any kind of Technical Director needs to be balanced in Artistic senses, able to adapt to most technologies and have a good attention to detail, aswell as able to solve problems. Some even may have programming skills, which is less common for Technical Directors to be involved with.