Technical director
Encyclopedia
The Technical Director (TD) or Technical Manager (TM) is usually a senior technical person within a software company, film
studio, theatrical
company or television studio
. This person usually possesses the highest level of skill
within a specific technical field and may be recognized as an expert in that industry.
The Technical Director provides technical direction on business decision making
using the Business Decision Mapping
technique and in the execution of specific projects. He or she may be assigned to a single project, or may oversee a number of projects with related technologies. A Technical Director also typically keeps close contact with any Production Managers and keeps them informed of their budget status at all Production Meetings.
, a Technical Director is typically responsible for the successful creation and delivery of the company's product to the marketplace by managing technical risks and opportunities: making key software design
and software implementation decisions with the development teams; scheduling of tasks including tracking dependencies, managing change request
s, and guaranteeing quality of deliveries; and educating the team on technical best practice
s.
Typical Responsibilities:
or Industrial Light and Magic
or game studios, a technical director's (TD) responsibilities vary from studio to studio and as such, the term is not very well defined.
Typically, a TD is a mix of an artist and a programmer, responsible for the more technical aspects of film production, such as programming shaders, developing character rigs and animation setups, performing complex simulation tasks and setting up the pipeline how the data is passed from one stage in the film production to the next. In contrast to a programmer, a TD would normally not work on large programming projects but rather make heavy use of scripting languages such as Python
, MEL
, or MAXScript
or shell scripting. Another responsibility of a TD is to look after any technical problems the regular artists encounter and to develop custom tools to improve the artists' workflow.
"Technical Artist", "Technical Animator" and "Generalist TD" are sometimes used as synonyms, and frequently, the role of a TD is more precisely defined, for example "Effects TD", "Lighting TD", "Modeling TD", "Pipeline TD", "Creature TD", "Hair TD", "Cloth TD", "Matchmove TD" etc.
estimations and maintaining of accounts; materials research and purchasing;
scheduling and supervising build crews; coordinating put-ins; handling conflicts
that arise between different departments; and organizing the strike and clean-up
for that production.
Technical Director can also refer to the in-house chief designer/master carpenter for a smaller theatre company.
and operates the video switcher and associated devices as well as serving as the chief of the television crew
. For a remote broadcast
outside of the studio
, the TD will perform the same duties in a mobile production truck
. It is the TD's job to ensure all positions are manned and all equipment and facilities are checked out and ready before the recording session or live broadcast begins. They typically will switch video sources, perform live digital effects and transitions, and insert pre-recorded material, graphics and titles as instructed by the Director. In all but the smallest productions, the Director does not actually operate the production equipment, allowing him/her to coordinate the production and make rapid decisions without worrying about how to mechanically execute the effect or camera move being called for. The Technical Director may provide training to more inexperienced members of the technical crew when needed. In consultation with the Director, the TD may have more or less input into the creative side of the production, depending on the situation. He/she may provide the Director with guidance on crew assignments, camera shots and the most efficient way to accomplish any given effect. The TD is usually responsible for the technical quality of the signal being recorded or broadcast and will use various measuring devices and displays to ensure quality control.
Technical Directors commonly work on productions that are either broadcast live or recorded on video tape or video server
s. Television productions shot on film generally do not use TDs, as the camera cuts and effects are realized in post production after the shooting is completed.
The terminology in the UK differs in some respects from the above description: The production control room is called a "gallery", the Technical Director (as well as the switching device that the TD operates) is called a "vision mixer
", and a mobile production truck is called an "OB Van".
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
studio, theatrical
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
company or television studio
Television studio
A television studio is an installation in which a video productions take place, either for the recording of live television to video tape, or for the acquisition of raw footage for post-production. The design of a studio is similar to, and derived from, movie studios, with a few amendments for the...
. This person usually possesses the highest level of skill
Skill
A skill is the learned capacity to carry out pre-determined results often with the minimum outlay of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills...
within a specific technical field and may be recognized as an expert in that industry.
The Technical Director provides technical direction on business decision making
Decision making
Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice.- Overview :Human performance in decision terms...
using the Business Decision Mapping
Business Decision Mapping
Business Decision Mapping is a technique for making decisions, particularly for the kind of decisions that often need to be made in business...
technique and in the execution of specific projects. He or she may be assigned to a single project, or may oversee a number of projects with related technologies. A Technical Director also typically keeps close contact with any Production Managers and keeps them informed of their budget status at all Production Meetings.
Software
In software developmentSoftware development
Software development is the development of a software product...
, a Technical Director is typically responsible for the successful creation and delivery of the company's product to the marketplace by managing technical risks and opportunities: making key software design
Software design
Software design is a process of problem solving and planning for a software solution. After the purpose and specifications of software are determined, software developers will design or employ designers to develop a plan for a solution...
and software implementation decisions with the development teams; scheduling of tasks including tracking dependencies, managing change request
Change request
A change request is a document containing a call for an adjustment of a system; it is of great importance in the change management process. A change request is not raised for a wording change in a letter....
s, and guaranteeing quality of deliveries; and educating the team on technical best practice
Best practice
A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark...
s.
Typical Responsibilities:
- Defines the technological strategy with the development team of each project: pipeline, tools, and key development procedures.
- Assesses technical risk and mitigation plan.
- Establishes standards and procedures to track and measure project's progression.
- Evaluates development team(s), identifying strengths, problem areas, and developing plans for improving performance.
- Evaluates interview candidates for technical positions.
- Scouts for and evaluates new technology and tools as opportunities for innovation and development excellence.
- Pre-production Oversees technical design documentation process for correctness and timeliness.
- Provides input to the other disciplines on the practicality of initial design goals and impact to the overall project timeline.
- Evaluates software implementation on design and task thoroughness
- Helps to identify high risk areas for the Project Director.
- Identifies weak software systems that need code improvement and schedules corrective action, when possible.
- Creates automated test process for system and game features, where possible, and contributes to the build system.
- Aids in all stages of post-production including during finalizing
Film
In VFX/animation production such as PixarPixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
or Industrial Light and Magic
Industrial Light and Magic
Industrial Light & Magic is an Academy Award-winning motion picture visual effects company that was founded in May 1975 by George Lucas and is owned by Lucasfilm. Lucas created the company when he discovered that the special effects department at 20th Century Fox was shut down after he was given...
or game studios, a technical director's (TD) responsibilities vary from studio to studio and as such, the term is not very well defined.
Typically, a TD is a mix of an artist and a programmer, responsible for the more technical aspects of film production, such as programming shaders, developing character rigs and animation setups, performing complex simulation tasks and setting up the pipeline how the data is passed from one stage in the film production to the next. In contrast to a programmer, a TD would normally not work on large programming projects but rather make heavy use of scripting languages such as Python
Python (programming language)
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
, MEL
Maya Embedded Language
The Maya Embedded Language is a scripting language used to simplify tasks in Autodesk's 3D Graphics Software Maya. Most tasks that can be achieved through Maya's GUI can be achieved with MEL, as well as certain tasks that are not available from the GUI...
, or MAXScript
Maxscript
MaxScript command processor is an interpreter that implements a subset of the xBase programming language especially conceived to be used inside web pages to provide server side scripting capabilities....
or shell scripting. Another responsibility of a TD is to look after any technical problems the regular artists encounter and to develop custom tools to improve the artists' workflow.
"Technical Artist", "Technical Animator" and "Generalist TD" are sometimes used as synonyms, and frequently, the role of a TD is more precisely defined, for example "Effects TD", "Lighting TD", "Modeling TD", "Pipeline TD", "Creature TD", "Hair TD", "Cloth TD", "Matchmove TD" etc.
Theatre
It is a Technical Director's job to make sure the technical equipment in the theatre is functional, maintained and safe; The technical director is responsible for the overall organization of the technical production process. Duties included are generating necessary working drawingsfor construction (in conjunction with a draftsperson, if there is one); budgetestimations and maintaining of accounts; materials research and purchasing;
scheduling and supervising build crews; coordinating put-ins; handling conflicts
that arise between different departments; and organizing the strike and clean-up
for that production.
Technical Director can also refer to the in-house chief designer/master carpenter for a smaller theatre company.
Television
The Technical Director (often abbreviated TD) works in a production control room of a television studioTelevision studio
A television studio is an installation in which a video productions take place, either for the recording of live television to video tape, or for the acquisition of raw footage for post-production. The design of a studio is similar to, and derived from, movie studios, with a few amendments for the...
and operates the video switcher and associated devices as well as serving as the chief of the television crew
Television crew
Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew, but with several differences.-Pre-production:-Casting Director:-Costume designer:-Director:* Associate Director -Location Manager:-Make-up artist:...
. For a remote broadcast
Remote broadcast
In broadcast engineering, a remote broadcast is broadcasting done from a location away from a formal television studio and is considered an electronic field production . A remote pickup unit is usually used to transmit the audio and/or video back to the television station, where it joins the...
outside of the studio
Television studio
A television studio is an installation in which a video productions take place, either for the recording of live television to video tape, or for the acquisition of raw footage for post-production. The design of a studio is similar to, and derived from, movie studios, with a few amendments for the...
, the TD will perform the same duties in a mobile production truck
Production truck
Television Production trucks were developed to take television studios on the road so video productions could be made at distant locations for a remote broadcast, outside broadcasting , electronic field production with multiple-camera setup and a support of a number of different technologies to...
. It is the TD's job to ensure all positions are manned and all equipment and facilities are checked out and ready before the recording session or live broadcast begins. They typically will switch video sources, perform live digital effects and transitions, and insert pre-recorded material, graphics and titles as instructed by the Director. In all but the smallest productions, the Director does not actually operate the production equipment, allowing him/her to coordinate the production and make rapid decisions without worrying about how to mechanically execute the effect or camera move being called for. The Technical Director may provide training to more inexperienced members of the technical crew when needed. In consultation with the Director, the TD may have more or less input into the creative side of the production, depending on the situation. He/she may provide the Director with guidance on crew assignments, camera shots and the most efficient way to accomplish any given effect. The TD is usually responsible for the technical quality of the signal being recorded or broadcast and will use various measuring devices and displays to ensure quality control.
Technical Directors commonly work on productions that are either broadcast live or recorded on video tape or video server
Video server
A video server is a computer based device dedicated to delivering video.Unlike personal computers, being multi-application devices, a video server is designed for one purpose; provisioning video, often for broadcasters. A professional grade video server records, stores, and playout of multiple...
s. Television productions shot on film generally do not use TDs, as the camera cuts and effects are realized in post production after the shooting is completed.
The terminology in the UK differs in some respects from the above description: The production control room is called a "gallery", the Technical Director (as well as the switching device that the TD operates) is called a "vision mixer
Vision mixer
A vision mixer is a device used to select between several different video sources and in some cases Compositing video sources together to create special effects...
", and a mobile production truck is called an "OB Van".