About Elk Studios and the Project

We are on the lookout for an experienced Episodic Director to join the growing team as we start production on an exciting new long form 2D animated series.  We are looking for a like minded, experienced and enthusiastic Episodic Director to come onboard the already established crew.  The show is a 2D Toon Boom Harmony series for BBC/WDR  based on a very well-known children's book property.  The crew will reach a capacity of approx 60 people for this show.

We are based on Bridge Street in Dundalk town centre and we are a hybrid studio; the full crew working 3 days a week in house (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) and 2 days remotely. We’ve chosen to work like this as we are a creative industry and need to come together in person to collaborate as a team and to work through any issues as they arise.  It’s a great way for all of us to upskill and learn from one another.  Being able to work from home 2 days a week, allows flexibility to our work/life balance.  Work Life balance is one of the guiding principles of our ethos, and we feel that the 3/2 day split goes some way in achieving this.

About The Role

We are looking for an experienced & talented Episodic Director to join our other Directors. Working with the supervising director, the episodic director oversees each episode from script phase through to final delivery. The episodic director needs to effectively convey their vision for the episode effectively to their board artists, storyboard revisionists and later, the editor. 

The episodic director will have a thorough knowledge of the 2D animation pipeline and understand how to balance effective storytelling with produceable storyboards. Episodic directors must have a firm grasp on comedic timing, the language of filmmaking, design and animation and know how to convey complex creative ideas into actionable tasks for their teams.Excellent communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work collaboratively in a fast paced production is critical to succeed in this role 

Key Tasks and Areas of Responsibility

• Partnering with the Supervising Director, the Episodic Director participates in all creative aspects during all phases of the production

• Responsible for preparing clear script notes for storyboard hand out.

• Episodic director must be able to explain notes and answer any questions the board artists may have during handout meeting.

• Review rough storyboards and prepare notes required for storyboard artist within a short period of time to allow the board to move forward.

• Be able to convey notes with rough thumbnail drawings when necessary.

• Work with supervising director to prepare animatic for delivery to client and prepare for animation.

• Work closely with the Art Director and heads of Dept to troubleshoot the episodes.

• Working with supervising director review offlines and generate edit and retake notes; prepare episode for delivery to client

• Prepare responses to client feedback, create list of agreed/acceptable retakes and convey notes to respective teams for execution.

• Approve retakes for final episode.

Must Have:

• Experience working on a 2D Rigged animation series

• Excellent knowledge of animation 

• Prior directorial experience on a 2D series

• Strong storytelling skills with a clear point of view

• Comfortable juggling multiple tasks.

• Excellent communication skills, proactive and happy to liaise with a whole team of people.

• Must be eligible to work in the Republic of Ireland and located/ able to relocate to Ireland.

•  Ability to manage multiple episodes in different stages of production simultaneously within a high pressure environment while also meeting strict TV deadlines.

• Capable of motivating and leading teams with enthusiasm

• Comfortable working to tight deadlines

Bonus Points:

• Technical knowledge of Toon Boom Harmony and rigs

• Good animation skills and experience as an animator or storyboard artist on a 2D harmony show

• Strong organisational skills and experience using industry tracking software