Cinematic Lead 12 Month FTC - Studio Elevation (Remote within the UK)

nDreams Studio Elevation is re-establishing the boundaries of VR. We’re looking for an exceptionally talented Cinematic Lead to help us explore, create, and deliver world-leading innovation in software and VR hardware. With our first title nearing release and a second in early planning stages, it’s a great time to join our fully remote, VR-first studio. 

As the Cinematic Lead, you will be responsible for delivering high quality cinematic sequences for players to experience and interact with in first-person, virtual reality games. 

The rundown:  

• 12-month Fixed Term Contract 

• Full time (37.5 hours per week) 

• Fully remote within the UK 

• Salary is competitive and dependent on experience 
  

Key responsibilities: 

• Take ownership of the creation of visually striking cinematic sequences. 

• Lead the visual storytelling across all in-game cinematics, defining the cinematic language and tone. 

• Collaborate with the Directors, Writers, and Art Leads to translate narrative beats into compelling visual sequences. 

• Collaborate with the design team and Narrative Designer, ensuring sequences are interactive and responsive to player actions. 

• Direct situational scene composition, lighting, and VFX within a real-time engine (Unreal). 

• Work closely with mocap and animation teams to ensure performance fidelity and visual coherence. 

• Guide and mentor a team of cinematic artists/ animators, setting standards for visual storytelling and technical execution. 

• Maintain consistency in framing, mood, and pacing across all sequences, aligning with the overall game direction. 

Requirements

The skills you’ll need:  

• Experience in the video game industry crafting stunning cinematics for AAA titles 

• A thorough understanding of Unreal Engine 5, its lighting model and Sequencer 

• Directing and nurturing talent to build and expand the vision 

• Performance Capture Direction and Cinematography 

• Expert understanding of cinematic grammar and editing techniques 

• Understanding of script writing, storytelling, and narrative device across different mediums 

• Ability to compose and light complex scenes with seamless real-time transitions and branches 

The nice to haves: 

• Experience with VR animation 

• Passion for VR and innovative technologies 

• Background in film direction or cinematography 

• Experience lighting scenes that target VR or mobile platforms 

Benefits

We are nDreams – we develop and publish the world’s most immersive VR games. You may know us as the developer behind Synapse, Phantom: Covert Ops, Fracked, and Frenzies. As a publisher, we have also supported the release of other studio’s titles including Little Cities, PowerWash Simulator VR, and Vendetta Forever. With humble beginnings as an independent studio, we combine amazing projects with a personal, caring touch. We’ve got more incredible titles to be announced soon! 

We believe the best workplaces and games are created by diverse, happy and safe teams. We're committed to building a culture centred on respect, wellbeing and balance. It's crucial we make our games and industry more accessible to underrepresented communities. We strive to live this through the people we hire, the experiences we create and the causes we support. 

We want everyone to have the opportunity to bring their best, authentic self to work. Please let us know if you require reasonable adjustments during the interview process by emailing interviewing@ndreams.com or speaking to your nDreams recruiter. For more information about reasonable adjustments, check out this guidance from Scope.  

We offer great perks, including flexible hours, duvets days, your birthday off, dedicated personal development time and support, as well as regular socials. Beyond this, there’s an excellent holiday offering, pension scheme, health insurance, life cover and much more.