Technical Directors

Today I learned that in the field of 3D there are positions known as Technical Directors.  So you can have a Modeling TD, a Lighting TD, Animation TD and so on.  The main difference between, lets say, an animator and an Animation TD is that the TD can do programming.  If you know how to code in the language of the software you are using then you become a valuable asset.  The position (if I understand it correctly) is kind of a supervising position where you can use code to fix any problems that might arise or write scripts/expressions that would allow faster work flow or do something the program doesn't do as a built in mechanic.  It doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be coding all day but having it as a tool could definitely help out your work and the project.  All that sounds kind of cool and impressive, but the main difference between the two jobs is money. A TD may make $50,000 a year more than their non-coding counterpart! So while an animator that gets paid around $30,000 a year, an Animation TD will make upwards of $80,000 a year. That's a lot of coin.

I am so happy that I took Computer Science while at Bosco (my high school).  I took 3 years of programming, most of which was in C++ (one of the major programing languages out there).  I don't remember everything and am quite rusty but I'm sure some review can jog my memory.  The programming language that would be needed for a TD position in any field is most likely different than the one I learned at Bosco but knowing some of the principles of programming could help.  We are not going to get any real classes on programming here at VFS, but I wouldn't mind learning some languages on my own.  I've always like the logical and creative thinking needed to solve problems in programming so this should be fun.  Let's see what happens.