Lead Cinematic Artist

About this Position

We are looking for a Lead Cinematic Artist to take ownership of, and enhance, the cinematic experience of our next-generation sports simulator. This multifaceted role involves creative direction, hands-on scene creation and team leadership, with a particular focus on storytelling, evoking emotion and ensuring seamless integration with gameplay. If you are passionate about real-time cinematics, visual storytelling and high production values, we would love to meet you.

SportSpired Games is an international game studio developing next-generation sports simulators. Our team includes professionals with experience at Wargaming, MY·GAMES, The Walt Disney Company, Ubisoft, 343 Industries, Starbreeze, Sperasoft and EA Sports. We’re building an ambitious AAA title slated for release in 2028-2029.

Responsibilities

• Lead the staging and development of cinematic scenes for a sports simulator to create a unique and immersive player experience.
• Design and produce high-quality cinematic cutscenes that enhance the narrative and emotional engagement of the game while remaining consistent with its overall style.
• Direct and implement cutscenes, taking full ownership of the visuals, including camera movement, composition, environment, lighting, character posing, facial expressions and body animation.
• Build strong dramaturgy and create emotionally engaging moments that complement, rather than interrupt, gameplay.
• Perform cinematic editing and camera work using Unreal Sequencer.
• Integrate, refine and enhance motion capture data to create high-quality cinematic and gameplay animations.
• Collaborate closely with game designers, animators and other departments to ensure cohesive cinematic production.
• Participate in creative discussions and decision-making processes to enhance the quality of cutscenes and the overall visual style of the game.
• Oversee the implementation of narrative ideas and adapt them for gameplay, including sport-specific moments, to ensure seamless integration.
• Plan and manage the cinematic production process, coordinating team efforts while meeting deadlines and budget constraints.
• Participate in creating concept art for cinematics and visual effects that aligns with the game’s visual direction.
• Stage scenes aimed at capturing high-quality animations for both gameplay and cutscenes.
• Contribute to the development, maintenance and improvement of the cinematic pipeline in Unreal Engine 5.
• Maintain and oversee documentation describing cinematic workflows and production processes.

Requirements

• At least 5 years' experience working as a Cinematic Artist or in a similar role within the gaming industry.
• A strong understanding of real-time cinematic production for video games, including narrative cutscenes, camera work, pacing and composition.
• Solid knowledge of camera direction, lighting, composition and animation principles.
• Confident hands-on experience with Unreal Engine 5, motion capture tools and animation software such as Maya, MotionBuilder or Blender.
• The ability to create cinematic scenes ranging from close-up, performance-driven shots to dynamic gameplay animations for action-oriented content.
• Excellent communication skills for coordinating work across multiple departments, including animation, design, programming, audio and cinematics.
• Strong decision-making skills and the ability to propose creative solutions that enhance scene quality.

Nice to have

• Experience of working on AAA projects and an understanding of the specifics of the sports simulator genre.
• Experience with dedicated cinematic editing or post-production tools.
• Ability to direct and coordinate actors to achieve expressive, high-quality motion capture performances.