Layout Artist
Layout Artist is also known as Layout TD, which is responsible for the framing, composition, camera angle, camera movement, and lighting of each shots. They control the pace of the action, timing and the dialogue. They are required to load 3D assets and audio into the animation program and pose the characters, and then frame it with virtual camera. The Layout Artist is pretty much like the Director of Photography in virtual world. Their work allows other VFX artist to have a basic shot construction in the production pipeline.
This video talks about what traditional 2D layout is like, and how a Layout Artist works in a virtual world now.
Matchmove Artist
Their work is to merge characters or objects from live-action footage and virtual scenes into one perspective. They need to do body and object tracking, recreating the movements of people or objects in CG. They use specialized program, for example, Syntheyes or PFtrack, to make 3D objects integrate with live-action footage.
Matchmove Artist needs to work with both 2D and 3D tracking. In two-dimensions, the task is to change the live motion footage’s image without factoring the movement of the camera and lens distortion. Most programs are used to do 2D matchmoving are After Effects, Syntheyes and PFtrack. In three-dimensional, the 3D elements need to be inserted into 2D video clips. They usually do 3D matchmove in Blender, Vodoo, and 3DEqualizer.
More information can be found in this following article. It gives a clear explanation of how this role works and there are also some examples of matchmover’s works.
What is Matchmoving and What Does a Matchmove Artist Do? (mountcg.com)
Lighting Artist
They are responsible for adjusting the color, placement and intensity of CG lights to build atmosphere with realism and depth. They craft the mood of the film or animation, and match the lighting of 3D objects to the look of the on-set production.
This article gives more specifics of Lighting Artist.
Lighting in visual effects: crafting CG cinematography | Foundry
This is an interview of Michael Tanzillo who works in Blue Sky studio, talking about Lighting Artist’s jobs and responsibilities.
CG Supervisor (Computer Graphics Supervisor)
Their job is to deliver and make sure the quality of the 3D elements of a project. They are responsible for managing and directing the technical, artistic, and production personnel for each project. They supervise all CG creation and managing the task allocation.
Supervisors can be hired directly by a film production company. They can also work for a visual effects company, where they could work with lots of different production companies.
Look Development Artist
Look Dev Artists focus on the development of the visual style of the computer-generated creatures or objects, they establish the overall artistic & scene styles and decide if the look will be realistic, stylized, or both. Look Dev Artist creates the materials, textures, and geometric instances that define the look of environments, characters, and sets.
In this job post from Walt Disney Company, they listed all the requirements and tasks that a Look Development Artist need to do for this role. And what they want if you want to apply for this job.
Full link is here: Look Development Artist Job in Burbank, CA at The Walt Disney Company (ziprecruiter.com)