Planet Nutshell seeks a talented 2D Animator/Designer to join our team full time. Founded in 2008, we’re an independent producer of short-form educational and explanatory animation.

Our team focuses on creating purpose-driven media for non-profits, educational broadcasters, technology companies, and healthcare organizations. Recent clients include The World Wildlife Fund, athenahealth, and Shriners Hospitals for Children.

Our ideal candidate will integrate with our team to storyboard, design, animate, and composite work that informs, educates, and inspires. Our work is primarily 2D, but we occasionally work with 3D elements.

Requirements:

Above all, our ideal candidate is highly creative and passionate. Other requirements include:

• Strong interpersonal/communication skills. Must be able to collaborate work with others in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong problem solving skills and the ability to think both conceptually and technically on projects from conception to execution and delivery

• Familiarity with latest trends and techniques in motion design. You’re always looking for the latest approaches, filters, and expressions that help keep our work world-class

• Demonstrated experience in a studio environment or as a freelancer

• Demonstrated ability to consistently meet project deadlines without compromising artistic vision

• Ability to multitask and juggle projects

• Openness to feedback and ability to give and receive constructive criticism

• A background in graphic design and illustration is a plus

Required technical skills:

• Advanced experience in Adobe After Effects

• Adobe Illustrator

• Adobe Animate (Flash!)

Preferred technical skills:

• Adobe Premiere

• Adobe Photoshop

• Maxon Cinema 4D

This is a full time position ideally on-site, but for the right candidate we’d be open to the possibility of off site or part time. Our studio is located in Boston’s Back Bay, steps from the Back Bay T station (commuter rail and subway), and three blocks from the Copley Green Line station. The position includes salary, health insurance, transportation assistance, and retirement plan after one year of service.

Please submit your reel, resume, and a brief statement about why you’d be great for this position to jobs (at) planetnutshell (dot) com

It was an honor to team up with our agency partner, Small Army, once again to create this introductory video for Health Leads, an organization with a vital mission to “create sustainable, high-impact and cost-effective social needs interventions that connect patients to the community-based resources they need to be healthy – from food to transportation to healthcare benefits.” Basically, they do great work that’s aligned with our values, so it was a match made in heaven.

Planet Nutshell, a small animation studio that creates delightful visual stories for non-profits, education, and healthcare clients, seeks a dynamic, self-driven, and highly organized production assistant to help us keep the wheels turning and our clients happy. The ideal candidate will have 1-3 years of experience in an agency or independent production studio environment.

Our new production assistant will:

• Schedule projects as well as track and communicate project progress with clients
• Assist with staffing and scheduling internal and external script writers, storyboard artists, illustrators/designers, animators, and sound designers
• Coordinate production tasks with our internal staff and network of freelancers
• Assist with production tasks as needed including light video and audio editing with Adobe Premiere
• Provide initial response to client inquiries
• Set meetings between clients and our staff
• Prepare, send and track invoices and work agreements and contracts
• Assist with writing and preparing proposals
• Keep project deliverables on track using our internal project management tools
• Maintain and update the Planet Nutshell web site as needed
• Assist with planning, and writing blog posts, newsletters, and social media announcements
• Maintain our client database
• Research project proposal opportunities, as well as local, regional, and national networking opportunities
• Conduct background research in support of ongoing animation projects

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The successful candidate will have:

• Demonstrated organizational and project management skills
• The ability to work independently without direct supervision
• The ability to prioritize and multitask
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including written communication skills
• Extreme proficiency in MS Office and Google Docs
• Basic proficiency in Adobe Premiere
• Familiarity with WordPress or similar CMS, as well as basic HTML knowledge
• A background in media production, preferably animation
• A belief in our mission to create media with social and environmental impact

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This position is on-site with a 3-month trial period. Salary is dependent on experience.

Please reply with a resume and a statement about why you’d be great for this position at jobs (at) planetnutshell (dot) com.

Brooklyn Public Library asked us to create a spot that promotes New York’s fabulous new Culture Pass program. It’s an ambitious, city-wide collaboration that offers free access to many of the city’s top cultural institutions to anyone who lives in the five boroughs.

They wanted a fantastic video, but they also wanted the video to feature the artwork of a local Brooklyn artist, Jing Wei. While I wrote the script, Jing got to work creating some beautiful backgrounds and character designs. The collaboration worked seamlessly, and we’re super honored that we got to work with her, along with the passionate folks at BPL.

Bonus: Be sure to check out the Spanish version!

We recently kicked off a new relationship with the wonderful people at NPCA, whose passion for protecting America’s national parks touched and inspired the whole team. This project was close to my heart, as I visited Cumberland Island many times as a child. It’s a magical place that’s more than worthy of our care, which we tried to impart in this short video.